Hallmarking slightly improves in October

The total number of pieces hallmarked in October 2020 fell by 17.5% compared with the same month last year, according to the latest figures from the Birmingham Assay office.

This marked a total improvement against September’s figures, where total hallmarking was down by 19.5% against the prior year. 

Gold hallmarked pieces decreased by 18.3% in October, falling from 505,103 to 412,761, whilst silver items decreased 16.8% from 470,414 to 391,565.

This marked a slight improvement from September’s figures, where gold and silver hallmarking were down by 17.2% and 24.1%, respectively. 

Platinum hallmarking was also down against the year before, falling from 35,026 hallmarked pieces to 30,337, marking a decline of 13.4%. 

Nonetheless, palladium hallmarking plummeted 76.1% in October, falling from 1,616 to 386 pieces, though this was again an improvement against the 83% decline reported in September. 

Overall hallmarking fell from 1,012,159 pieces to 835,049 pieces.