Britannia Silver

Britannia Silver is the term used for an alloy of silver containing 95.84% silver with the rest usually being copper.

The Britannia Silver standard was introduced by an Act of Parliament in 1697 to replace sterling silver (92.5% silver) as the legal standard for ‘wrought plate’. It was part of a drive to improve the coinage of the time which has become debased through various malpractices such as coin ‘clipping’ and the melting of sterling silver coins to make other items. It was thought that the higher level of silver content needed for silver plate would stop people melting down the newly minted silver coins.

The new mark for the standard was ‘the figure of a woman commonly called Britannia’ with a ‘lion’s head erased’ replacing the leopard’s head hallmark of the Goldsmiths Company.

The new alloy was much softer than sterling silver and more difficult to work with, so after complaints from the trade, sterling silver was again approved for silverplate work from 1st June 1720. Britannia silver remained an optional standard for silversmiths and since the hallmark changes in 1999 is denoted by millesimal fineness hallmark 958 with the Britannia symbol being optional.

In 1998 the Royal Mint issued silver bullion coins known as ‘Britannias’ due to the image on the reverse side and these are minted in Britannia standard silver.