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The total number of pieces hallmarked during January 2021 plummeted 45.5% against last year, according to the latest figures from the Birmingham Assay office.
Total hallmarked pieces fell from 685,768 in January 2020 down to 373,720, with the rate of decline significantly lower than figures recorded in December 2020, when hallmarking was down by only 12.1%.
Gold hallmarked pieces decreased 40.9%, from 285,647 to 168,815. December saw gold hallmarked pieces slip by only 4.7%, however.
Silver hallmarked pieces tumbled 48.8%, from 372,034 pieces in January 2020 to 190,522 pieces last month, while platinum hallmarking slumped by 12,920 pieces to 13,874 items hallmarked, a decline of 48.2%.
Palladium hallmarking suffered the biggest decline over the month, with the number of pieces hallmarked plummeting 60.6% from 1,293 last year to 509 in January 2021. This marked an improvement on December’s decline, however, where palladium hallmarking was down 86.5% to 124 pieces.
