How to Tell the Year on Antiques

Look first to see if the piece has any manufacturers' marks. British silver -- which you can recognize by the presence of an emblem depicting a lion walking sideways known as the "lion passant" -- carries hallmarks which give the exact year for the manufacture of a piece. Backstamps on ceramics are useful dating tools because most manufacturers update them regularly. In addition, a few manufacturers -- the best known being Royal Worcester and Minton -- employed dating codes during certain periods of their long existence -- a series of dots for Royal Worcester, and small blind-stamped symbols for Minton.

Check to see whether the piece gives away a possible date through some topical reference. Some antiques are made expressly to commemorate important events such as battles, whereas others make reference to well-known personalities and causes. Again, this is unlikely to elicit a precise year, but it is reasonable to assume that the item dates from the same period as whatever it commemorates. The exceptions to this are stamps and coins, where the commemoration often comes years after the event.

Inspect the piece to see how it has been constructed. Look for several features. Phillips-head screws point to a post-1930s date. Bright plastics indicate the 1950s at the earliest, and injection-molded plastics -- as used on a range of modern products from classroom chairs to dolls -- caught on in the late '60s. Colorful printed transfer designs on metal suggest the '30s to '50s era, while hand-painting on any surface is usually a sign of pre-1930s origin.

Examine the general style of the piece and see if it fits with any well-known period. For instance, bold colors suggest the '50s and '60s, clean lines and stepped bases point to the Art Deco period of the '20s and '30s, autumnal colors and whiplash shapes recall the Art Nouveau period of the 1890s. While this won't give you an exact year, it will enable you to place your piece into a historical context.