Keep Your Eyes Peeled, This Vintage Baking Dish Could Be Hidden At Your Thrift Store
Browsing displays at thrift stores is akin to a modern-day treasure hunt. You'll need a combination of luck and skill to win. If you know what to look for, you can keep your eyes open for vintage kitchen brands that may be priced for much less than they are worth. Anchor Hocking Mugs are valuable finds, and some old jadeite dishes can be sold for $100 or more. Even Martha Stewart has been known to hunt for jadeite pieces, and her love for the dishes has helped catapult these green shades into popularity.
Once jadeite pieces surged in popularity and price, other brands began making their own versions. Stewart herself even marketed her own line of milky-green dishes in the 1990s, and Cracker Barrel and Ree Drummond (aka The Pioneer Woman) launched mint-colored pieces. One sought-after Anchor Hocking version is a revisiting of their original concept from the 70s. It's a collection of reproduction Fire-King jadeite dishes that launched for sale in 2000. By learning how to not only spot these milky green finds but also how to evaluate markings and logos to understand exactly when a piece was made, you'll be well on your way to taking valuable dishes home.
On the hunt for quality vintage jadeite dishes
Jadite (without the "e") refers to any piece from any brand that has a noticeable light, opaque green color, yet jadeite is the coined name for Anchor Hocking's specific green glass. To recognize an authentic Anchor Hocking Fire-King 2000 jadeite oven dish, look at any foil stickers, stamps, and barcodes placed on the dish for information to help legitimize the purchase.
Though Anchor Hocking's jadeite pieces were made in 2000, these dishes are still regarded as vintage, and their worth continues to climb in value. The irony, of course, is that when jadeite was first made, the pieces were marketed as sturdy household pieces and sold for very little. Original jadeite kitchenware may be difficult to come by, but if you keep your eyes open for this gentle shade of green during your next visit to the antiques store, luck may work in your favor.