Assay offices are institutions set up to assay (test the purity of) precious metals. This is often done to protect consumers from buying fake items. Upon successful completion of an assay (i.e. if the metallurgical content is found be equal or better than that claimed by the maker and it otherwise conforms to the prevailing law) the assay offices typically stamp a hallmark on the item to certify its metallurgical content. Hallmarking first appeared in France, with the Goldsmiths' Statute of 1260 promulgated under Étienne Boileau, Provost of Paris, for King Louis IX.
US Assay Office in St Louis, Missouri authorized
Assay offices are institutions set up to assay (test the purity of) precious metals. This is often done to protect consumers from buying fake items. Upon successful completion of an assay (i.e.
Historical Significance
Assay offices are institutions set up to assay (test the purity of) precious metals.
Events Before
Philosopher John Muir (41) weds Louisa Strentzel
Philosopher John Muir (41) weds Louisa Strentzel
Worcester Ruby Legs pitcher Lee Richmond throws the first perfect game in MLB history in a 1-0 win over the Cleveland Bl
Worcester Ruby Legs pitcher Lee Richmond throws the first perfect game in MLB history in a 1-0 win over the Cleveland Blues at the Agricultural County Fair Grounds in Worcester
First performance of "O Canada," the song that would become the national anthem of Canada, at the Congrès national des C
First performance of "O Canada," the song that would become the national anthem of Canada, at the Congrès national des Canadiens-Français
First Test cricket game in England begins with W. G. Grace scoring 152 on debut against Australia at The Oval
First Test cricket game in England begins with W. G. Grace scoring 152 on debut against Australia at The Oval
Theodore Roosevelt, later 26th US President marries Alice Hathaway Lee, on his 22nd birthday
Theodore Roosevelt, later 26th US President marries Alice Hathaway Lee, on his 22nd birthday
Events After
German scientist Robert Koch discovers and describes the tubercle bacillus, which causes tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tub
German scientist Robert Koch discovers and describes the tubercle bacillus, which causes tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis), establishing germ theory
Actress Sarah Bernhardt marries diplomat Aristide Damala in London
Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas fils, Ruy...
Richard Wagner's opera "Parsifal" premieres in Bayreuth, Germany
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor, best known for his operas, although his mature works are often referred to as music dramas.
US educational pioneer Booker T. Washington (26) weds Fanny Smith
US educational pioneer Booker T. Washington (26) weds Fanny Smith
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" debuts in Moscow
The Year 1812, Solemn Overture, Op. 49, popularly known as the 1812 Overture, is a concert overture in E♭ major written in 1880 by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
More from the 1880s
The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C., to promote "the increase and diffusion of geographic kno
The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C., to promote "the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge" [1]
The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jers
The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey
American painter Thomas Eakins (40) weds American painter and photographer Susan Macdowell (32) in a Quaker ceremony in
American painter Thomas Eakins (40) weds American painter and photographer Susan Macdowell (32) in a Quaker ceremony in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, until his death in 1916
Abolitionist Frederick Douglass marries his second wife suffragist Helen Pitts
Abolitionist Frederick Douglass marries his second wife suffragist Helen Pitts
Frequently Asked Questions
- What happened on February 1, 1881?
- Assay offices are institutions set up to assay (test the purity of) precious metals. This is often done to protect consumers from buying fake items. Upon successful completion of an assay (i.e.
- Why is US Assay Office in St Louis, Missouri authorized significant?
- Assay offices are institutions set up to assay (test the purity of) precious metals.