The sterling silver standard mark guaranteed that the silver content of a piece was at least 92.5 percent. In 1300, this mark was a leopard’s head. In 1478, the head was modified to include a crown. In 1544, during a time of coin debasement under Henry VIII, the mark was changed to a profile of a lion walking left, known as lion passant. This mark was changed again in 1820 to an uncrowned lion head. For a short interim starting in 1697, the crown required silverware to be 95.8 percent pure silver, rather than 92.5 percent. Britannia silver bore the profile of a lion’s head in place of the sterling mark. This higher-quality silver was softer and easier to work with, but the standard was phased out in 1720; even so, the lion’s head was sometimes used in later years to indicate a higher composition of silver than sterling.
