Help to identify hallmarks on a Victorian(?) gold ring

[Gennaro]

To anyone can help me identify hallmarks on a ring I purchased from a seller who told me it is from Victorian age.

The ring has inside the hallmarks  you can see in the attached images:  

Searching on the web, I think I understood that the Crown and the Number 18 should stand for 18 carats gold.

While the 3^rd mark should refer to the assay office, but I’m not able to understand what it represents and to what assay office it belongs. Can you give me any indication on this?

The 4th mark, the letter T, I think it refers to the year.

Then there is a 5^th mark JH which I’ve no idea what it refers to.

I’ll be grateful to anyone can help me with the identification of these hallmarks and I thank you in advance for your attention.

Gennaro

[sixgun]

The leopard is the London mark - the 18 is 18 ct - the T looks like 1894
The JH - this is the maker's mark - there are a number of JH's - it could be this JH who is John Hawley & Son of Cow Lane, Coventry. They were registered in 1887 so it could be them. i don't feel especially confident about the maker but it looks right.

[Gennaro]

Thank you very much for your answer, sixgun.

I was not really sure about the London mark, due to lacking of any detail in the leopard, but effectively the shape matches.

Also the year you mention is compatible with the one the seller told me (1860 -1870's).

Can you suggest me any link or other source were I can learn more about these hallmarks?

Thanks again and have a great weekend.

Gennaro

 

[Subspecies]

I can't answer the question but don't think it's London 1894 as the T is in a different  "frame". Ones a shield the other an octagon. Interesting thread though and I'm sure someone will be along shortly to solve this. Also not sure about the makers mark but would have thought a Coventry goldsmith would have got it hallmarked in Birmingham?

[Mobius]

@Subspecies the date is definately 1894, you're looking at silver marks and these are gold marks. The date letter cartouche (the box that the letter is in) can be a different shape for gold.

I think @sixgun could be right about the JH being John Hawley, it's the best match I can find as well (but I'm not 100% sure) and although he was from Coventry, his mark was registered at the London assay office. 

 

Edited April 15, 2023 by Mobius

[sixgun]

4 hours ago, Subspecies said:

I can't answer the question but don't think it's London 1894 as the T is in a different  "frame". Ones a shield the other an octagon. Interesting thread though and I'm sure someone will be along shortly to solve this. Also not sure about the makers mark but would have thought a Coventry goldsmith would have got it hallmarked in Birmingham?

The 'frame' you mention not being right - the surrond for gold marks is a square with chamferred corners for all years for all assay offices in England. It isn't like silver which is different shapes for different letter series. i don't remember exactly how long this has been the case for gold but i do remember it has been way back into Queen Victoria's reign. It is confusing when we are much more familiar with silver marks. Look at all the gold marks - all of them are squares with chamferred corners - all years and all assay offices in England.

This Coventry maker had his mark registered in London. Perhaps he got a better deal, perhaps he thought it carried more weight, perhaps he was selling product in the London area - whatever he had his mark registered in London.

Edited April 15, 2023 by sixgun

[sixgun]

7 hours ago, Gennaro said:

Thank you very much for your answer, sixgun.

I was not really sure about the London mark, due to lacking of any detail in the leopard, but effectively the shape matches.

Also the year you mention is compatible with the one the seller told me (1860 -1870's).

Can you suggest me any link or other source were I can learn more about these hallmarks?

Thanks again and have a great weekend.

Gennaro

 

https://www.silvercollection.it/dictionarydecryptingUKsterlingmarks.html is a good source - mainly for silver.
Sources of information for gold are fewer but it is possible to work things out.
Google silver hallmarks UK or gold hallmarks UK - you can also google London hallmarks, Birmingham hallmarks, Sheffield...... and so on for the different assay offices.
With silver there are letter series for runs of years - the letter shapes are a different font for each series. The shape in which the hallmarks are set differ between the letter series. This makes it easier to identify the year - you have two things to match up to be sure you have the right year.
Since early in the reign of Queen Victoria all gold marks in England have been inside a square with chamferred corners - this shape does not change between the letter series of the English assay offices (Edinburgh has a slightly different shape). The letters are the same font between gold and silver but the surrounds usually do not match because silver changes with each letter series. So with gold you have to look very closely at the letter font to work out the actual year.  
The hallmarking system in Britain is superb - the most comprehensive in the world - except i think they should have different surrounds for gold hallmarks.

Edited April 15, 2023 by sixgun

[Gennaro]

Really amazing how the system allows such a precise identification.

Thank you all for providing so many interesting information.

 

[Subspecies]

Sixgun and Mobius thanks for putting the record straight. No wonder I couldn't find it in a silver hallmark book but assumed they would be the same 🙃

[SidS]

Gold can be very annoying to pin down.

Silver will invariably have a full set: city, date, maker's mark, sterling mark, and depending on the period, the duty mark as well.

Silver Albert chains for example will have links marked with the sterling mark and the other marks on the clasps or T-bar.

Gold Albert chains might simply be stamped 9ct and a city mark, and that's you're lot.

Infuriating to date.