PRIA Logo™
Take the PRIA Score
Title 15 — Commerce and TradeRelease 119-73

§294 Importation or transportation of falsely marked gold or silver ware prohibited

Title 15 › Chapter CHAPTER 8— - FALSELY STAMPED GOLD OR SILVER OR GOODS MANUFACTURED THEREFROM › § 294

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

It is illegal for makers or sellers of gold or silver items, or their officers or agents, to bring into, send out of, mail, give to a carrier, or ship between states any article made after June 13, 1907, if it is meant for sale and is marked to show the metal is purer than it really is. This covers things made wholly or partly of gold, silver, or their alloys and any false mark on the item, its tag, label, or packaging, under the fineness rules in sections 295 and 296.

Full Legal Text

Title 15, §294

Commerce and Trade — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, or association, being a manufacturer of or wholesale or retail dealer in gold or silver jewelry or gold ware, silver goods or silverware, or for any officer, manager, director, or agent of such firm, corporation, or association to import or export or cause to be imported into or exported from the United States for the purpose of selling or disposing of the same, or to deposit or cause to be deposited in the United States mails for transmission thereby, or to deliver or cause to be delivered to any common carrier for transportation from one State, Territory, or possession of the United States, or the District of Columbia, to any other State, Territory, or possession of the United States, or to said District, in interstate commerce, or to transport or cause to be transported from one State, Territory, or possession of the United States, or from the District of Columbia, to any other State, Territory, or possession of the United States, or to said District, in interstate commerce, any article of merchandise manufactured after June 13, 1907, and made in whole or in part of gold or silver, or any alloy of either of said metals, and having stamped, branded, engraved, or printed thereon, or upon any tag, card, or label attached thereto, or upon any box, package, cover, or wrapper in which said article is incased or inclosed, any mark or word indicating or designed or intended to indicate that the gold or silver or alloy of either of said metals in such article is of a greater degree of fineness than the actual fineness or quality of such gold, silver, or alloy, according to the standards and subject to the qualifications set forth in section 295 and 296 of this title.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Short Title

of 1976 Amendment Pub. L. 94–450, § 1, Oct. 1, 1976, 90 Stat. 1501, provided: “That this Act [amending section 295 of this title and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 295 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Gold Labeling Act of 1976’.”

Short Title

Act June 13, 1906, ch. 3289, which enacted this section and sections 295 to 300 of this title, is popularly known as the “Jewelers’ Liability Act (Gold and Silver Articles)” and also as the “National Gold and Silver Stamping Act of 1906”.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

15 U.S.C. § 294

Title 15 — Commerce and Trade

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73