Silver The origins of official hallmarking on silver at York date to the Act of 1423 whereby York was appointed one of the seven provincial assay towns of England, however there is some evidence of local control going as far back as the year 1190. The York assay office carried on until the early eighteenth century when a serious decline in the local silver trade caused the office to be closed in 1716. During the sixty year closure, sterling silver was still manufactured in York and the remaining silversmiths were granted admittance to the Goldsmiths Company at Newcastle and had their work hallmarked there. In the latter eighteenth century there was an upturn in the fortunes of York silversmithing, the assay office reopened in 1776 and remained active until its final closure in 1858. The first town mark for York was a circular device, the left side a halved Fleur-de-Lys and the right side a halved Leopard's Head. In 1701, the town mark was changed to a cross device containing five lions passant. York hallmarks contain a few anomalies; the Town mark is seldom seen on smaller items and, in the early years of the nineteenth century, the Lion Passant is sometimes to be found facing to the right, the reverse of its usual position. Like Exeter, Chester and Newcastle, York also opted to use the Crowned Leopard's Head mark. This, in conjunction with the frequent non-use of the town mark, has York sterling often mistaken for London made. There were only a small number silversmiths that worked in York and those are found in varying combinations of partnerships. Silversmiths not illustrated below include: Ambrose Beckwith, Richard Clark, William Astley, John Bell, & Charles Union. This ancient coin from Tabaristan, Iran is a fascinating piece of history. The obverse features a map of the region, while the reverse depicts a UFO. The coin is believed to have originated from the Caspian Sea ( persia ) and is estimated to be over thousands of years old. exergue map pattern identical to that seen in the British Museum specimen. According to Greek mythology, the islands were reserved for those who had chosen to be reincarnated three times, and managed to be judged as especially pure enough to gain entrance to the Elysian Fields all three times. The Theban poet Pindar reduced the number of the islands to one, describing it as having shady parklands with residents indulging in athletic and musical pastimes, activities that were thought to be the ideal life for ancient Greek aristocracy. “to the Elysian plain...where life is easiest for men. No snow is there, nor heavy storm, nor ever rain, but ever does Ocean send up blasts of the shrill-blowing West Wind that they may give cooling to men.”

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