Pseudo-hallmarks

When brand new and highly polished, pewter looks very much like silver, and many pewterers stamped pseudo-hallmarks on their wares to mimic the hallmarks on silver. Whilst hallmarks on pewter can help identify the pewterer, they have no “official” significance, unlike hallmarks on silver. There are normally four hallmarks, but pewterers from Wigan often used five, whilst very occasionally other pewterers used just three. The hallmarks often include the pewterer’s initials. Sometimes all four hallmarks are the same.