MORE BRITISH GOLD ARTICLES HALLMARKED The number of British gold articles hallmarked during the first quarter of this year rose by more than 11 pct on the corresponding period last year, figures released by the Assay Offices of Great Britain show. More than 2.5 mln British items were hallmarked during the quarter, up 11.1 pct on the same year ago period. The four Assay Offices also marked 832,222 foreign gold articles, up 2.5 pct on last year. In weight terms the 7.19 mln grams of British gold assayed was a 15.3 pct increase, while the 2.95 mln grams of foreign gold represented a rise of 3.1 pct. British silver goods assayed totalled 698,132, an increase of 6.2 pct but only 78,457 foreign items were marked, a fall of 11.1 pct. A total of 10,968 kilos of silver were assayed, an 11.1 pct rise. The number of platinum items marked fell 12.5 pct to 1,785, while in weight terms the total slipped 8.1 pct to 9,849 grams. A spokesman for the Assay Offices of Great Britain said he was particularly encouraged to see the percentage increase for British manufactured goods.