This fantastic porcelain penny plate is almost too wonderful for words. It was made by Metzler & Ortloff in Germany in the early 1900’s, and features three dogs, holding beer mugs.

Two of the dogs look to be beagles, or a similar hound dog. Each of them are enjoying their beer, with their noses in their mugs. The third dog, who looks to be a pug, seems to be holding an empty mug, and from his sour expression, we can guess that he is not too happy about that.

Along the front edge of the plate it says in German, “Drink up you dogs, the state needs money!”

Our guess is that this wonderful, whimsical plate was used to collect tips at a bar.

It is in excellent condition and measures 5″ x 4″ x 2″.

It has the Metzler & Ortloff maker’s mark on the underside, that dates it in the early 1900’s.

While we can certainly come up with a variety of uses for this wonderful, collectible plate, just owning it is quite special.