Featured British hallmarks, lacking city mark

How is this best explained? Not mine, don’t have better photos, just curious. Looks to be silver hallmarks, just lacking the city mark. It was metal detected in the UK. My first thought was it predating city marks, but they used those pretty dang early.

 

I've had a few over the years with no city mark, from the maker they would have been from London (the ones I had). Maybe they just missed them?
@silvermakersmarks would probably know.

 

yup, I think you nailed it with the maker, the duty mark looks right for that time
a shot or two of whisky is always a good thing

 

It was very common at that time (very late 18th, very early 19th century) for London-assayed small silver to be missing the town mark. We don't (I think) have a firm explanation, but it may have been an anti-fraud measure to prevent the replacement of a genuine hallmark into a larger piece of sub-standard silver. We also occasionally see missing town marks for Newcastle and Exeter.

 

perhaps, like @daveydempsey they were also having a bit of whiskey

 

or Whisky !!

 

I read somewhere, a long time ago, or was possibly told by another collector, that silver without an assay-hall mark meant that it was assayed in London. Don't know how true that is.

 

Thanks for the responses guys. This is a great bit of knowledge to have heading forward. Going forward if a piece of small British silver lacks a town mark I’ll start with London. Lots of fraud happening in the silver market in the UK it seems. Prevention of that seems a logical enough explanation.

Davey thanks for going a bit further and suggesting an ID on the maker/date!

 

Google AI:

• "Whiskey" (with an "e"):
  This spelling is generally used for spirits produced in the United States and Ireland, including varieties like bourbon, rye, and Tennessee whiskey.
• "Whisky" (without an "e"):
  This spelling is commonly used for spirits from Scotland, Canada, and Japan.
• Exceptions:
  While the spelling generally follows country of origin, there are exceptions. Some American brands, like Maker's Mark, use the "whisky" spelling, and some American whiskey is still referred to as "whiskey".
• Historical Context:
  The difference in spelling can be traced back to the 1800s, when Scottish and Irish distillers disagreed on how to adapt to the emergence of continuous distillation, leading to a disagreement over what constituted "whisky".
• Other Countries:
  Other countries, such as Japan, India, and Australia, also use the "whisky" spelling