Picked up a nice watch and chain out of a skip. watch is a modern repro i think. but the chain was filthy and tarnished. I see in two places the same markings A forward facing lion, which i think is English 1800 era and a G in a square which I think is 1827?? any body confirm this
We really need to see a clear, closeup photo of the hallmarks. The “lion passant” has been used as part of the hallmark on English sterling for several centuries, and the same letter might be used for many, many different years, with only the font style to differentiate it.
A starting point. Just guessing London, though it might be one of the other assay cities.
https://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Dates/London/Date%20Letters%20G.html
ETA: Might be Birmingham for example:
https://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Dates/Birmingham/Date%20Letters%20G.html
Or Sheffield:
https://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Dates/Sheffield/Date%20Letters%20G.html
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yes I see. not as easy as u think. just noticed some other stamps. my eyes are poor so I can’t make it out. I will post pictures
My vote is for London, 1942. Let’s see what other eyes make of it! 
ETA: The mark on the other end of the shaft is probably the maker’s mark, but I can’t quite make out the letters. You’d need a jeweler’s loupe to see it clearly.
yes I think 1931-1940’s is more likely the other letters look like HP or WP could be maker could be owners initials? Any idea of value in a watch chain in silver. little bit of weight to it.
cheers for the info’ Jeff.
Almost certainly the maker, rather than the owner. Perhaps a reduced form of H. Phillips’ mark, as his registered mark wouldn’t fit on an object that small.
https://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Makers/London-HI-HR.html#HP
Value? Start by weighing it, and checking the current spot price of silver. That establishes a floor value. Anything above that depends upon how collectable it is, and I have no sense of what watch chains bring. For chains that don’t have interesting medallions, a quick perusal of “sold” items on eBay suggests that they go for roughly double the melt value.
It’s a Birmingham mark, date letter G for 1931. The maker’s/sponsor’s mark looks like HP to me but I cannot identify it.
Phil
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Yes, that was my second choice - tough to see whether there’s a scalloped lower edge to the G punch. I also see HP, so my “reduced H Phillips” maker’s mark is just about the only reasonable choice, though there are plenty of forgotten, unknown silversmiths floating around out there.
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