In this last period of all it will be observed that the shields of the date letter and the leopard’s head both change their shapes, and have three lobes. [Illustration: 1835 Maker, William Eames.] [Illustration: 1845 Maker, R. Garrard.] [Illustration: 1873] [Illustration: 1891 Maker, S. C. Harris.] [Illustration: 1915] FOOTNOTES: [5] These and subsequent alphabets follow entries in the minutes of the Goldsmiths’ Company, and were verified from pieces of plate by Mr. Octavius Morgan. (See p. 38.) [6] These letters have been verified by me from pieces of old silver.--A. H. [7] _The Position of Marks._ Marks are not placed on old silver in a straight line. They are shown in this manner in this volume for convenience, and are the author’s own arrangement. They are in practice irregularly stamped, sometimes in a circle and sometimes upside down. It must be borne in mind that the maker put his mark on first prior to sending the piece to the Assay Office. The remaining marks were stamped thereon under the direction of the Wardens. Although the maker’s mark was stamped first, some of the other marks were often placed on each side of it. IV EXAMPLES OF PROVINCIAL MARKS EXETER CHESTER NORWICH YORK NEWCASTLE BIRMINGHAM SHEFFIELD PROVINCIAL MARKS EXETER Although the records show that Exeter was among the Assay Offices appointed in 1700 by 12 and 13 William, _cap._ 3 and 4, it is evident that silver was assayed here by the city guild of goldsmiths, as some of the marks found on old silver, indubitably of Exeter origin, belong to the sixteenth century. We are enabled, by the kindness of Mr. J. H. Ellett Lake of Exeter, to give a very representative selection of Exeter marks, and, in addition, to give illustrations of the pieces themselves in this volume. It will be seen that the earlier marks date from 1572, and the X surmounted by a crown was the city or hall-mark up to a period as late as 1640. In the early eighteenth century, subsequent to the Act of William III, the hall-mark becomes a castle with the shield divided by a vertical line. In 1773 a Report was made by a Committee of the House of Commons, who held an inquiry and took evidence as to the manner of conducting the Assay Offices in London, York, Exeter, Bristol, Chester, Norwich, and Newcastle. The Assay Master at Exeter, in describing the method employed at his office, stated that the hall-mark was a castle, and the date letter for 1772 was Z, in Roman character, and that A was to be the letter for the next year, and that the whole alphabet was gone through. But J, apparently, was never used at Exeter, and in later alphabets no letter after U was used, e.g. A to U (1797 to 1816), etc. EXETER MARKS It is not possible in a volume of this size to give all the date letters of provincial offices, but the following may be of use as indicating the letters used at Exeter:--