<p>
	The first mark on French silver concerned the town of the products origin, a complicated process as each town had its own symbol. &nbsp;Silversmiths personal marks developped in Paris in the 14th C and spread to the rest of France. Letter dates were introduced in 1460 and in 1543 the countermark became the first mark to guarantee the quality of the silver in a piece. &nbsp;In the 17th and 18th C , &nbsp;Louis XIV and Louis XV ordered that silver be melted down to pay for the various wars of the time (including the silver furniture of Versailles). &nbsp;Hence little silver of this period remains.<br />
	The French Revolution of 1789 also demanded the melting of silver and &nbsp;suppressed the guilds which had always ensured high quality.</p>