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422
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NOTES.
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passage
in Gildas (§ 7), recording that after some great rebellion of the
natives (apparently that under Boadicea), the Romans changed the name "
Britannia " into " Insula Bomana ;" and ordered that all the metals it
possessed should be stamped with Caesar's image : " et quidquid haberi
potuisset aeris argenti vel auri imagine Cœsaris notaretur."
THE "HALL-MARK'' STANDARD OF GOLD, p. 112.
The
" Hail-Mark," so called because impressed at the Goldsmiths' Hall, is
the stamp authenticating the fineness of the metal sold. It consists of
four punch-marks, struck upon some inconspicuous part of the article,
containing respectively the initials of the maker, the head of the
reigning sovereign, the number of the carats fine, and a letter
of the alphabet. The last is a relic of a clumsy and truly mediajval
mode of declaring the date : twenty letters from A downwards complete a
cycle of as many years, which ended, the same letters but of a
different type, recommence a fresh cycle. By referring to the list of
these letters (obtainable at the Hall) the date of any piece of plate
can be ascertained as far back as the year 1696. But the custom dates
from unknown antiquity. Until the present century no gold was
allowed to be Hall-marked if of lower standard than 22 carats ; then
that of 18 (or one quarter alloy) was permitted, as being a quality
best adapted for watch-cases, chains, and jewelry designed for hard
wear. But some few years ago a Bill, inspired by the Birmingham
interest, was smuggled through Parliament, the collective wisdom of the
three kingdoms not being sufficiently practical to espy its true
object, that of legalising the grossest fraud. By this Bill it was
allowed to Hall-mark gold of 15, of 12, and (it sounds incredible) as
base as 9 carats ! mere aurichalcum or billon. This
concession, wheedled out of ignorance by roguery, has fully answered
the ends of its promoters ; articles in this vile alloy, strongly gilt,
are sold under the time-honoured prestige of the Hall-mark. Few
purchasers are aware of the change in the law : the carats are marked,
it is true, but the minute numerals are unobserved, or purposely
obscured.
Our
standard for silver (both coin and plate) from the Norman times down,
has been very high, only 18 pennyweights alloy to the pound Troy, or
less than one-twelfth. Under William III. this standard was, for a few
years, raised to quite fine for plate alone, to prevent, it
would seem, the melting-down the coin for that purpose. Plate of this
quality is stamped with a figure of Britannia in one of the
punch-marks. But to the disgrace of our times, the Bill above-mentioned
also legalised a similar imposition upon the buyer (the exact extent
however has escaped my memory) in the quality of silver plate,
disguised by the proviso " for exportation."
TURQUOIS, p. 140.*
" The Turquois " (De Boot loquitur) "
is believed to strengthen the sight and spirits of the wearer ; but its
chief commendation is against falls, which everybody believes it takes
upon itself, so that the wearer escapes hurt—a
* This quotation illustrates a nutt at p. lto,—(', \y, K.
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