McCoy Pottery

No name in the field of American ceramics is quite as popular as the McCoy brand. Recognizable for their iconic logo, McCoy pottery specialized in stoneware that is still significant today.

Opening its doors in Ohio as the Williams and McCoy Pottery Co. in 1886, the brand was the inspiration of J.W. McCoy. The company initially specialized in stoneware pieces and was considered one of the most prolific producers of ceramic wares in the state. The following decade witnessed a number of company reorganizations and renamings, but 1899, J.W. McCoy Pottery Co. emerged.

In the 1900s, J.W. McCoy Pottery Co. continued to produce stoneware and expanded into art pottery. From jardinières to umbrella stands, McCoy's remarkable range of ceramics delighted American consumers.

Quick Facts

• In 1911, the name of the company was changed to Brush-McCoy Pottery due to a merger with the holdings of George Brush, who had joined the McCoy team in 1909. This union was maintained until 1925, when the McCoy name disappeared
• Related to J.W. McCoy pottery is the Nelson McCoy Sanitary and Stoneware Company, formed in Roseville, Ohio in early 1910. Created by J.W.’s son, the company reorganized in 1933 as the Nelson McCoy Pottery Company
• McCoy values are on the rise. In the late '90s, a McCoy cookie jar sold at auction for $10,000. In 2006, a McCoy planter in the popular Robin Hood design sold for more than $11,000 at an auction in Virginia