Dear Lee,

“How can I tell if my furniture, silver, dishes, glassware, tools, posters and other things are antiques or reproductions?” Our mail is filled with similar questions. It takes a long time to know real from fakes, fantasies or reproductions. Even museums are fooled. But here are a few of our favorite clues. You may already know some.

English silver has hallmarks, groups of small indented pictures or letters. A standing lion is the mark for sterling silver. A picture of a head represents the monarch and the date. A queen’s left-facing head stands for the years Queen Victoria reigned, 1838-1890. Letters tell the date and maker. (Lists of these marks can be found online or in silver books.)

The tip of a spoon handle bends down from 1730 to 1775 and up most times after that. A monogram on the back, not the front, of the handle indicates a piece made before 1825.

The English use a diamond-shaped mark on metal, ceramics, and more that tells when the design was registered. It gives legal information and the date. Lists of English marks are online or in many books.

American metal tools, apple peelers and even lamps and decorative pieces may have a mark, “Patd,” with a number that tells when the piece was patented. The piece was probably made soon after that date. Complete lists of patent dates are online.

Saws leave track marks on wood. The tracks on the bottom of early dresser drawers are easy to recognize. Early furniture has straight tracks. After about 1860, circular saws were used that left curved tracks.

Handmade wood screws were first made about 1720. They had off-center slots. Machine made modern style screws were used after 1860.

Wood shrinks only in one direction, so a round table top is no longer a perfect circle after 50 or more years.

Examine old and new pieces at antiques shows so you can recognize them at a house sale. Most dealers will be glad to explain the clues.

Some reproductions are clearly labeled with words you may not know. “Desperate Enterprises” are words found on reproduction and fantasy metal advertising signs, food tins and more. “Wheaton NJ” is a glass mark for a company that makes copies of old pattern glass, flasks and more. MMA stands for Metropolitan Museum of Art and appears on many of the reproductions sold in their gift shop and on eBay.

After 1891, pottery and porcelain sold in the United States had to be marked with the country of origin. OJ stand for Occupied Japan (1947-1952) and West Germany was used from 1949 to 1989.