The Hallmark Society A field guide to antique and vintage jewelry

Hallmarks · By country

Finnish hallmarks

Finland dates its work with a letter and number system similar to Sweden's, and uses the letter H for silver, which is the fastest way to recognise a Finnish piece.

Marking since
1810
Gives a year
Yes

How the system works

A crowned heart shaped national mark, a town mark, a maker's mark, a fineness figure followed by H for hopea, meaning silver, and a date letter.

The marks

MarkWhat it means
Crowned heartThe Finnish national mark.

The standards

Figure or markFineness and use
813HA characteristically Finnish silver standard.
830HThe common Finnish silver standard.
925HSterling.

Dating a finnish piece

By date letter against the Finnish cycle table. As with Sweden, we do not reproduce the table because the cost of a misread letter is a whole cycle.

Where people go wrong

  • 813H is a distinctively Finnish standard and is a strong indicator of origin on its own.
  • Finland was part of the Russian Empire until 1917, and Finnish work of that period can carry Russian marks as well.

Other countries

United Kingdom · Ireland · France · Germany · Denmark · Sweden · Norway · Netherlands · Russia and the Soviet Union · Austria and Hungary · Italy · Switzerland · United States · Mexico · Portugal · Spain · India · China and Hong Kong · Japan · Turkey and the Ottoman Empire · International marks