The letters used are Small Italic. The shields are slightly longer and pointed at bottom. The noticeable letters puzzling to beginners are _b_ (1619), similar to _h_ (1625), _l_ (1628), and _s_ (1635). The _l_ (1628) is similar to the _s_ (1753). LONDON MARKS [Illustration: 1564] [Illustration: 1578] [Illustration: 1606 BEAKER (illustrated p. 121).] [Illustration: 1631 Maker, William Shute.] [Illustration: 1637 CANDLESTICK (illustrated p. 223).] LONDON MARKS THE COURT HAND ALPHABET 1638 to 1657 CHARLES I. AND COMMONWEALTH The next alphabet used at the London Assay Office for annual date letters is of a peculiar type known as the Court Hand. Most of the letters are of a character which has not survived in modern usage and they are of a form dissimilar to any other. This Court Hand was employed from the year 1638 to 1657, that is during the latter half of the reign of Charles I and during the Commonwealth up to 1657. This series of characters was again used from 1696 to 1715, that is to say during six years of the reign of William III, the whole of the reign of Queen Anne, and for the first two years of George I. Two very important periods are thus covered by these two Court Hand alphabets. It should not be difficult to avoid confusing the one period with the other, as there are other factors which determine which is the latter series. The leopard’s head and the lion are, from 1697 to 1720, replaced by the figure of Britannia and the lion’s head erased. The illustration of both series of Court Hand letters on pages 351 and 353 will enable readers to identify them more readily. The examples illustrated on page 365 are, in conjunction with the maker’s mark, the leopard’s head, and the lion passant, for the period 1638 to 1657. A comparison may be made with the later Court Hand characters, where examples will be found illustrated on page 373. [Illustration: ~a~ to ~u~ 1638 to 1657] Among the difficulties presented by this Court Hand, the following letters are likely to give trouble in identification owing to their similarity in shape, which becomes more pronounced when the letters are worn and the details slightly obliterated. The ~a~ (1638) may be mistaken for the ~i~ (1646); the ~b~ (1639) is not unlike the letter ~h~ (1645); and the ~k~ (1647) resembles the letter ~b~ (1639), which with its peculiar form, when worn, is only distinguishable by the bar across the centre. A worn letter ~d~ (1641) is apt to resemble an ~s~ (1655). In examining the letters under a glass, care should be taken to see that they are not upside down, as in some instances they often resemble others. The shape of the shield is usually clearly enough defined to show the pointed base.