How to Date a Beer Stein
If the item is authentic porcelain, it should have a smooth, glassy feel; it should glow gently called translucence when held up against the light and look delicate with finely executed details. Finally, not all steins were adorned with lids; some drinkers thought it a troublesome items and an unnecessary expense. Obtain formal authentication from museum experts and universities. Today most of the manufacturers of beer steins place the country of origin on the bottom.
Usually, the novice collector, lacking sufficient know-how, gets burned. Join in building the net's largest free stein database: upload your own collection! Mold lines generally were not visible, due to careful cleaning.
How to Date a Beer Stein - The date code to the right indicates the stein was made in 1888.
Gerz Stein Catalog Simon Peter Gerz formed the company that bears his name in 1857, beginning actual production of ceramic wares in 1862. Some questionable strategic decisions in the 1990s forced Gerz into bankruptcy and a partial liquidation in 1997, and in 1999 the company permanently shut down all manufacturing operations. However, rights to use of the company name and trademarks were purchased by Domex Geschenk-Manufactur GmbH, which continues to distribute Gerz steins today, albeit produced mainly in the Orient. This on-line catalog has been developed specifically for use in the Beer Stein Library. By its very nature, it will continually be a work in process, designed to allow for updating as new facts are discovered. All steins numbered with a leading zero e. Steins in this catalog are listed in applied mold number order, and no attempt is currently being made to separate the two or other? That being the case, the order of the listing below cannot be presumed to have any overall relationship to the chronological sequence of initial production. Copyright © 2012-2018 — All rights reserved. Should you wish to browse the catalog, you may do so by clicking on the Previous and Next buttons at the bottom of each catalog page. To return to the main listing, click on the Go to Listing button, which can also be found at the bottom of each catalog page.
The words Gemacht in Deutschland is the same thing only in the German language. However, the four-digit numbers engraved behind the handle or on the con of some steins are manufacturer's mold numbers and have nothing to do with when it was made. The Gerz Beer Stein Company History The progression of the GERZ mark can be organized in four periods: the first phase from 1857 to the First World War was a period of el. The designs on almost all of our steins have antique origins. A few have taken their old molds out of storage and are making new copies of old steins. The value of a stein depends upon authenticity, condition, uniqueness or degree of rarity, age, and quality of workmanship. A primitive working dating gerz steins and the absence of automatic machinery, steins produced before 1900 are generally better made since there was stricter quality control. Earthenware and stoneware steins with etched outline decoration are among the most desirable and expensive specimens.