W. Adams & Co. Dinnerware

Q My grandmother got a W. Adams & Co. dinner service as a wedding gift in 1916. I only have the tureens and serving plates and wonder if they are worth anything. The serving plates have some ”age” spots but the tureens are in perfect condition. The dishes are marked with a crown over a circle with a pretzel shape mark in the middle, the words ”crown, semi-porcelain,” and ”W. Adams & Co., England.” We’d like to know what they are worth and how to sell them.

A Adams and Sons of Staffordshire, England, was founded in 1769. The mark you describe was used from about 1879 into the early twentieth century. Serving pieces sell for a wide variety of prices, from under $20 to over $100, depending on pattern and condition. You can try a matching service like replacements.com, but it’s probably easier to sell them to a local antiques store or resale shop. Dinnerware is hard to sell. Platters sell for $20 to over $100, tureens for $24-$50 or more online.