In America, we use this saying “the real McCoy” to mean the real thing. This means that whatever is being described is the genuine article; not an imitation or fake.
This saying has several possible origins including an oil-drip can, rum during prohibition or the famous feuding families, the Hatfields and McCoys.
I am using it here with McCoy pottery, which was made in Ohio from roughly 1929 to 1967. The company started alone, consolidated as ACPC, split apart and then regrouped again.
The marks McCoy and USA on the bottom mean it was made after about 1933.
These two pieces are from my dear maternal grandmother and maternal great grandmother who were both from Ohio.
The Turtle Sprinkler sat on a table in a corner window with my great grandmother’s African Violets.
The planter held some of my grandmother’s favorite plants. I wanted to photograph this before planting one of her plants back into it.
McCoy is a highly collected form of pottery, but don’t rush to e-bay just yet.
The Turtle sells for about $45 and the planter for only $20.
These two are worth way more to me in memories than money.
FLOWER
floweralley 
Yikes! I also collect McCoy and my grandparents were my inspiration. I starting buying them in Pennsylvania and never paid more than $15 per medium sized pot. I didn’t realize they were collectable, I just liked them. I went back to this one place every year, but one summer I found very few. The clerk told me they thought Martha Stewart’s people came and bought them. Martha does have a internet page on collecting McCoy and through the years the pots showed up in many of her magazine photos. I have never seen a sprinkler and now I have to have one. I always chuckle when I buy the planters and they are sold still crusted with dirt!
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I love McCoy and have some Ivy pieces, now that I think about it, I haven’t seen them in a while. Search begins!
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Beautiful pieces and than even more special to you because they were your grandmother’s! I collect planters from the fifties made in the USA but I would be very happy with that turtle sprinkler for sure! Xo Johanna
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I didn’t know the origin of that expression, ‘the real McCoy’. I just love that little tortoise.
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Ces objets sont magnifiques et j’aime beaucoup cette jolie tortue. Je ne connaissais pas le nom.
Merci Flower pour ce joli billet.
Belle journée et mes amitiés.
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