Updated
A walking lion, called the lion passant, is the traditional British mark for sterling silver, 92.5% pure. In a UK hallmark it sits beside the sponsor's mark and an assay office mark.
The lion passant walks on all fours. Items hallmarked in Edinburgh carry a lion rampant, standing on its hind legs, instead. Under current UK law the lion passant can also appear on 958 Britannia silver and 999 fine silver, beside that number.
Traditional symbols became optional on 1 January 1999. Newer sterling may show only 925 in its shield, with the sponsor's mark and an assay office mark. That is still a full UK hallmark.
A lion passant inside a full hallmark means an assay office tested the silver. Silver-plated items sometimes carry small marks made to look like hallmarks, so check for the full set: a sponsor's mark, a fineness or lion mark and an assay office mark. EP and EPNS mean silver plate.
Melt value = weight in grams × purity × spot price per gram
Spot prices are quoted per troy ounce, and a troy ounce is 31.1035 grams. Silver spot is $51.62, so pure silver is $1.66 a gram.
20 grams of sterling silver: 20 × 0.925 × $1.66 = $30.71
Values are in US dollars. Melt values as of 2026-11-09, from spot prices of gold $4,055.57, silver $51.62 and platinum $1,533.98 per troy ounce.
Photograph it, then take a close-up of the stamp. GemstoneAI uses a legible stamp for the metal and gives a first read on what you have and what it may be worth. Your first scan is free.
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Sources: Hallmarking Act 1973, Schedule 2 and the British Hallmarking Council's hallmarking guidance notes.
A lion passant in a full UK hallmark means sterling silver, 92.5% pure, tested by an assay office. Look for the sponsor's mark and an assay office mark beside it.
About $1.54 per gram at melt today, in US dollars.