PEWTER COLLECTIBLES for Thimbles, Tankards, Chatelaines & trinket boxes

TOUCHMARKS

Touchmarks

By Act of Parliament in 1503 all pewter manufacturers were required to strike their maker's mark on their wares. This was to enable identification to be made when checks were carried out at local fairs, London pewterers recorded their marks on thick flat plates kept at Pewterers Hall, where they can still be seen to this day.

Today Wentworth Pewter has its own five part touchmark which can be found on almost all products manufactured.

1) ARW - the initials of our company

2) 92 or 95 - denoting the percentage of tin in the metal

3) ABPC or Seahorse - shows membership of the Association of British Pewter Craftsmen, the seahorse is applied to pieces of a superior weight

4) Crossed Arrows - part of the City of Sheffield Coat of Arms

5) EPU 301 - our membership mark of the recently created European Pewter Union

It is not practical to place touchmarks on small items such as thimbles, but the quality of the pewter and the craftsmanship is of the same high standard.

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