JAC
- Maker
- Jorge Castañeda attributed, not confirmed
- Struck in
- Taxco, Mexico attributed, not confirmed
- In use
- 1948–1980 attributed, not confirmed
- Recorded on
- 1 piece
The "JAC" hallmark is a maker's stamp found on mid-century Mexican sterling silver, most frequently attributed to the Taxco silversmith Jorge Castañeda. Jewelry bearing this stamp typically reflects the modernist and sculptural design traditions of Taxco's mid-twentieth-century silver renaissance.
The mark is stamped in simple, unserifed block letters. On authentic pieces, it is commonly accompanied by an origin stamp ("MEXICO"), a purity mark ("925" or "STERLING"), and often the Mexican "Eagle" assay mark—particularly Eagle 3, which was designated for workshops in Taxco between approximately 1948 and 1980.
When inspecting the inside of a band or the back of a piece, note that strikes on curved silver surfaces can be uneven; the central crossbar of the "A" may appear faint or partially filled. It should not be confused with later Mexican registration marks implemented around 1979–1980 (which follow a two-letter and number format such as "JC" or "TC"), nor with Southwestern Native American silversmiths using identical initials.
Available now with this mark
If your piece also carries a Mexican assay mark, here is how to date it
Mexico ran two systems and which one a piece carries is itself a date. An eagle's head in profile with a number inside it was compulsory from 1948 and discontinued in 1979, so an eagle puts the piece inside that span. The eagle was drawn in outline until about 1955 and as a solid silhouette after, which narrows it further.
From 1979 the eagle was replaced by a letter-letter-number registry mark that is still in use — TL-67, TF-24. The first letter is the town: T for Taxco, M for Mexico City, G for Guadalajara, C for Cuernavaca. The second is the first letter of the silversmith's surname, and the number is their place in that town's register.
The number does not name the maker on its own. Matching a registration to a person takes the register, and collectors have spent decades doing it one entry at a time. Where we cannot say whose it is, this index says so rather than guessing.
| Struck | Means |
|---|---|
| An eagle mark, any number | 1948–1979 |
| TL-67 | After 1979; Taxco, surname beginning L |
What this entry is based on
- one piece carrying this mark, handled and photographed by this shop Written with the piece in hand. No published hallmark reference covers most of these marks.
Nothing outside this shop has been checked for this mark yet. What is above comes from the pieces themselves and from what was written while they were in hand.
Know something we don't about this mark? Tell us — corrections from collectors are how a reference like this gets better.