This Tumbler Cup is hand made from Britannia Silver. Perfect for a cup of Whisky and makes an ideal Christening present for boy's who want to use their silver when they grow up! The idea of the cup dates back hundreds of years, and the clever way the cup is produced, keeping substantial weight in the base makes it a very popular piece today. The cup has been made in Britannia standard silver which is a higher grade of silver to the famous Sterling Silver, and features a gold gilt interior which helps protect the silver from staining. Britannia Silver is 95.8% parts silver compared with sterling silver which is 92.5% parts silver. Silver is mixed with other metals to give it greater strength which allows it to be adapted into so many different things. Britannia Silver therefore contains more silver and this makes it softer and arguably a whiter metal as it is purer. Britannia Silver is a wonderful story dating back to 1697. At this time sterling silver was used to make coins and many silversmiths were melting the coins to manufacture their goods. This resulted in England running out of small change. The problem was solved by raising the hallmarking standard from sterling silver (92.5%) to Britannia silver (95.8%), and Britannia has remained ever since. A card detailing this story accompanies each piece.