Identification guide
Minton date codes
With Minton date codes, circled digits 1–8 denote 1901–1908. A base can carry an impressed year symbol, a month letter and a potter’s mark.
The cypher and its neighbours
A base can carry an impressed year symbol, a month letter and a potter’s mark. Identify the MINTON factory wording first, then compare the year symbol’s complete shape. An Rd diamond is a design registration and uses a different key. For example, a plain asterisk is 1842, an open triangle 1843 and an open square 1844. Circled digits 1–8 denote 1901–1908.
Selected Minton year cyphers
| Cypher description | Year |
|---|---|
| Asterisk | 1842 |
| Open triangle | 1843 |
| Open square | 1844 |
| X | 1845 |
| Circle on a stem | 1856 |
| Open diamond | 1857 |
| Square with a central dot | 1869 |
| B | 1886 |
| S | 1889 |
| T | 1890 |
| Shield containing 1 | 1891 |
| Circled 1 | 1901 |
| Circled 2 | 1902 |
| Circled 3 | 1903 |
| Circled 4 | 1904 |
| Circled 5 | 1905 |
| Circled 6 | 1906 |
| Circled 7 | 1907 |
| Circled 8 | 1908 |
| Five-point star | 1925 |
| V | 1942 |
What to check next
Keep all three impressed marks in their original arrangement. The year symbol dates production; a painted pattern number identifies decoration. The absence of a cypher on another piece in the same pattern does not make its pattern number a date.
Related marks
24 marks
Burley & Co.Maker name
1884–1923
Burley & Co.
Chicago
Another example of a mark used between : customized " - Burley & Co." setting on a Minton item. (Picture: jofalls)
c. 1841–1873
Minton & Co
The Belmont Japan pattern was registered on 22 June 1860; the mark style is dated about 1841–1873.
c. 1841–1873
Minton & Co
Byzantine pattern registered 6 June 1870; the printed-mark style is dated approximately 1841–1873.
c. 1841–1873
Minton & Co
Orange Blossom pattern registered 17 December 1869; the printed-mark style is dated approximately 1841–1873.
Undated
Minton & Co
The triangular code and painted H date this example to July 1879; they do not define mark use.
Undated
Minton & Co
The source labels this impressed date-code symbol as 1876; it does not provide a continuous period of mark use.
earthenware · Stoke, England
Undated
Minton & Co
impressed, painted · earthenware · Stoke, England
Year cyphers can occur with an impressed or painted month letter and a potter's mark. Month letters: J January, F February, M March, A April, E May, I June, H July, Y August, S September, O October, N November, D December.
Undated
Stoke-on-Trent
printed · various colours · porcelain · England, United Kingdom
Shared caption describes printed Minton marks dated 1868 and the 20th century without assigning this variant.
