Modern UK Silver Hallmarks in Current Use

There are several ebay guides about old silver hallmarks, but little about hallmarks currently in use so I thought I'd fill the gap...

UK hallmarks are assigned by the Assay Offices, of which there are currently four: London, Sheffield, Birmingham and Edinburgh. Modifications to the 1973 Hallmarking Act in 1999 changed the way articles made of precious metals are hallmarked. The UK hallmark now comprises a minimum of three compulsory symbols: a makers (or sponsors) mark; a purity mark; and the assay office mark.

The compulsory Assay Office marks appear as follows:

London: A leopard's head

Sheffield: A rose

Birmingham: An anchor

Edinburgh: A castle with 3 turrets

The compulsory purity marks appear as follows:

An oval disc with one of the following numbers inside:

800 for 80% silver content (often called Continental Silver)

925 for 92.5% silver content (often called Sterling Silver)

958 for 95.8% silver content (often called Britannia Silver)

999 for 99.9% silver content (often called Fine Silver)

The compulsory maker's or sponsor's mark vary and appear as one more letters within a shield.

There are other marks (known as Voluntary Marks) that can be applied to the item. The following list explains some of them:

Date mark: Curently a single letter within an octagonal shape. The letter for 2007 is a lower-case 'h'

Common Control Mark: A set of scales with a purity number (eg 925) set in the middle. This is an international mark.

Commemorative Marks: These vary, depending on the occasion (eg Queen's Head for her Golden Jubilee)

Hope this was helpful! If so, please vote below!

Fake Shure SM57

Here are some tips to prevent you buying a fake Shure SM57.

Firstly, the mic should weigh 284g. The one I had weighed 240g.

Secondly, if you have a multi-meter check the resistancebetween pins 2 and 3. It should be no more than 400 ohms. The fake tested came in at 553 ohms.

If you are in any doubt, you can contact

Phil Spurling,Technical Support ManagerShure Distribution UK167-171 Willoughby LaneLondon N17 0SBTel: 020 8808 2222

Buying a Yamaha xs650

The Yamaha xs650 first appeared in the early 70s as the xs1-xs2.and was yamahas first serious attempt at a four stroke bike.Bieng a 650 it was firml aimed at the british market sector ,its main target bieng the triumph bonneville,the enging,although an overhead cam unit,looks at first sight like a pushrod motor,a piece of clever design..these units have gained a reputation as bieng nearly indestructable provided they are sensibly maintained.the bottom end has enormous ball roller main bearings that are larger than needed,and the cam runs in a pair of ball rollers either side.

The late Tony Hall of Halco tuning offered several overbore kits for these motors 840cc.the most common to 1100cc developed by him from drag racing experience with these bikes. so the motor is a fair bet

Because these engines are all alloy witth big bearings they do clatter a bit until they warm up ,anyone selling one who claims they have a quiet one is either deaf or lying.

Bad bits.the generators on these can destroy the rotor windings,usually caused by overrevving the motor a lot.once this happens the battery dies and so does the motor.the rotors can be rewound but it aint cheap!..Oil filters..The xs has 2 one in the right side of the engine ,wash it out,no problem and one in the sump wash it out....and the micro fine gauze splits ..DOH!! hard to get (especially since the death of Tony Hall

BEWARE OF LATEST CLASSIFIED AD SCAM ON EBAY MOTORS!!

Buyer beware - luxury cars at low price scam!!

Since Feburary 2008 I have noticed some seemingly great bargains on ebay motors. The cars are usually highly in demand or the most desirable mid-range luxury cars deliberately tempting even the most experienced ebayer.

Typical cars are Audi TT/RS range, BMW M3,new shapeBMW 3 series conv, Mini Cooper Works, Range Rover Sport, latest Merc C class, SLK, CLS, Lotus Elise, VW Golf R32, anything convertibleand many many others. They are advertised with a low 'Buy it Now' or more lately a classified ad format of usually between 6500 to 12000 dependant on model. Usually 25% of the true retail value so you can see how tempted you might be (and I was!)

As with other similar guides published here - the seller normally CLONES a real e-bayer to appear legit (I think they have software to guess your password) In most cases they state that "My ebay contact the seller facility is full so please contact me attheir stated gmail or yahoo or bt email address" and similar. They are increasingly insistant (almost rude) on the listing that if you don't contact them prior to bidding your offer will be cancelled. In ALL cases the adveryised price is too good to be true and usually (but not always) is quoted as X,000 gbp - a clue of the seller's not in the UK.

First mayI say DO NOT contact them directlyto their stated personal email address! My Norton 360 virus software blocks when I tried so heavens knows what you might be committing to just by sending an e-mail! When I have entered into dialogue (via the safe 'contact seller' way although I made sure I ticked the box to hide my e-mail address) you get spun the usual lies like:

"The car is in Spain/Portugal/Germany and a RHD car has no value here (boll*cks!) They say theyneed the cash for house purchase/wedding/divorce....or all three!" They want a deposit via Moneygram or Western Union and they say "the whole transaction will be through e-bay for your protection" (yeah, right) "car will be shipped to England and can pay balance on delivery" (yeah, right)

The daft tw*ts have used 'library' publicity photos of the car model over

Service light reset on Volkswagen inc GOLF etc

There's no great ''trade secret'' as to how to reset the service indicator lamp on most VW's, simply refer to pages in the Owner's Handbook!

For reference of those interested in such matters, but who might not have access to an owner's manual, this is the procedure to follow:

Note: the Service Reminder Indicator displays 3 messages: OEL, IN 01, and IN 02. These display to alert the driver to follow the items listed under the manufacturer's service interval.

To reset the message displays, turn the ignition switch on. Press and hold the odometer reset button "A" located below the speedometer. Turn off the ignition while holding the button. "OEL" will display on the indicator. Press and hold the lower digital clock reset button "B" until five dashes appear in the display. If needed, press the odometer reset button until "IN 01" appears and then press the clock reset button until five dashes appear. If needed, press the odometer reset button until "IN 02" is displayed and then press the clock reset button until five dashes appear.

To exit reset mode, turn the ignition switch on and when "IN 01" appears, turn the ignition switch off.

On sum golfs you have to turn the milage odometer

To the best of my knowledge, the above service light reset procedure applicable to most Volkswagens

HOPE THIS SAVES YOU PAYING FOR INFORMATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;-)

AUTH Juicy Couture Bag!! I`ll help u decide!!(Updated)

A large number of Juicy Couture bags

Dont Buy Killers Tickets

Buyers beware!!

Carling are working hard to Cancel all tickets being resold on Ebay.

They have already cancelled some which were bought at the box office this morning and then posted on Ebay.

If you turn up with a resold ticket they will refuse you entry-they have scanners in place to do this.