Identifying Hallmarks on Vintage Mexican Sterling Silver Jewelry

If you are in the market for vintage Mexican silver jewelry, knowing how to decipher the hallmarks will give you valuable information about an item's heritage. A hallmark is a stamp on the underside of a piece of jewelry that tells you its age, the location where it was made, the purity of the silver and the identity of the silversmith.

Identification

Prior to 1948, Mexican silver hallmarks were fairly straightforward. These hallmarks would indicate the purity of the silver, followed by the place of origin. For example, "925, Mexico City."
On jewelry made between 1948 and 1980, a stamp in the shape of an eagle was used. A number on the eagle's chest would indicate either the place of origin or the maker. Unfortunately, the eagle system was not reliable due to many variations and exceptions.
In 1980, a system was put in place to register silversmiths. In addition to the purity mark, these marks include two letters followed by a dash and a number. The first letter indicates the city and the second letter stands for the first letter of the silversmith's last name. The number following the dash indicates the registration number of the silversmith, making it easy to find out who they are.
For example, a piece marked "TP-35" might have originated in Taxco, by a silversmith named Perez, who was the thirty-fifth smith to be registered at the assay office under the initial "P" in Taxco.
The most popular cities for silver jewelry are Taxco, Mexico City, Guadalajara and Cuernavaca, and their corresponding letter marks are T, M, G and C.
While there is no concrete way to find out the identity of the silversmith, knowing how the hallmarks have changed over the years will help you identify the approximate age of the piece as well as the city of origin. The purity of the silver has always had the same format and is also easily identifiable.