§80-41. Marking silver articles regulated

It shall be unlawful to make for sale or sell or offer to sell or dispose of or have in possession with intent to sell or dispose of -

(1)        Any article of merchandise made in whole or in part of silver of any alloy of silver, and having marked, stamped, branded or engraved or imprinted thereon, or upon any tag, card or label attached thereto, or upon any box, package, cover or wrapper in which the article is enclosed, the words "sterling silver" or "sterling" or any colorable imitation thereof, unless nine hundred and twenty-five one-thousandths of the component parts of the metal appearing or purporting to be silver, of which the article is manufactured, are pure silver, subject to the qualifications hereinafter set forth:  Provided, that in the case of all such articles there shall be allowed a divergence in fineness of four one-thousandths parts from the foregoing standard.

(2)        Any article of merchandise made in whole or in part of silver or of any alloy of silver, and having marked, stamped, branded, engraved or imprinted thereon, or upon any card, tag or label attached thereto, or upon any box, package, cover or wrapper in which the article is enclosed, the words "coin" or "coin silver," or any colorable imitation thereof, unless nine hundred one-thousandths of the component parts of the metal appearing or purporting to be silver, of which the article is manufactured, are pure silver, subject to the qualifications hereinafter set forth:  Provided, that in the case of all such articles there shall be allowed a divergence in fineness of four one-thousandths parts from the foregoing standards.

(3)        Any article of merchandise made in whole or in part of silver or of any alloy of silver, and having stamped, branded, engraved or imprinted thereon, or upon any tag, card or label attached thereto, or upon any box, package, cover or wrapper in which the article is enclosed, any mark or word (other than the word "sterling" or the word "coin") indicating, or designed to indicate, that the silver or alloy of silver in the article is of a greater degree of fineness than its actual fineness, unless the actual fineness is not less by more than four one-thousandths parts than the actual fineness indicated by the use of such mark or word, subject to the qualifications hereinafter set forth.

In any test for ascertaining the fineness of the articles mentioned in this section, according to the foregoing standards, the part taken for test, analysis or assays shall be a part not containing or having attached thereto any solder or alloy of inferior metal used for brazing or uniting the parts of such article.  In addition to the foregoing test and standards, the actual fineness of the entire quantity of metal purporting to be silver contained in any article mentioned in this section, including all solder or alloy of inferior fineness used for brazing or uniting the parts (all such silver, alloy or solder being assayed as one piece), shall not be less by more than ten one-thousandths parts than the fineness indicated according to the foregoing standards, by the mark employed as above indicated.  Violation of this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

(1907, c. 331, s. 2; C.S., s. 4013; 1993, c. 539, s. 588; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c).)