Reading Maker's Marks and Hallmarks Like a Pro

A maker's mark is a tiny signature that can transform an anonymous object into an attributable, datable, valuable one. Learning where marks hide and how to decode them is one of the most rewarding skills a collector can develop, because it applies across pottery, porcelain, silver, glass, and metalware alike.

Where Marks Hide

Makers placed marks where a customer would not normally look. Train your eye to check these spots first, using raking light and a loupe to catch faint impressions.

• The underside or footring of pottery and porcelain.
• The inside of jewelry shanks and the edges of silver pieces.
• The base of glass, often a small molded logo or numerals.

Decoding Pottery Backstamps and Silver Hallmarks

Pottery backstamps may combine a company logo, a pattern name, a country of origin, and date codes or shape numbers, and the style of the stamp itself changed over time. Silver hallmarks are even more systematic: in many traditions a set of small stamps records the standard of purity, the assay office, a date letter, and the maker. Reading those marks in sequence can pin a piece to a specific year and workshop.

• Separate the maker's logo from the pattern name and date codes.
• For silver, identify the purity, assay, date letter, and maker stamps.
• Note that country-of-origin wording brackets a piece to an era.

Verify Before You Trust

Marks are forged and faked, so never treat a mark as proof on its own. Cross-check the mark against documented references for that maker, and confirm the rest of the object, its material, weight, and construction, is consistent with what that mark should accompany. A genuine mark on the wrong kind of piece is a red flag, not a guarantee.