Sterling Silver Sugar Tongs by Hester Bateman (No Date)

• Date Letter on Silver - A date letter is a letter or symbol that is used to mark silver and other precious metals to indicate the year in which the piece was made. The date letter system is used by the British hallmarking system and it is a way to verify that a piece of silver is genuine and has been assayed (tested) by an official assay office.
  
  The date letter system has been in use since the 14th century and it changes every year, so it is possible to identify the year in which a piece of silver was made by looking at the date letter. The date letter is usually stamped alongside other hallmarks such as the maker's mark, and the standard mark (indicating the fineness of the metal) on the silver piece. The style of the letters varies depending on the assay office, and the style of the lettering also changes over time. The date letter is usually placed inside a shield shape, sometimes accompanied by other symbols.
  
  The date letter system is not used in all countries, so if a piece of silver does not have a date letter, it does not necessarily mean it is not authentic. The date letter system is not always used for small or insignificant silver items.
• Sterling Silver - Sterling silver is a mixture of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% of another metal, usually copper. Fine silver is 99.9% pure silver, and is relatively soft and the addition of the very small amount of copper gives the metal enough strength and hardness to be worked into jewellery, decorative and household objects.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• Bateman, Hester (London) - silver, maker or retailer 144
• sugar tongs and nips - silver items 369