Ironstone Plates - How To Collect Famous Charles Mason Plates

Ironstone plates were created by Charles Mason back in the early eighteen hundreds. He also designed antique bone china and over the years making his antique designs and creations highly collectible. While many spend years collecting ironstone dishes, keeping them on display and amassing enormous collections - others will happily trade them. Here we will go over some basics about collectability, pricing, and marks to look for when collecting ironstone antique plates.

It is true that Mason was the first to patent ironstone plates, probably making Mason pieces the most collectible of all ironstone antiques. Even so, there are other designers that are also highly collectible and valuable to an antique collector. So do not limit yourself to Mason antique plates only but also research and discover other ironstone manufacturers whose pieces will become more valuable with time.

Which leads us to our first point; researching the origin or the maker of an ironstone plate will help to give you a better idea of its history, price and collectability.

It is important to be knowledgeable on the pricing of ironstone plates before making any purchases. Like all antique plates, ironstone dishes range in price - but their prices generally start from around twenty dollars to over four hundred dollars on average. Extremely rare antique pieces can even reach higher dollar amounts.

There are many auctions, shows, forums and online auctions to help you choose an antique piece to add to your collection. The great thing about shows and forums is that it gives you access to knowledge on current pricing, condition and availability of ironstone.

Similarly, online auctions give you the ability to reach markets you would otherwise be unaware of and let alone the ability to bid on, giving you access to rare pieces without leaving your home.

The last point we will cover is the markings. Ironstone marks are usually a coat of arms, a crown of some kind. Sometimes unmarked pieces are occasionally found, but the problem is that without the entire set it is difficult to determine whether these pieces are genuine.

Ironstone plate collecting requires good research and experience, but this can be acquired over some time. Like all kinds of antique plate collecting, ironstone antique plates are full of history and a great way to collect items of beauty, class, history and possibly even great value that can be passed down for generations or traded.


Copyright (c) 2010 Christine McVeigh