London silver hallmarks, 2016

Silver assayed in London in 2016 carries the date letter r, alongside the marks below.

Town mark Leopard's head Assayed in London
Standard mark Lion passant Sterling silver, 925 parts per thousand
r
Date letter Date letter r Assayed in 2016 Roman lower case

Reading it

The leopard's head places the piece at London. That mark alone rules out every other office in Britain, which is why it is worth finding first.

From 1975 the date letter is common to every British assay office, so the same letter in the same year appears beside a leopard’s head, an anchor and a rose alike.

A maker’s mark — initials in a shaped punch — sits alongside these and is the one mark this tool cannot help with: there are tens of thousands, and identifying one means a register rather than a rule.

The same year at the other offices, 2016

If you can read the letter but not the town mark, compare it against these. The letterform and the shape of the shield are what separate one office from another.