These valuable vintage cookie jars make for rare and exciting finds at thrift stores.
8 Vintage Cookie Jars to Look for at the Thrift Store
Published on Nov. 27, 2024
Thrifting is most fun when I have an objective. Among the valuable things to look for at Goodwill, I keep an eye out for Pyrex, high-end cookware and vintage cookie jars that fetch a high price on eBay or Etsy. Cookie jars have been around for the past century, which is, incidentally, about as long as we’ve enjoyed chocolate chip cookies. Over time, some of these decorative and functional ceramic jars have gained plenty of value; many sell for hundreds or even thousands of dollars at online auctions.
If you’re new to cookie jar collecting, it helps to know where to look. Thrift stores, consignment shops, Goodwill, antique malls, flea markets and estate sales are all good bets. Perhaps the best spot to look is at garage sales in your neighborhood, where folks want to offload everything at a fairly low price.
Regardless of where you shop, you’ll want to hone your scoping skills. Here’s what to watch for.
The Most Valuable Vintage Cookie Jars
A cookie jar can be valuable for all sorts of reasons: age, condition, brand, shape and rarity. Here are some finds that have proven lucrative in recent years.
Lefton Puppy Pal Cookie Jar
Lefton is a ceramics brand with a global flair. Founded by a Hungarian immigrant in Chicago, the Lefton Company set up shop immediately prior to the Pearl Harbor bombing and soon formed relationships with china manufacturers in occupied Japan. In mid-century America, Lefton cookie jars were prized for their doe-eyed cuteness; the Puppy Pal, in particular, is a beloved design from the 1950s that features a dog with fluttery eyelashes and a removable hat lid. It’s common to see Puppy Pal jars listed in the triple or quadruple digits, especially if there are no chips.
Hull Little Red Riding Hood Cookie Jar
Hull Pottery might be known primarily for its dark brown stoneware, but one of the most famous vintage cookie jars of the 20th century is the Hull Little Red Riding Hood model, complete with a cherubic face, floral skirt and picnic basket. These typically sell in the $300 to $500 range.
As this article in the Illinois State Journal-Register points out, there have been enough imitations over the years that you have to make sure you have a genuine A.E. Hull Pottery Co. product by checking the marking on the bottom—and note that the shape of the basket will also determine how rare it is (the round basket is less common than the open-ended basket).
Abingdon ‘Cookie Time’ Clock Cookie Jar
Abingdon started as a company making ceramic plumbing fixtures, but when construction slowed during the Great Depression, they stayed afloat by making cookie jars. Many of their creations have become beloved vintage finds, including the “Cookie Time” clock-shaped jar. Produced between 1935 and 1950, this oddly endearingly anthropomorphic clock face is typically listed at around $500.
American Bisque Moon Rocket Cookie Jar
American Bisque is so ubiquitous, and its designs so far-reaching, that there’s an entire book dedicated to collecting them. While it’s hard to pin down a single model as the company’s most iconic, the “Cookies Out of This World” spaceship-shaped cookie jar, produced in the 1960s, is rarely listed for under $250 on resale sites.
Brush Pottery Circus Horse Cookie Jar
The Brush Pottery Co., once owned by the famous McCoy brand, produced jars with a distinctive aesthetic throughout much of the 20th century. The Circus Horse model is not the most elaborate design but is among the more elusive ones. It can reliably be found for upwards of $150 on the likes of eBay and Etsy.
McCoy Davy Crockett Head Cookie Jar
This striking, nearly off-putting rendering of frontiersman Davy Crockett’s face is a highly prized piece among cookie jar collectors. Produced in the late 1950s to capitalize on the success of the TV miniseries, this jar is now regularly listed for between $500 and $1,000 online. It should have a “USA” mark on the bottom.
Casper the Ghost Cookie Jar
You’re lucky if you find this elusive ghost anywhere out in the world; it’s one of those pieces that’s talked about by pickers more than it can actually be located at thrift stores and resale shops. A few folks have been lucky, but this jar, produced by American Bisque for Hanna-Barbera, was a limited run decades ago, so patience and eagle eyes are necessary to find this valuable piece.
Shawnee Smiling Pig Cookie Jar
These pigs dressed like farmers, displaying serene smiles, were a staple of Shawnee’s portfolio, and several models were produced between 1937 and 1961. Find one with a pig standing on two legs, hands on hips and head tilted upward, and you might be able to sell it for up to $500, depending on its condition.
How to Tell If a Cookie Jar Is Vintage
When looking for jars either online or out in the wild, you’ll need to take a few steps to verify your purchase. Check for superficial cracks, chips, loss of paint or other damage, as this will affect the jar’s overall value. Check the base of the jar for the marking, too; you can cross-reference the mark with the genuine article.
Use resources from collectors’ societies to help determine whether a cookie jar is genuine or fake. This McCoy collectors’ guide notes that size is a good determinant. Reproductions use the finished cookie jar as a mold, and the pottery shrinks up when fired in the kiln, meaning it will be smaller than the authentic piece.
Most well-known pottery brands have printed or online guides that show which colors and models have been produced by a company. If a given brand has never used metallic paint and you see something glinting at you from the thrift store shelf, for example, it’s almost certainly a phony.
The real irony, of course, is that cookie jars aren’t actually the best way to store cookies; their lack of airtight seal means you can’t control the texture and maintain the desired softness. But let’s be honest: That was never really the point of any cookie jar, and it seems like the more adorable the design, the less practical the vessel. Buy them instead for the pure joy (or profit) they elicit.
