Most of these figures date from 1876 and were made to celebrate the U.S. Centennial, although collectors and many experts in the 1950s believed they were made in the early 1800s.

Figures that look like Franklin but are inscribed "Washington" sell for high prices, probably because collectors like "error" pieces.

Research in recent years has proved that many bandannas, plates, bedspreads, figures and other Americana items that look like they were made about 1800 were actually made for tourists during 1876.

Q: Could you please tell me something about my mother's oval dish? Its only mark is "Old Ivory, Germany" with a crown in the middle.

A: Most china marked "Old Ivory" was made for export to the United States by the Hermann Ohme Porcelain Works of Silesia, Germany (now part of Poland), between 1882 and 1928. But the mark on your dish was used by a competing factory, Striegauer Porcelain Works of Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic).

Terry Kovel's column is syndicated by King Features. Write to: Kovels, (Las Vegas Reiew-Journal), King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.