| From | 1656 to 1675 | inclusive, | Old English capitals. |
| 1676 to 1695 | " | Small Roman letters. | |
| 1696 to 1715 | " | The Court alphabet. | |
| 1716 to 1735 | " | Roman capitals. | |
| 1736 to 1755 | " | Small Roman letters. | |
| 1756 to 1775 | " | Old English capitals. | |
| 1776 to 1795 | " | Small Roman letters. | |
| 1796 to 1815 | " | Roman capitals. | |
| 1816 to 1835 | " | Small Roman letters. | |
| 1836 to 1855 | " | Old English capitals. |
The letter for the present year, 1853, being
.
In this list it will appear difficult, at first sight, in looking at a piece of plate to ascertain its age, to determine whether it was manufactured between the years 1636 and 1655, or between 1696 and 1715, the Court hand being used in both these cycles: but (as will presently be mentioned) instead of the lion passant and leopard's head in the former, we shall find the lion's head erased, and Britannia, denoting the alteration of the standard during the latter period.
The standard of gold, when first introduced into the coinage, was of 24 carats fine; that is, pure gold. Subsequently, it was 23½ and half alloy; this, after an occasional debasement by Henry VIII., was fixed at 22 carats fine and 2 carats alloy by Charles I.; and still continues so, being
called the old standard. In 1798 an act was passed allowing gold articles to be made of a lower or worse standard, viz., of 18 carats of fine gold out of 24; such articles were to be stamped with a crown and the figures 18, instead of the lion passant.
The standard of silver has always (with the exception of about twenty years) been 11 oz. 2 dwts., and 18 dwts. alloy, in the pound: this was termed sterling, but very much debased from the latter end of Henry VIII. to the beginning of Elizabeth's reign. In the reign of William III., 1697, an act was passed to alter the standard of silver to 11 oz. 10 dwts., and 10 dwts. alloy: and instead of the usual marks of the lion and leopard's head, the stamps of this better quality of silver were the figure of a lion's head erased, and the figure of Britannia: and the variable letter denoting the date as before. This act continued in operation for twenty-two years, being repealed in 1719, when the standard was again restored.
A duty of sixpence per ounce was imposed upon plate in 1719, which was taken off again in 1757; in lieu of which, a licence or duty of forty shillings was paid by every vendor of gold or silver. In 1784, a duty of sixpence per ounce was again imposed, and the licence still continued: which in 1797 was increased to one shilling, and in 1815 to eighteenpence—at which it still remains. The payment of this duty is indicated by the stamp of the sovereign's head.
All gold plate, with the exception of watch-cases, pays a duty of seventeen shillings per ounce; and silver plate one shilling and sixpence; watch-cases, chains, and a few other articles being exempted.