How ‘duty dodgers’ can pay their way at auction today
The term ‘duty dodgers’ is applied to pieces that were not sent for assay during the period 1720-58 when a steep tax was placed on silver. Silversmiths had a variety of methods of escaping this tax – including transposing marks from small articles to large or overstriking marks from older pieces.
In today’s market these pieces are illegal to sell unless submitted to the Antique Plate Committee…