You’ve probably walked past them dozens of times. Those dusty mixing bowls tucked in the back of a cupboard, the casserole dish your grandmother used every Thanksgiving. Maybe they’re stacked in a cardboard box somewhere in your garage.
Most people don’t give them a second thought. They’re just kitchen stuff, right? Here’s the thing, though. Vintage Pyrex has become many a collector’s dream, with certain patterns proving that what once baked casseroles could now fund your next vacation. I’m talking about real money, the kind that makes you wish you’d paid more attention at those estate sales. Some pieces are commanding prices well into the thousands.
The vintage Pyrex market isn’t slowing down either. Estate sales are often swarming with hardcore Pyrex collectors seeking their next big find. Let’s be real, what seemed like ordinary kitchenware from the fifties and sixties has transformed into serious treasure. We’re going to walk through four specific patterns that routinely sell for over five hundred dollars, and honestly, you might already own one without even knowing it.
Lucky in Love: The Holy Grail Worth Thousands
Let’s start with the most legendary pattern in the entire Pyrex universe. The Lucky In Love design, printed on a one-quart round casserole, remains one of the most elusive Pyrex designs ever created and was released in 1959 as most likely a limited release product or even a test piece. Picture this: green grass with clovers along the bottom, pink hearts scattered throughout. Sounds simple, almost whimsical.
Originally produced at the Corning Glass Works plant in Charleroi, PA, the company says Lucky in Love was originally a limited release with no record of just how many pieces were sold. Here’s where it gets wild. On July 20, 2022, the rarest piece of Pyrex in the world became the most expensive piece of Pyrex in the world, selling at auction on eBay for a record $22,100. Yeah, you read that right.
An incredibly rare Lucky in Love casserole dish was auctioned by Goodwill in 2017, and it sold for just under $6,000. Even single pieces routinely fetch thousands when they surface. Most collectors had never seen it before, with only one or two pieces ever sold on the market, and serious collectors refer to it as a “Holy Grail” or “Unicorn”. The pattern is so rare that people genuinely questioned whether it actually existed. There are rumors that folks who worked at the Corning factory said this was a prototype, with perhaps 10 or 12 pieces created that didn’t quite meet factory standards as the grass blades bled through the hearts.
If you somehow find this in your attic, don’t use it for leftovers. Call an appraiser immediately.
Turquoise Butterprint: The Farmhouse Favorite
Now here’s a pattern you might actually recognize. Butterprint was one of the first printed patterns on the opal ware Pyrex line, released in 1957 with its turquoise on white and white on turquoise Amish print. The design features a charming country scene with an Amish couple, roosters, and corn stalks. It’s got that wholesome, mid-century farm aesthetic that collectors go absolutely crazy for.
The Pyrex Butterprint Pattern was produced from 1957 through the 1960s, featuring farm animals and rural scenes as part of the Cinderella line, and a complete set of these mixing bowls can be worth between $200 and $500. The turquoise variant is particularly sought after. Along with Gooseberry, Butterprint was one of the first patterns debuted on the new “Cinderella Bowls,” which were large nested mixing bowls with a handle or spout on each side.
What makes this pattern so valuable is its widespread appeal combined with decent rarity in pristine condition. A set of mixing bowls in the Pyrex pattern Amish Butterprint was listed for $5,000 immediately after the bankruptcy. Complete nesting sets with all four bowls in excellent condition can easily command prices well over five hundred dollars. The fridgie sets, those smaller refrigerator dishes with lids, are also highly collectible. Butterprint fridgies in aqua are especially desirable, with sets in good condition flying off Etsy and eBay for top dollar.
Honestly, the Butterprint pattern is everywhere at flea markets, yet finding a complete, undamaged set is trickier than you’d think.
Pink Gooseberry: The Rare Pastel Prize
Here’s the thing about pink Pyrex, it commands a premium almost automatically. Gooseberry is Pyrex’s most notable pattern, introduced in 1957 as one of the first four patterns released in the Opal series, featuring pink gooseberry leaves, flowers, and berries against a white background. The design is delicate, almost dainty, with botanical details that feel surprisingly sophisticated for kitchen equipment.
You can find other color variations such as white-on-pink, black-on-white, and black-on-yellow, but the black pattern was discontinued in 1962, with a limited number of gold gooseberry patterns on a beige background also available. The real treasures are the yellow and black combinations. Much more rare is the yellow and black color combination of the Gooseberry Pyrex pattern, which was only ever released in the four-piece Cinderella mixing bowl set and discontinued in 1962.
Complete sets in pink or yellow can range from $500 to $1,750, with full sets of 5 Pink Gooseberry casserole dishes easily valued at $300 to $600. Even more rare than the black and yellow gooseberry, there are a few sets of beige bowls with a golden Gooseberry pattern, which was released as an employee gift. Those employee gifts? Yeah, they’re basically like finding a winning lottery ticket now.
I think what surprises people most is how a floral pattern can be worth more than some people’s monthly rent. Condition matters immensely here, though. Faded colors or scratches will tank the value fast.
Blue Dianthus: The Sales Test Treasure
This one’s got an interesting backstory. The Blue Dianthus pattern was released in the mid-1960s as a sales test design, with only very few pieces found today, featuring blue dianthus motifs on a milky-white opal or vice versa, though it wasn’t officially named Dianthus. It’s the kind of pattern most Pyrex enthusiasts had never even heard of until relatively recently.
A 2014 estate sale of a former Corning employee revealed that it was produced as a Sales Test in 1963. Because it never made it to full production, surviving pieces are astonishingly rare. The Blue Dianthus pattern is one of the most coveted by Pyrex collectors, with one single mixing bowl selling for $3,600 on eBay. A single bowl. Not even a set.
Single casseroles can range from $200 to $500 or more, with one 473 Blue Dianthus casserole dish sold for over $700, and complete casserole sets with original clear glass lids can sell for even higher prices. The delicate floral design has a quiet elegance that stands apart from the bolder, more graphic patterns of the era. It’s been found by collectors in Cinderella bowls and casseroles of different sizes and can feature the flowery pattern in blue over opal white or white over baby blue.
The Blue Dianthus represents that perfect storm of rarity and beauty that makes collectors lose their minds. It’s not flashy, yet people will pay thousands for it.
