A hallmark is the mark an artist stamps into a piece to identify themselves — usually initials, a pictorial symbol, or a clan emblem, found on the back. Alongside it you'll often see a metal mark such as "sterling" or ".925." To read a hallmark, locate it, identify whether it's a maker's mark or a metal mark, and ask the seller to attribute it. Many older pieces are unsigned, so a missing hallmark is not proof of a fake.
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Turn almost any contemporary piece of Native American jewelry over and you'll find small marks pressed into the silver. Learning to read them turns an anonymous object into a documented one — with a maker, a metal, and often a nation attached.
Where to look
Hallmarks are almost always on the back: the inside of a ring shank or bracelet, the reverse of a pendant or concho, the back of an earring. They can be tiny, so good light and a loupe or magnifier help. Some pieces carry one mark; others carry two or three.
If a piece carries several marks, note how they relate. The maker's mark and the metal mark are independent of one another, and an additional shop or guild stamp doesn't diminish the artist's. Photographing the marks under magnification is worthwhile both for your own records and for any future appraisal or insurance claim.
What the marks mean
- Maker's hallmark. The artist's signature in metal — initials, a full name, a pictorial symbol (an animal, a tool, a plant), or a clan emblem. This is the mark that identifies who made the piece.
- Metal mark. "Sterling" or ".925" confirms sterling silver. "Coin" appears on older pieces made from melted coin silver. These describe the metal, not the maker.
- Shop or guild mark. Some pieces also carry a trading post, guild, or workshop stamp in addition to the artist's mark.
Attributing a hallmark
A maker's mark only tells you who made a piece if it can be matched to an artist. Reputable dealers maintain or consult hallmark references and can attribute the marks in their inventory. Published hallmark guides exist as well. When a seller can name the artist behind a stamp, the hallmark becomes real corroboration of authenticity and provenance.
Be aware that hallmarks can themselves be copied. A sought-after artist's mark adds value, which unfortunately gives counterfeiters a reason to forge it. This is why a hallmark is corroboration rather than proof on its own: it carries weight when it sits alongside genuine materials, sound construction, and provenance a seller will guarantee in writing.
What an unsigned piece means
Signing jewelry only became widespread in the mid-twentieth century. A great deal of genuine older work — and some contemporary work — is unsigned. So the absence of a hallmark is not, by itself, evidence of a fake. It simply means authenticity has to rest on other pillars: materials, construction, and documented provenance. This is exactly why a written Certificate of Authenticity matters: it records what a missing stamp cannot.