Many people wonder which silver hallmarks are available on the Swedish market and how to interpret them.
In this article we will try to lift the veil surrounding Swedish silver hallmarks.

Here are examples of how silverware can be stamped:

or like this

The first four stamps, the cat's foot, the silver stamp (S) and the year stamp (G11) are no longer mandatory and have been replaced by the Responsibility Stamp (J) and the fineness stamp (830) which describe who manufactured the product and how much silver the material contains. These stamps are registered and regulated by law.

Below we present a compilation from SP, the Swedish Testing and Research Institute, which provides a detailed explanation of stamps.

A hallmark on a piece of jewelry guarantees that the item has been approved after an impartial check of the amount of precious metal, i.e. a determination of the fineness.

THE SWEDISH CONTROL STAMP - THE CAT'S FOOT

The Swedish hallmark, the well-known Kattfoten, consists of the small national coat of arms Tre Kronor placed in a trepass-shaped ("three-arched") shield. Hallmarks differ depending on the precious metal - for gold it is Kattfoten, for silver Kattfoten with a following S in a hexagonal shield and for platinum Kattfoten with a following P in a hexagonal shield.

The cat's foot was first introduced in 1754 and is available in two versions: The trefoil-shaped cat's foot for Swedish-made objects, and the so-called oval for imported objects. As of July 1, 1988, we only use the trefoil-shaped cat's foot for both Swedish-made and imported objects. The cat's foot is a guarantee of authenticity. (Not mandatory - Editor's note.)

INTERNATIONAL CONTROL STAMPS - THE WEIGHT STAMP

The CCM is a common control mark for the European Precious Metals Convention:

• CCM stamp for 750/1000 gold
• CCM stamp for 925/1000 silver
• CCM stamp for 950/1000 platinum

RESPONSIBILITY STAMPS

Responsibility stamps are the stamps that the Swedish manufacturer or importer has stamped on their work. In addition to the responsibility stamps, other stamps may be present. They may be the Swedish manufacturer's design stamp or the foreign manufacturer's own stamps. These silver stamps differ in appearance from the responsibility stamps. There are many name stamps and around 6650 different letter combinations. There are also various place marks and year designations, as well as a fineness stamp that indicates in thousandths how much pure gold the object contains. All of these stamps are collectively called responsibility stamps.

The four responsibility stamps are:

• Fineness stamp - Mandatory
• Name stamp - Voluntary
• Placemark - Voluntary
• Year designation - Voluntary

 FINENESS STAMP

The fineness mark indicates the amount of precious metal in a piece of jewelry. For gold and platinum items weighing more than one gram, the fineness mark must be present, along with a Cat's Foot or name mark. For silver, there are no requirements for a fineness mark or other marks. The fineness is stated in parts per thousand, e.g. 750, which means that the jewelry consists of 75% gold. The remaining 25% consists of other metals such as silver and copper. The fineness of the gold is often stated in carats.

NAME STAMP

The name stamp consists of two or more letters in a rectangular frame, which tells which manufacturer or importer created or imported the item. The name stamp can only contain letters, so logos or other company marks cannot be registered. The letter combination is normally reserved for 20 years for the holder after deregistration and cannot therefore be re-registered by a new holder during that time. There are approximately 6,700 registered manufacturer or name stamps from 1913 to the present, of which approximately 2,200 are active today.

PLACE MARK

The locality mark is a responsibility stamp and indicates the Swedish place of manufacture or the importer's residence. It is established by the Swedish Board for Accreditation and Technical Control, SWEDAC. If a mark is missing for a location, SWEDAC can establish one upon request. The most recently established locality marks have indicated the municipality (e.g. Orust and Vårgårda).

The town mark, as it was previously called, began to be used as early as the 1490s as a complement to the manufacturer's stamp in a few places, but it was not until 1689 that it became a standard throughout the country. At that time, the mark also took on the character of a control stamp, which was only stamped on work that had been checked and approved (by the goldsmiths' guild). When the control was taken over by the state in 1754 and the Kattfoten was introduced as a control stamp, the town mark regained its original meaning as a stamp of responsibility.

From around 1860, the town emblem has consisted of only one letter indicating the city's initial letter, with only the font and frame varying for towns that begin with the same letter. Only Stockholm has retained its city coat of arms in the town emblem. Other exceptions are Gothenburg and Kristianstad with a crowned G and C respectively, as well as Karlskrona with a C in a mirror monogram.

Since 1988, the placemark can also be used by importers of precious metal products as a complement to their registered name stamp. There are currently 184 established placemarks.

YEAR NAME

The year designation indicates the year of manufacture. In Sweden, since 1754 we have had an unbroken series of year letters, (now year designations) common to the entire country. Previously, there were different year letter series for some cities (e.g. Stockholm from 1689). In 1759, all previous series were discontinued and they started from the beginning again with the letter A. When the entire alphabet (with the exception of J, W, Å, Ä and Ö) was completed in 1782, a 2nd was added behind the letters and after another 24 years a 3rd year was added.

TABLE YEAR NAME SILVER

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
A	1759	1783	1807	1831	1855	1879	1903	1927	1951	1975	1999	2023
B	1760	1784	1808	1832	1856	1880	1904	1928	1952	1976	2000	2024
C	1761	1785	1809	1833	1857	1881	1905	1929	1953	1977	2001	2025
D	1762	1786	1810	1834	1858	1882	1906	1930	1954	1978	2002	2026
E	1763	1787	1811	1835	1859	1883	1907	1931	1955	1979	2003	2027
F	1764	1788	1812	1836	1860	1884	1908	1932	1956	1980	2004	2028
G	1765	1789	1813	1837	1861	1885	1909	1933	1957	1981	2005	2005
H	1766	1790	1814	1838	1862	1886	1910	1934	1958	1982	2006	2030
IN	1767	1791	1815	1839	1863	1887	1911	1935	1959	1983	2007	2031
K	1768	1792	1816	1840	1864	1888	1912	1936	1960	1984	2008	2032
L	1769	1793	1817	1841	1865	1889	1913	1937	1961	1985	2009	2033
M	1770	1794	1818	1842	1866	1890	1914	1938	1962	1986	2010	2034
N	1771	1795	1819	1843	1867	1891	1915	1939	1963	1987	2011	2035
O	1772	1796	1820	1844	1868	1892	1916	1940	1964	1988	2012	2036
P	1773	1797	1821	1845	1869	1893	1917	1941	1965	1989	2013	2037
Q	1774	1798	1822	1846	1870	1894	1918	1942	1966	1990	2014	2038
R	1775	1799	1823	1847	1871	1895	1919	1943	1967	1991	2015	2039
S	1776	1800	1824	1848	1872	1896	1920	1944	1968	1992	2016	2040
T	1777	1801	1825	1849	1873	1897	1921	1945	1969	1993	2017	2041
U	1778	1802	1826	1850	1874	1898	1922	1946	1970	1994	2018	2042
V	1779	1803	1827	1851	1875	1899	1923	1947	1971	1995	2019	2043
X	1780	1804	1828	1852	1876	1900	1924	1948	1972	1996	2020	2044
Y	1781	1805	1829	1853	1877	1901	1925	1949	1973	1997	2021	2045
Z	1782	1806	1830	1854	1878	1902	1926	1950	1974	1998	2022	2046

Since the name stamp can change owners over the years, the year designation serves as a good complement in identifying the manufacturer of a particular work. Since 1988, the year designation has been optional and can also be found on imported works.

Understanding silver hallmarks is an art and a science. By understanding and interpreting these marks, we can appreciate the true value of silver objects. So, the next time you come across a silver hallmark, take a closer look. You may have just found a hidden treasure.