China Backstamps - Information and Pictures - Royal Copenhagen

Royal Copenhagen was founded in 1775. The original backstamp, used pre-1900, is made of three waves representing Denmark's three straits.


This handpainted backstamp was used for the Juliane Marie pieces starting in 1905.


1923 marked the use of this stamp, featuring a crown and the word Denmark atop the three blue waves. It is similar in appearance to a previous mark from 1894 that had a curvature to the country name.


After 1935 and onward, the company began marking dates by strategically placing a mark on their backstamp near a certain letter. Until 1950, there was a mark above a single letter. Then, after exhausting the letters, the same method was used this time with the mark under the letter. This example, with the mark under the letter G, was used from 1969-1973.


In a similar fashion, the most recent backstamps follow the same idea but now use two marks. This one, for example, has two small lines above the letters R and A, indicating this piece was made between 2000 and 2004. Pieces made after 2004 have a mark above the letters R and L.