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Sheffield Assay Office
The Sheffield Assay Office is one of the four remaining assay offices in the United Kingdom, the other three being in London, Birmingham, and Edinburgh. In 1773, Sheffield's silversmiths joined with those of Birmingham to petition Parliament for the establishment of Assay Offices in their respective cities. In spite of determined opposition by London silversmiths, an Act of Parliament was passed in March, just one month after the original petition was presented to Parliament, to allow Birmingham and Sheffield the right to assay silver. The Assay Office was then founded and hallmarked its first piece on 20 September 1773. Lots were drawn to determine which marks the offices would use. Sheffield won and chose the crown, while Birmingham took the anchor. Originally, only silver produced within twenty miles of Sheffield could be marked at the office. From 1784, Sheffield was empowered to keep a register of all maker's marks within one hundred miles, including those of Birmingha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. The metal is found in the Earth's crust in the pure, free elemental form ("native silver"), as an alloy with gold and other metals, and in minerals such as argentite and chlorargyrite. Most silver is produced as a byproduct of copper, gold, lead, and zinc Refining (metallurgy), refining. Silver has long been valued as a precious metal. Silver metal is used in many bullion coins, sometimes bimetallism, alongside gold: while it is more abundant than gold, it is much less abundant as a native metal. Its purity is typically measured on a per-mille basis; a 94%-pure alloy is described as "0.940 fine". As one of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buildings And Structures In Sheffield
Buildings and structures in Sheffield have been constructed over a time-span ranging from the 13th century to the present day. The majority of Sheffield's older buildings were built during the Industrial Revolution, with many medieval buildings demolished in the 19th century; some older buildings were lost during the Sheffield Blitz. Sheffield can only lay claim to five Grade I listed buildings, two of which are in the city centre. The oldest structure is Beauchief Abbey, which dates back to the 12th century and is now a ruin. The oldest complete structure is Sheffield Cathedral, parts of which date back to the 13th century. In relation to height, the Arts Tower was the tallest completed building in Sheffield until the St Pauls tower (City Lofts) project was completed in 2011. History Pre-19th century At the time of the Norman Conquest Sheffield was a small hamlet dominated by a wooden long house occupied by Waltheof, 1st Earl of Northampton, which later became the site of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White Rose Of York
The White Rose of York (Latinised as ''rosa alba'', blazoned as ''a rose argent'') is a white heraldic rose which was adopted in the 14th century as a heraldic badge of the royal House of York. In modern times it is used more broadly as a symbol of the county of Yorkshire. History The symbolism of the white rose has religious connotations as (like the white lily) it represents the purity of the Virgin Mary, one of whose many titles in the Roman Catholic faith is the ''Mystical Rose of Heaven''. In Christian liturgical iconography white is the symbol of light, typifying innocence, purity, joy and glory. The white rose was first adopted as a heraldic badge by Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York (1341–1402), the fourth surviving son of King Edward III of England. One of his elder brothers, John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (1340–1399) adopted a red rose as a heraldic badge, the red rose of Lancaster. Their respective descendants fought for control of the throne of En ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fargate
Fargate is a pedestrian precinct and shopping area in Sheffield, England. It runs between Barker's Pool and High Street opposite the cathedral. It was pedestrianised in 1973. Fargate also holds a Continental Market approximately 4 times a year, which includes European stalls selling cheeses, confectionery, clothing, plants and crafts including jewellery and ornaments. History Joseph Woolhouse, in hisA Description of the Town of Sheffield, written in 1832 while the cholera was raging in Sheffield: More recently, the street was home to Sheffield Assay Office. Coles Corner The corner at bottom end of Fargate (opposite the cathedral) is known locally as Coles Corner. It was a famous meeting point in the city named after the Cole Brothers department store that occupied the building before it moved in 1963 to Barker's Pool. Originally the Albert Hall cinema, which burnt down in 1937, it is now home to a modern building, which currently houses Pret a Manger, Starbucks Coffee, Voda ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maker's Mark
Maker's Mark is a small-batch bourbon whisky produced in Loretto, Kentucky, by Beam Suntory. It is bottled at 90 U.S. proof (45% alcohol by volume) and sold in squarish bottles sealed with red wax. The distillery offers tours, and is part of the American Whiskey Trail and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. History Maker's Mark's origin began when T. William "Bill" Samuels Sr., purchased the "Burks' Distillery" in Loretto, Kentucky, for $35,000Samuels To Step Down As Maker's Mark President , Bruce Schreiner, Associated Press, 12 January 2011. on October 1, 1953. Production began in 1954, and the first run was bottled in 1958 under the brand's dipped red wax seal (U.S. trademark serial numb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα (ankȳra). Anchors can either be temporary or permanent. Permanent anchors are used in the creation of a mooring, and are rarely moved; a specialist service is normally needed to move or maintain them. Vessels carry one or more temporary anchors, which may be of different designs and weights. A sea anchor is a drag device, not in contact with the seabed, used to minimise drift of a vessel relative to the water. A drogue is a drag device used to slow or help steer a vessel running before a storm in a following or overtaking sea, or when crossing a bar in a breaking sea.. Overview Anchors achieve holding power either by "hooking" into the seabed, or mass, or a combination of the two. Permanent moorings use large masses (common ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crown (headgear)
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, particularly in Commonwealth countries, as an abstract name for the monarchy itself, as distinct from the individual who inhabits it (that is, ''The Crown''). A specific type of crown (or coronet for lower ranks of peerage) is employed in heraldry under strict rules. Indeed, some monarchies never had a physical crown, just a heraldic representation, as in the constitutional kingdom of Belgium, where no coronation ever took place; the royal installation is done by a solemn oath in parliament, wearing a military uniform: the King is not acknowledged as by divine right, but assumes the only hereditary public office in the service of the law; so he in turn will swear in all members of "his" federal government''. Variations * Costume headgear imitati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hallmark
A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term ''hallmark'' can also be used to refer to any distinguishing mark. General overview Historically, hallmarks were applied by a trusted party: the "guardians of the craft" or, more recently, by an assay office. Hallmarks are a guarantee of certain purity or fineness of the metal, as determined by official metal (assay) testing. Distinguishment Hallmarks are often confused with "trademarks" or "maker's marks". A hallmark is not the mark of a manufacturer to distinguish their products from other manufacturers' products: that is the function of trademarks or makers' marks. To be a true hallmark, it must be the guarantee of an independent body or authority that the contents are as marked. Thus, a stamp of "925" by itself is not, strictly speaking, a hallmark, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Assay
An assay is an investigative (analytic) procedure in laboratory medicine, mining, pharmacology, environmental biology and molecular biology for qualitatively assessing or quantitatively measuring the presence, amount, or functional activity of a target entity. The measured entity is often called the analyte, the measurand, or the target of the assay. The analyte can be a drug, biochemical substance, chemical element or compound, or cell in an organism or organic sample. An assay usually aims to measure an analyte's intensive property and express it in the relevant measurement unit (e.g. molarity, density, functional activity in enzyme international units, degree of effect in comparison to a standard, etc.). If the assay involves exogenous reactants (the reagents), then their quantities are kept fixed (or in excess) so that the quantity and quality of the target are the only limiting factors. The difference in the assay outcome is used to deduce the unknown quality or quantity o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Assay Office
Assay offices are institutions set up to Metallurgical assay, assay (test the purity of) precious metals. This is often done to protect consumers from buying fake items. Upon successful completion of an assay (i.e. if the metallurgical content is found be equal or better than that claimed by the maker and it otherwise conforms to the prevailing law) the assay offices typically stamp a hallmark on the item to certify its metallurgical content. Hallmarking first appeared in France, with the Goldsmiths' Statute of 1260 promulgated under Étienne Boileau, Provost of Paris, for Louis IX of France, King Louis IX. US assay offices Title 15, Chapter 8, Section 291 of the United States Code makes it unlawful to stamp goods in the United States with "United States Metallurgical assay, assay" or any similar stamp which gives the impression that the item has been officially assayed by the United States government. General overview and function of U.S. assay offices Assay offices did and do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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