How old is my fiestaware

In , three of the original Fiesta colors were retired: cobalt blue, yellow and ivory. These were replaced by softer pastel colors that marked the fashion and design scene in s America. These four colors were only produced for about eight years, which makes them relatively valuable.

In , Homer Laughlin China Company discontinued these four colors and added a new one: medium green. In the 60s, cheaper imported pottery started to negatively impact the bottom line for American pottery companies and Homer Laughlin was no exception.

In response to the trendiness of earth tones in this decade, Fiesta introduced two new colors in Turf Green and Antique Gold. Despite so many attempts to rejuvenate interest in their dinnerware, sales dropped and Fiesta was entirely retired in Vintage Fiestaware is defined as any of the pottery line made between and After the Fiesta line was dropped by Homer Laughlin, collectors started gathering the vintage pieces in earnest.

Many people had fond childhood memories of the brightly colored china. Many people, like Jessica B. After Jessica B. I still add pieces to my collection monthly, both vintage and contemporary. Mark had never heard of Fiesta until his wife saw a collection of about 20 pieces at an estate sale , where the couple gets most of the inventory for their store. Mark says its easy to get lucky at estate sales and online auctions while hunting for vintage Fiesta pieces, but it can sometimes be difficult to determine which are the truly vintage colors and which are modern ones.

He adds that shopping at estate sales is preferable to shopping online when it comes to Fiesta because shipping can get expensive. When it comes to identifying Fiesta ceramics, there are several things to consider. These include the shape of the piece, the glaze color, the decoration or pattern on the piece, and the Fiesta mark. With this information, you can likely verify if a piece of pottery is part of the Fiesta collection and even calculate its approximate age.

When it comes to identifying real Fiestaware, the Fiestaware mark is the best place to start. Some marks were used exclusively in the old line, some marks were used exclusively for the post Fiestaware, and some marks have been used for both modern and vintage Fiesta. Fiestaware marks appear in two ways: as a stamp underneath the glaze, or imprinted in the pottery itself as an in-mold mark. Generally, flat items have the stamp and hollow items like mugs have the debossed in-mold mark.

True Fiesta pieces have a graduated ring design that becomes wider spaced as it moves away from the center. There is a lot of dinnerware out there in bright pretty colors that look very similar to Fiesta.

Though not Fiesta, they blend well into collections. As one might imagine, the more rare items from Fiesta are more expensive. Pieces made in the thirties and forties that include lids—such as sugar bowls—are very expensive in completion, because the pieces often get lost.

Fiesta made flower 8-inch flower vases for about 10 years, while the same vases in inch and inch sizes were only produced for about six years. Thanks, for any info. I am just beginning to purchase Fiestaware. Hi Marsha, Thanks for reaching out and great question. I believe I have the fiesta red stripe ivory older set. Not sure why red stripe is included, all the markings are pretty clear and it is more white then ivory. Have a very difficult time finding pieces.

Hi Larry, thanks for reaching out! Would you mind sending along photos to editor causeafrockus. Can anyone tell me is there a site that shows marking and the year the specific marking was produceed?

Thank you so much! Hi Mary-Anne — what a fantastic find. I have two green dinner plates. Can anyone help? Hi Becky — I just bought a large collection of fiesta — some Harlequin and some Riviera. As a reseller, now I am struggling with determining age of some items. Hi Janice, Thanks for reaching out — if you could send pics to editor causeafrockus. I have some bowls that have the old lowercase back stamp and no curve in the lettering at all.

I also have some teacups. The colors are blue, yellow, white and rose. Any info would be appreciated! Hi Brianna, If you could please email pictures to editor causeafrockus. Can you help? One cup has a B and the other an L. Hi Rick, If you could send some pictures along to editor causeafrockus.

I have a few green pieces and am having a very difficult time deciphering which particular green they are. Could you guide me? Hi Brigitte, If you could email pictures to editor causeafrockus. Looks sort of like a tiny wheelbarrel. And does the bidding make any sense to you? Does older or newer fiesta ware have anything stamped on the bottom? Does anyone know anything about it? Please help!! I was wondering if any Fiesta was ever just marked with Homer Laughlin USA and then the number and letters on the bottom to date it.

It looks so much like fiesta. Hi Jessica, Thanks for reaching out. Hi Chris — thanks for reaching out. If you want to send some pictures along to editor causeafrockus. Hello, I have a coralish color teapot with the stamp Homer Laughlin China on the bottom.

It does not look like a traditional fiesta ware shape that I have seen but the coloring does. Any insight? Hi Christie! Thanks for reaching out — sounds like a lovely piece. If you could send pictures to editor causeafrockus. How can I be sure they are the old and not post ?

If the foot is wet meaning the rim around the bottom is glazed just like the rest of the piece not white, unglazed and the markings look like the ones featured in the article, you have an older piece. Hi, I have a set of fiesta ware in 4 colors: yellow, orange, green, and a sort of purply blue. What do you think? Thank you! Hi Sarah, Could you please send pictures of the markings and bottom of the pieces to editor causeafrockus.

I know its real with the three unglazed dots where the dish was on a stand during glazing , and its quite radioactive 11, CPM, I believe small older items were sometimes not marked and are more rare. Photos available, thank you. Hi Allan, Thanks for reaching out — if you could send pictures to editor causeafrockus. Can anyone tell me about Fiesta enamel tea kettles? I got one in a junk store, but have no idea how old it may be.

I have found that the WWB means its production date is 2nd quarter but the color appears to be yellow, which was not produced during this time. Is this a fake? Can anyone date and possibly place a value on a vintage piece I inherited? Approx 2. Any info appreciated thanks. If you could send a pic to editor causeafrockus. They say it is about 20 years old with a seal that still works.

I am perplexed. Any ideas? Hi Nancy! Thanks for reaching out — feel free to send pics to editor causeafrockus. I found a fiestaware plate with the lower case f but also has a VVA is this original or knock off. Hi Monica, If you could please send pics to editor causeafrockus. Hello, I just found your site, it is great. I am downsizing and have an entire set of Homer L dishes but not Fista. I came across this Fista piece in one of my cabinets probably purchased at a rummage sale. I think it is genuine I was hoping you could help me.

I have a very large Homer L set of Hemlock pattered china. My husband would kill me if I got another set of dishes while I was downsizing. That is all I know. I just sent you a message with photo of Fiesta No. I am going nuts as to the color. It looks to be a very, very pale yellow, but markings suggest it is older and possibly ivory.

In photos, depending on light it looks ivory, or yellow. Any help on color or date is appreciated. Thanks for all the help you provide to those of use trying to get it right. Hi there. I have just discovered your website and it is great. I have a few questions about a piece I just bought today at a yard sale. It is a very large round platter in the light green. If you want me to send photos I can do that. Thanks for any info.

Hi Victoria! Thanks for reaching out — if you could please email pictures to editor causeafrockus. Hi, What is the approximate age of a sugar bowl that has the following characteristics: The color is cobalt. The footing is dry. Hi Bob! Maybe s to given the details provided…. Hi, I just purchased a very dirty green pitcher from a garage sale. It looks similar to Fiesta but is unglazed or marked on the bottom. It also has crazing on inside and out.

Any chance it is authentic? If not, what do you think it is? Hi Nina! Would love to hear back from you. Sent picture of both. Love reading all of the great comments! HLC could not mark some Fiesta items because of design considerations. Examples of items without backstamps include vintage juice tumblers, demitasse cups, teacups and salt and pepper shakers. Of the vintage line, some ashtrays, egg cups, sweets comports and onion soup bowls are marked, while others are not.

Once you become more aware of the design and color, recognizing Fiesta becomes easier. The key pattern to recognize on a piece of Fiesta is a band of concentric rings graduating in width. In its design, the rings closest to the rim are more widely spaced. Fiesta Made since Since , Homer Laughlin has also used a rubber backstamp to mark some of its Fiesta items.

Vintage Fiesta backstamps use a lower case "f" in the word Fiesta. The new stamp capitalizes the "F" in the name. All the backstamps are applied by machine. Eventually the company hopes to backstamp all post 86 pieces.

One of the Post 86 Fiesta backstamps contains a useful three letter date code. Note a series of three small letters in the backstamp itself. This is HLC's date coding system which it has used since the 's.