Treasure Box Wednesday: The Real McCoy

You know the old saying about death and taxes? Well, I'll give you two guesses what I was doing this last Saturday instead of thrifting?

Heh, well, I DID get a LITTLE bit of thrifting in around the tax appointment. It came in a super-mini Cliff's Notes version of my favorite Route 30 trek. And there I uncovered two pieces of McCoy pottery.

This one came from the Good Samaritan thrift store, and boy, does it need a bath!


I think fondly of it as my "breadpan" piece... though, it actually was intended as a planter. You can see the mark on the bottom here:



Now this lovely leafy example came from the L&L Fleatique and I understand it is also McCoy. And it's got a totally different mark-- the earlier "NM" for Nelson McCoy.



The Garage Sale and Flea Market Annual tells us that McCoy "used a variety of marks over the years, but with little consistency, since it was a common practice to discontinue an item for a while and then bring it out again decorated in a manner that would be in synch with current tastes."

It goes on to say that all marks were in the mold, not ink-stamped like many porcelain and pottery makers had done. And apparently because McCoy never registered its trademark, there is a company in Rockwood, Tennessee using the McCoy logo on their pieces. (Many, the book says, are dated #93). So it's definitely a case of buyer beware!

In fact, I suspect I saw a piece of this repro McCoy in the form of a pottery bookend this weekend. The quality just didn't seem the same, and the stamp just looked so... new. NOT the real McCoy. :)

Anyway, I thought you all might enjoy seeing where these vases have been living, as I've accumulated them. Here is my mantle right now.


And here's a view of the Hazel Atlas Moderntone Platonite dishes-- I'm not fully happy with the table-setting, so this is a bit of a work in progress...




And see that pink bowl below? That is the missing Big Mama bowl of my Pyrex set. It's now complete. How amazing to have been able to find these pieces so close to the same time!


Well, that's the dish on this week's Treasure Box Wednesday. If you happened to miss Sunday's post of "Battier Homes and Gardens, 70s Style," click here.

Otherwise, I'll hope to see your bright and shiny faces on Sunday (or thereabouts) for our next feature.