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American fire marks, also known as “badges” and “house plates,” are signs issued by insurance companies that were affixed to the front of a property to mark that the property was insured for fire. Fire marks carried the symbol or the name of the insurer and were made of cast iron, sheet brass, lead, tinned sheet iron, copper or zinc. They came in various sizes and shapes, sometimes attached to a wooden plaque.

Used primarily for advertising purposes, fire marks were used from 1752 to circa 1900. Going back to their early practices, the Philadelphia Contributionship and The Baltimore Equitable Society still issue fire marks.

This plaque is heavy, made of cast iron. It is unmarked as to manufacturer or date, but closely resembles others I can find with Google Lens issued by Philadelphia Insurance, depicting the four-handed fireman's carry. The hands have a small amount of gilding or gold paint.

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