Although these letters are so extremely puzzling, especially to beginners, it should be borne in mind in comparison with the similar Court Hand alphabet which was used later from 1696 to 1715, that the date marks are only confirmatory. In the later series there is the difference in the omission of the lion passant and the leopard’s head, replaced by the figure of Britannia and the lion’s head erased. But the character of the silver itself tells its own story in cases where date marks and standard marks happen to be wholly obliterated. A piece of Queen Anne plate differs so essentially in style from a piece of Charles I or Cromwellian that it should be impossible to fall into any error in mistaking the one for the other. [Illustration: 1638 SALT CELLAR (illustrated p. 151).] [Illustration: 1640] [Illustration: 1648 APOSTLE SPOON (illustrated p. 185).] [Illustration: 1653 PORRINGER (illustrated p. 197).] [Illustration: 1654] LONDON MARKS 1658 to 1696 CHARLES II, JAMES II, WILLIAM AND MARY This period covers the late Stuart silver--Charles II, James II, and the major portion of the reign of William III. The period represents a renaissance in the styles, and there is a noticeable rejuvenance in the specimens still preserved. For example, see candlesticks illustrated (page 227). But it must be remembered that during the Charles I period in the days of the Civil War much of the silver was melted down to enable the king to use it in striking the coins of the realm. Similarly in the reign of William III the old silver was called in by the Royal Mint to be melted down to convert into coin of the realm, for reasons which we have explained elsewhere. On account of the depredations of the coin-clippers much of the fine old silver of the reigns of Charles II and James II was destroyed. In consequence, the silver of the reigns of Charles I, Charles II, and James II is of considerable rarity. With the opening of the eighteenth century, or, to be exact, from 1697 to 1720, the Higher Standard was obligatory, and with this departure, and the fashions of Queen Anne, a new period of silver is entered. Collectors are divided into schools according to their predilections. To one, nothing later than Elizabeth offers any interest. To another, early Stuart silver affords charms which no later period can supplant. Again, to others the Queen Anne period is the be-all and end-all of their ambitions in collecting. [Illustration: ~A~ to ~U~ 1658 to 1677] In this alphabet the peculiarities are the letters C (1660) and E (1662), which are only distinguishable from each other by the cross-bar to the letter E. The letter G is an exceptional form (1664), and is shown on the opposite page. O (1671) is also an unusual form. Letters T (1676) and L (1668) are somewhat similar in form, and may easily be mistaken for each other in worn examples. The letter H (1665) is illustrated as the mark on a wine-cup (page 129). [Illustration: ~a~ to ~t~ 1678 to 1696]