The Hallmarking Act 1973 makes up the bulk of modern law regarding the assaying and

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 a ...

ing of metals in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

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 a ...

ing is a way to guarantee the purity of precious metals. Metals are tested and, if they meet a certain minimal purity requirement, are marked with a specified seal. In the

(UK), this is done by the Assay Offices in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

, and

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. The Act made business transactions involving unmarked metals illegal. Trading Standards departments are responsible for enforcing the Act. Another notable consequence of the Act was the formation of the

British Hallmarking Council The British Hallmarking Council (BHC) is the organisation responsible for supervising hallmarking in the United Kingdom. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The BHC was create ...

(BHC). This council is responsible for advising the Secretary of State in matters of hallmarking, making certain the UK has acceptable hallmarking facilities, and overseeing the Assay Offices so they follow the legal hallmarking standards. The council has made many important contributions concerning UK hallmarking procedures. In 1992, the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

proposed a Directive meant to cover hallmarking. The BHC examined the document and found multiple areas of ambiguity and deficiency. When the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

voted on the Council’s recommendations, many were approved. The Hallmarking Regulations 1998 and The Hallmarking Order 1998 caused the legitimisation of hallmarks of other member states (those countries that ratified the Convention on the Control of Articles of Precious Metals of 1972). The council was responsible for clearing up ambiguous statements in the regulations and for extending its definition to deal with other problems in the hallmarking law. Some of these changes include seven additional standards of fineness, a change in the standard mark, and the dropping of the date requirement on marked metals.

References

* * *{{cite web, url=http://www.britishhallmarkingcouncil.gov.uk/hlaw.htm, title=Hallmarking Law, publisher=British Hallmarking Council, accessdate=27 January 2012, archiveurl=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100406130351/http://www.britishhallmarkingcouncil.gov.uk/hlaw.htm, archivedate=6 April 2010 United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1973