Britannia Silver

Given the recent Royal Wedding I thought I would explain the origins of Britannia silver. This is a silver alloy which has a higher purity than the traditional sterling silver grade and is recognised in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is required to contain a minimum of 95.84% silver, the remainder of the alloy, as with sterling is not restricted.

The Britannia silver standard was introduced by the government of William III in a 1697 Act of Parliament as part of the re-coinage scheme at that time. The intention of the Legislation was to stop the practice of clipping and melting of sterling silver coinage. It was believed that by maintaining a higher purity standard for wrought silver products, there would be less incentive to put the sterling coins of the realm in the melting pot. The new hallmark for this alloy was an icon of the seated Britannia supporting an oval shield compared to the lion passant guardant that denoted the sterling silver standard.

The new Britannia alloy was softer than the sterling silver which it replaced and therefore easier to work with. However its added expense, due to the higher silver content, led to lobbying from silversmiths for the re-introduction of the sterling silver composition with its familiar hallmark which eventually occurred in 1720.

Thereafter Britannia silver has remained an optional standard for silver in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Following the hallmarking changes in January 1999, Britannia silver has been denoted by the millesimal fineness hallmark 958, with the option to also apply the symbol of Britannia.