[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Dram, it may be possible that the metal is Britannia Silver which is (as I recall) and alloy of silver (95%) and copper (5%), which would explain the absence of the lion hallmark which is only stamped on goods made of sterling silver.

[Dram]

Originally Posted by MacMillan of Rathdown

Dram, it may be possible that the metal is Britannia Silver which is (as I recall) and alloy of silver (95%) and copper (5%), which would explain the absence of the lion hallmark which is only stamped on goods made of sterling silver.

Thanks Scott.

I think you may be correct. I thought about that after I read that the mark (at least in Glasgow) for Britannia was optional.

The thistle, (sterling) wasn't used until 1914, and this being marked 1913 explains the absence of that mark. Of course if it is Britannia, as you mentioned it wouldn't have any marks for sterling.

Just to clarify, the letter date on this is a "Q".

[Jock Scot]

Yes quite right, my mistake, it is a "Q"(1913).The fact that there is not a mark on the belt hanging bit troubles me, not sure why, but I think I would expect some sort of stamp on it, even if it was just a makers stamp. I also agree that one of those very worn hallmarks in your later pictures could well be a lion, which is good news.

[Dram]

Originally Posted by Jock Scot

Yes quite right, my mistake, it is a "Q"(1913).The fact that there is not a mark on the belt hanging bit troubles me, not sure why, but I think I would expect some sort of stamp on it, even if it was just a makers stamp. I also agree that one of those very worn hallmarks in your later pictures could well be a lion, which is good news.

I know what you're saying Jock about the belt bit. MoR suggested, and I agree with him that the "chains"/frog are most likely German or nickle silver. I was really hoping, for obvious reasons, that the links would be sterling.

The links are very, very heavy, and in my opinion too heavy to be made from sterling. They have also tarnished slightly different than all of the other metal parts of the dirk. It's a slight difference, but I can see it. I think this makes MoR's suspicions correct. I polished part of one and it actually looked quite nice.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Nickle is very susceptible to atmospheric tarnish, much more so than silver. A few years ago I was on vintage car tour in Europe when we were caught in a rain storm that turned the nickle radiators of some of the cars a bright orange! With some judicious polishing the hangers on your dirk should glow like silver... just avoid being caught out in the acid rains of Northern Italy!