How to Identify a Homer Laughlin Plate

Identify your plate by looking at its shape. Shape and treatment are both important identification factors when researching china. Treatment refers to the pattern, glaze color or decoration of the dish.

Look for any words stamped on the back of the plate. Some Homer Laughlin plates had the treatment name stamped on the back with the potter's mark. Most sets did not include the treatment name. If yours does not, look for the decoration number place; Homer Laughlin's format is a single or double letter code, followed by a number ranging from one to five digits. Usually the letters in the stamp are an abbreviation for the shape name or a customer's name. The number implies the treatment applied to the set.

Search for your shape and treatment in one of two informative books about Homer Laughlin pottery. The first, "Homer Laughlin China Guide to Shapes and Patterns" by Jo Cunningham and Darlene Nossaman, is a good book for starters. The second, more in-depth book, "Homer Laughlin Decades of Dinnerware" by Bob Page, Dale Frederiksen and Dean Six. may help if your plate is not referenced in the first.

Find antique dealers and appraisers specializing in Homer Laughlin china if your treatment cannot be found in a reference book. Collector's clubs are also a great way to get help with identification.

Consider searching for your plate's identity on Internet auction sites such as eBay. This is also a good way to see if your piece is selling, and what the current market value may be.