A Ceramic Household Item You Can Buy At A Thrift Store Could Earn You Hundreds Of Dollars

Oftentimes, we don't know that we are sitting on gold, as some of our household items can be worth hundreds to even thousands of dollars. While antique chairs hold their value for generations and can fetch a good price, they can be hard to find if you are looking for treasure in antique stores. One factor that significantly influences antique prices is when they were produced, particularly those coming from historical watershed moments. This is the case for Noritake ceramics, a specialty china brand that has seen a boom in value in the 21st century.

In the world of antiques, Noritake has slowly become a mainstay, holding its value while also having an immense amount of history, with production dating back to the 1800s. The company began with two brothers, Toyo and Ichizaemon Morimura, who first began selling French porcelain to an American audience using a delicate hand-painted technique. From its roots, the company has grown into a name that holds immense value in the antique community to rival the likes of the Chippendale chair.

Noritake stems from the company's original name of Nippon Toki Kaisha Ltd., which slipped into Noritake due to Americans struggling to pronounce the company name. Due to this, the company officially changed its name in the late 1900s to Noritake to reflect this trend. With this in mind, any porcelain that is stamped with this original name or the words "Hand painted" and "Nippon" is the oldest form of Noritake China.

Additionally, Noritake slowed its production during both the First and Second World Wars as well as the great depression. Today, sets from this era are listed for $1,000 on resale sites like eBay. Additionally, one of the main factors that has contributed to the value of Noritake products is the fact that the style and color of the dish sets are limited. In fact, only a few sets are sold for each collection. This makes it so that each collection, depending on its popularity, can gain value over time. One such example is a set produced in collaboration with famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright, with pieces from this collection selling for $13,000.Much like the incredibly variable price of some Globes, the true value of Noitake ceramics is best decided by a professional appraiser. So, next time you find a piece of china at the thrift store, it may pay off to flip it over and see if it is a classic Noritake design.