THE BRITISH REGISTRY DIAMOND and Rd NUMBERS: A Key to Dating 19thC British Ceramics
Contributed by:
www.Marks4Antiques.com
The British
Registration Diamond was used in Britain between 1842 - 1883. It was used
for pretty much most Patents and Design registrations and each Category was
assigned a Class symbol in the form of a Roman Numeral. This was placed at
the very top of the diamond.
The
symbol/Roman Numeral for Ceramics was IV, so all British Registration
diamonds that have the Roman Numeral IV on the top, were specifically
registered to Ceramics makers and designers. This includes Pottery,
Porcelain, Bone China, Stoneware, Earthenware and China or Dinner Sets.
This symbol
changed somewhat in 1868 and although its basic appearance seems almost
identical, the position of the Dating Ciphers around the tips were shifted.
Therefore, for items dating between 1842 and 1867, the bottom tip was always
a number, called the Parcel. However, from 1868 to 1883, this bottom tip
was replaced by a Letter, which signified the Month of a certain year that
this Registration was issued.
Here are two
tables that provide the key on reading the British Registration Diamond:
Month:
|
Month letter |
Month |
|
Month letter |
Month |
|
A |
December |
|
H |
April |
|
B |
October |
|
I |
July |
|
C |
January |
|
K |
November |
|
D |
September |
|
M |
June |
|
E |
May |
|
R |
August |
|
G |
February |
|
W |
March |
Year:
Year codes for 1842 - 1867
|
Year codes |
|
Year codes |
|
Year codes |
|
A |
1845
|
|
J |
1854
|
|
S |
1849
|
|
B |
1858
|
|
K |
1857
|
|
T |
1867
|
|
C |
1844
|
|
L |
1856
|
|
U |
1848
|
|
D |
1852
|
|
M |
1859
|
|
V |
1850
|
|
E |
1855
|
|
N |
1864
|
|
W |
1865
|
|
F |
1847
|
|
O |
1862
|
|
X |
1842
|
|
G |
1863
|
|
P |
1851
|
|
Y |
1853
|
|
H |
1843
|
|
Q |
1866
|
|
Z |
1860
|
|
I |
1846
|
|
R |
1861
|
|
Exceptions:
-
In 1857 the letter R was
used during 1-19 September
-
During 1860 the letter K
was used for December
Month:
|
Month letter |
Month |
|
Month letter |
Month |
|
A |
December |
|
H |
April |
|
B |
October |
|
I |
July |
|
C |
January |
|
K |
November |
|
D |
September |
|
M |
June |
|
E |
May |
|
R |
August |
|
G |
February |
|
W |
March |
Year:
Year codes for 1868 - 1883
|
Year codes |
|
Year codes |
|
A |
1871 |
|
L |
1882 |
|
C |
1870 |
|
P |
1877 |
|
D |
1878 |
|
S |
1875 |
|
E |
1881 |
|
U |
1874 |
|
F |
1873 |
|
V |
1876 |
|
H |
1869 |
|
X |
1868 |
|
I |
1872 |
|
Y |
1879 |
|
J |
1880 |
|
|
|
|
K |
1883 |
|
|
|
|
-
Exception:
From 1-6 March 1878, W was used for the
year in place of D
-
G was used for
the month in place of W
BRITISH
REGISTRY NUMBERS
After 1883, some Potteries marked their Ceramics with a Patent Registration
Number, commonly referred to as the "Rd Number". This Rd Number is when a Design
Patent was applied for and usually coincides with the date this Design was
made. Note: The Rd Number stated for each Year is the starting number
used that year and the next year's number is the starting number for the next
year; in other words, if your number falls between two Year Numbers, yours is
the older of these two years.
1884 1
1885 19756
1886 40480
1887 64520
1888 90483
1889 116648
1890 141273
1891 163767
1892 185713
1893 205240
1894 224720
1895 246975
1896 268392
1897 291241
1898 311658
1899 331707
1900 351202
1901 368154
1902 385180
1903 403200
1904 424400
1905 447800
1906 471860
1907 493900
1908 518640
1909 535170
1910 552000
1911 574817
1912 594195
1913 612431
1914 630190
1915 644935
1916 653521
1917 658988
1918 662872
1919 666128
1920 673750
1921 680147
1922 687144
1923 694999
1924 702671
1925 710165
1926 718057
1927 726330
1928 734370
1929 742725
1930 751160
1931 760583
1932 769670
1933 779292
1934 789019
1935 799097
1936 808794
1937 817293
1938 825231
1939 832610
1940 837520
1941 838590
1942 839230
1943 839980
1944 841040
1945 842670
1946 845550
1947 849730
1948 853260
1949 856999
1950 860854
1951 863970
1952 866280
1953 869300
1954 872531
1955 876067
1956 879282
1957 882949
1958 887079
1959 891665
1960 895000
1961 899914
1962 904638
1963 909364
1964 914536
1965 919607
