thistle is to a degree contemporaneous with the Scottish silversmiths beginning to use the English sterling standard of silver, following the Union of the Scottish and English Parliaments in 1707 when this silver standard would have been applied to Scotland.
This unification of the two Parliaments is not to be confused with the Union of the Scottish and English Crowns in 1603, (when James VI of Scotland became James I of England,) as Scotland retained its own sovereign Parliament for a further 104 years
after that date and Scotland was not therefore subject to English laws. Interestingly however, even after the restoration of the sterling silver standard in 1720, Scottish silversmiths did not make use of the Britannia (or New Sterling) Standard of silver until 1846 when the first Britannia Standard mark was registered in Edinburgh.
Notwithstanding that Scottish silver had been legally marked in a number of locations throughout Scotland, only two major cities had Assay Offices, namely Edinburgh and Glasgow, the latter closing in 1964. Many of the provincial town and Burgh marks are therefore quire rare and are much sought after.
