Dublin's silversmiths are well known for their high standards of workmanship. Dublin's Goldsmiths' company gained its charter in 1638. Under Dublin's new charter, silver was marked with a crowned harp and a maker's mark. From 1730-01, the Hibernia mark was added to show that duty had been paid. In 1807, Hibernia was replaced as a duty mark by the monarch's head (please see my earlier blog about duty marks). However, Hibernia continued as the town mark for Dublin. This gives five marks for Dublin silver until 1890 when the duty mark stopped being used. These are shown in the example below:
The following images show a highly collectible pair of rat tailed Georgian silver ladles by William Cummins (est. £150 - £180). They have an engraved crest of a sitting big cat and were assayed in 1831.
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