The Lion's Head Erased was the standard mark used on English Britannia silver between 1697 and 1720, during the period when the higher Britannia silver standard of 958 parts per thousand was the only legal silver standard in England. The mark depicts a heraldic lion's head with a torn or jagged rather than a clean cut neck line, the heraldic term erased meaning torn off rather than couped or cleanly cut.

Historical context

The Britannia standard was introduced in 1697 by an Act of Parliament that aimed to prevent silversmiths from melting down sterling coinage to make plate. By raising the silver standard to 958 parts per thousand, the legislation made coin silver, at 925, insufficiently fine for use in the marked silver trade and removed the economic incentive to recycle currency into wrought silver. The reform was accompanied by a new set of assay marks: the Britannia figure replaced the Lion Passant as the standard mark, and the Lion's Head Erased replaced the leopard's head as the London assay office town mark. The compulsion remained in place until 1720, when sterling was restored as a permitted alternative standard, and the older marks were resumed.

Use in dating

For the working dealer in English silver the Lion's Head Erased is a useful dating tool. A piece bearing the mark in combination with a Britannia figure can be confidently dated to the 1697 to 1720 window for the original assay; later Britannia silver, made under the optional regime that began in 1720, carries the Lion's Head Erased as well, but the supporting marks (the date letter, in particular) place the piece outside the compulsory period. The combination of mark, date letter and maker's mark allows pieces from this period to be dated within a single assay year.

The Queen Anne silver market

The Britannia silver of the compulsory period coincides with the William and Mary and Queen Anne reigns and with what is broadly recognised as one of the great periods of English silversmithing. The simple, finely proportioned forms of the period - the bullet teapot, the early coffee pot, the simple cup and cover - are particularly associated with this era and with the Britannia standard. Pieces in good condition, bearing complete marks and clearly attributable to the major makers of the period such as Anthony Nelme, Pierre Platel, Paul de Lamerie's earlier output and others, occupy a high tier in the international silver auction market.

Britannia silver after 1720

From 1720 onwards Britannia silver continued as an optional standard, used principally for high-fineness specialty work, presentation pieces, and certain workshop production. The Lion's Head Erased continued to mark London Britannia silver throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and, in modified form, continues today on optional Britannia silver from the London assay office.