80 
London office does about ten times as much as any other, the 
Sheffield is second in silver, the Birmingham in gold ; the smaller 
offices have always had a very precarious existence. 
With regard to gold wares, the difference from silver is in the 
standard-mark, which, instead of a lion for England, is a crown, 
to which is added figures denoting in carats the proportion of 
pure gold in the article. There is the leopard’s head too, but 
discrowned by George III., and for Birmingham, or other pro- 
vincial office, its own mark. The scheme is that absolutely pure 
gold is called twenty-four carats fine, and every part of alloy, that 
is of baser dilution, brings down that number. You often hear 
‘ef the best gold ware that it is twenty-two carat gold, that means 
that twenty-two parts out of twenty-four, or eleven twelfths are pure 
gold. A very common figure is the crown and 18, in one stamp 
or two, this indicates three parts of pure gold and one fourth of 
alloy, usually of silver or copper according to the colour desired. 
Be never deceived by the colour of gold ; articles, even sovereigns, 
are, after completion, dipped in acid, by which the alloy is melted 
out and a face of gold, pure but as thin as gold leaf, is left 
wherever the eye can reach. And be not deceived by the 
standard crown, for this is now by modern statute so degraded 
that it may be impressed on any rubbish that may come within 
the term gold of eight carats, that is, a mixture containing eight 
twenty-fourths or one-third of gold. Those who have caught my 
meaning will know that neither colour nor crown will afford 
protection to a buyer; he must read the figure and remember 
that twenty-four is the fixed number, and that the figure im- 
pressed represents the proportion of pure gold in twenty-fourths. 
The low number or qualities are all modern. In 1798 the only 
quality marked with the crown was 18 ; in 1845 the crown with 
22 was introduced, and the rest later. As to articles of less than 
eight carats, it is a fraud to call them gold at all ; they carry not 
even the crown, and yet in this wicked generation nine-tenths of 
the gold jewellery or trinketry is of this base quality.’ 
