Hallmarks, guaranteeing the honesty of the metal and maker alike, have been used in Scotland since the sixteenth century. The 550th anniversary of Scottish hallmarking in 2008 is being celebrated with an exhibition in Nation Museums Scotland (25 January - 27 April 08)which gathers together for the first time all the most important examples of marked Scottish silver and gold, most from NMS' unrivalled collections. The exhibition and the accompanying book are concerned not only with silver and gold vessels, from earliest surviving marked examples right up to pieces made today, but also with the people who made them and the people for whom they were made. Objects, historic records, paintings, illustrations and contemporary accounts will be combined to present a dazzling display. The book distils the exhibition, making it a must for silver enthusiasts and collectors everywhere.