How to Tell If CorningWare Is Vintage

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CorningWare originated in Corning, NY in 1958. It was created as an oven-to-table cookware and it could be used on the stovetop as well. Vintage CorningWare is anything made prior to 1999, which is the year that the brand was sold to World Kitchens. The most valuable pieces were made with a limited run.

CorningWare is popular with collectors today because there is a trend in mid-century modern pieces that are made after World War II, especially in the 1960s. Baby boomers are collecting the items that they grew up with. Read on to learn how to tell if your CorningWare is vintage.

Check the Backstamp

When CorningWare was first produced, it was extremely popular right away. In fact, it was so popular that other manufacturers started making patterns and pieces that were very similar and almost identical to CorningWare pieces. It is hard to know by looking at the piece if it is CorningWare or not. However, there is a backstamp on the underside of CorningWare pieces. Prior to 1998, the backstamp will read “Corning Ware” in two words.

In 1998, the company began using “Corningware” as one word, and this continued for another four years before it was discontinued. In 2009, they began making it again, and it is marked “CorningWare.” It is important to remember that the company name was Corning, Inc., which made both CorningWare and Pyrex, but these are two separate divisions of the company.

Look at the Pattern

CorningWare is known for its patterns and the pattern on your piece can tell you if it is vintage or not. The original pattern was a triple-cornflower motif and it was normally blue on a white dish. This pattern was consistently produced throughout the years while others were made for specific periods of time.

Some of the rare patterns are as follows:

  • Black starburst percolator: 1959 to 1963
  • Blue Heather: 1976 to 1977
  • Butterscotch: 1969
  • Nature’s Bounty: limited edition gift line in 1971
  • Platinum Filigree: limited edition gift line 1966 to 1968
  • Renaissance: limited edition gift line in 1970
  • Medallion: olive green stenciled design that was a Shell Oil Co. promotional piece from 1972 to 1974
  • Spice O’ Life: table design with French word in script underneath
  • Wild Flower: large poppies with yellow, blue, and green accents
  • Country Festival: folk art motif with two bluebirds and a tulip

If you find that you have any of these items, they are not only vintage but popular among collectors as well.

Ask a Professional

Another way that you can determine whether your CorningWare is vintage is by checking with a professional. You can buy a reference book by a professional and will have pictures and descriptions of all of the pieces and when they were made. You can also go to an antique shop or thrift shop to find out what their experts think. There are authenticators online who can often tell you whether your CorningWare is vintage or not with a few pictures of the item.

CorningWare was incredibly popular and the products are so durable that many have lasted and are still around today. If you are looking to purchase CorningWare, you will get better prices if you look at thrift shops and garage sales. People do trade CorningWare online but the prices are much higher.

Often, trends in collecting are based on the people who do the collecting and today Baby Boomers are buying the items they grew up with. CorningWare has experienced a recent surge in popularity for this reason. Whether you are looking to add a few vintage pieces to your kitchen or you have them already, you can find out if it is vintage by following the steps listed above.

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49 Comments

  1. Got a lot of pieces when I got married in 1975 didn’t use them very much. Have had it put up. It is the cornflower blue. Thinking about selling it didn’t know how much to sell it for.

    1. I kept my mother’s Corning Ware set with the Blue Cornflower pattern for memories. I don’t use them because she had a specific Corning Ware cook top stove used specially for the Corning Ware. I also have a large Corning Ware pot with a different pattern and French wording. How can I find out if they have any value? I am from the 70’s so the Corning Wate has been around since or before then.

    2. I have2 pieces of Corning ware and I think that it has the 3 corn flowers on it. But I don’t see a stamp on the bottom of them
      So how else can I find out if it is vintage or not?

      1. I think that I have found a Stamp on the bottom of the bigger one but I can’t read it

    1. I have2 pieces of Corning ware and I think that it has the 3 corn flowers on it. But I don’t see a stamp on the bottom of them
      So how else can I find out if it is vintage or not? I think that I have found a stamp on the bottom of the bigger piece. but I can’t read what is says.

  2. I was recently clearing my aunts old house out and found a set of Corning Ware still in the box never opened. I opened it to see if all was good and it is perfect condition. The box has aged but held together well. It is a Saucepan Trio set. A-33 Blue Cornflower. I know they are at least 20 years old if not older. The stamp is on the back of the handle says CORNING WARE all in caps. Can you tell me what they are worth?

    1. I have the white one with the 3 blue flowers there so heavy. My mom has the coffee pot anyone remember that it is white with 3 blue flowers

      1. A Corningware percolator makes (made) the best coffee ever! My family cleaned the unit about once a month but dreaded it because it took a few brewings for the flavor to return to perfection. When the pot is ever mentioned, everyone stops, sighs, and fondly reminisses of a smooth, non-bitter flavor from an era gone by.

      2. How did I send you the photo so that you can tell me how soon I can sell it, the piece that I have, I have it since 1970. I don’t know how many years ago my aguela bought it. The piece is rare Corning ware spice Le Romarin A 21 Ny USA 111181 MA .

  3. I have a CORNING WARE 5 quart A-5-8
    Range oven microwave
    Corning ny 179 MA.
    Would like to know how much its worth

  4. I have a 5 QT and 3 smaller pieces all with the Spice of Life and the French words underneath. It has stamp on back of all with Corning Ware in 2 words. Range Oven Mictowave. Could anyone please tell me if it is worth anything?

    1. I have a corning ware in two words , A-5-B with the 3 French words under neathe The spice of life pattern with a Pyrex lid a 12 C. 30-J could you tell me what it’s worth because it came from my daddy’s mom

  5. I have two pieces, each with the CORNING WARE stamp. One is a P-9-B, 8in., blue cornflower. The other is a L’échalote, A-1-B, 1 quart. Both have matching lids. What might these items be worth?

  6. The easiest way to tell what each piece is worth is to simply google the piece. Some prices are outrageous, but some people will pay it! After viewing different listings for a particular piece, you can get an “average” price for what the piece is going for!

    1. Don’t go by what they are asking, go check on the sold comps. Sure there are 5 QT cassarol with cover Spice of Life selling for 7 grand… it is a farce, go to the sold comps (which are filters on the side) most are selling for 25 to 50 bucks. But always remember if you are not an e-bay or one of those sellers, now you have to register, give a bank account # (to pay your fees and collect your selling price) Then you are going to have to send and pay for shipping up front… be reasonable… I sell Corning all the time and usually it is a reseller or someone that wants a reminder of the good old days. I don’t sell anything for over $20 due to the quantity I have and just wanting it sold. I sold a 15 piece of Spice of life for $110. the person I sold it too was so excited, it was close to the set she grew up with and loved the way it baked in the oven…. So just understand all the ins and outs of selling, you might find an Antique dealer that will give you a decent price for it, but remember they need to make money as well.. Happy selling… on a side note, I love my corning set and I add to it all the time… just the original Blue Cornflower.

  7. I have several pieces of vintage corning ware my grandmother left me that I would like to sell but I am not sure what they are even worth

  8. I have 1dish that is completely different than anything I’ve seen its white with yellow wheat stalks, it says Corning Ware USA. Can you tell me anything about this design, also I have a set of larger casserole dishes in Spice of Life both with glass lids and both with the plastic fitted lids smaller one is A3B 3 liter and A5B 5 liter I know they are vintage, was wondering what the value is

    1. I have a 3 piece set of corning ware casserole dishes with the three blue cornflower pattern on it and has the handle and metal trivet with it. Also have a small pan with the blue cornflowers on it. Have you found out what the 3pc set might be worth. Just found this info today, never researched these before. I have had a person say that I couldn’t sell any thing I have in my home, not just kitchen equipment, because no one want any thing that older people have collected over time. She said I have to give everything away. Hope you might know something about the value of the corning ware. I don’t know how to do things over the internet. Not very savvy on how to do that. Thank you for your post.

      1. Sounds like they are just going you throw away allot of stuff that they can just go behind you and scoop it up so they can sell what they can. Make sure to not let them take advantage like that please

      2. She’s trying to scam you, And take advantage of the situation, Don’t Listen to that person, you can sell pretty much everything. 😊

  9. Does vintage corningware have made in USA stamp on back as well as saying corningware n its size

  10. I moved into my now 94yr old Grandmothers home a few years ago & her entire home, built in 1964, is crammed packed w/Corningware, & Tupperware that she sold in the 70’s. Many of which is still in the original plastic bags w/receipts still attached. Is it worth my time to go through & look all these items up, & attempt to sell them? I looked on EBay & it seems there’s thousands of listings for almost the exact same items.

    1. All Corning has a stamp of some sort, look very closely. Sometimes it is raised embossed on the bottom, or very lightly printed. Move it around under a light, you will be able to see if it is corning or not. There were many copy cat producers… If there is no marking it is not Corning.

  11. My mom has lots of Corning ware with the blue cornflower. Has quart, 1 & 1/2 quart size 1& 3/4 cup size- lots of these. I have pictures. Good condition

    1. I have blue & white Corning Ware casserole
      P-13/4-B. Motif 13/4 QT.
      Made in U.S.A
      For range & microwave
      How can I find out year and if it’s antique

  12. I have a 2.5 liter square dish with glass lid. Blue flowers. Marked A-10-B on one handle and Corning wear on the other handle. Can you tell me the year or value from that? Thanks

  13. I have a 2.8 liter, solid black dish & clear top, oval shaped. I dont remember Corning Ware making black pieces. My email acct is [edited].

  14. I have 4 casserole dishes Blue on white cornflower dishes that say Corning Ware. 1-1 quart P-1-B; 1-1.5 quart, P-2 11/2-B; 1-2quart, A-2-B; and 1 23/4 quart P332 baking dish. Can you give me some idea of their value? (There are two lids) These are all in good shape.

  15. Go to ‘snopes’ and look up Corning Ware. It will tell you that all these people that are finding on Corning Ware in Etsy and some of the other online sales sites are scams. Now there are a few pieces of Corning Ware that are ‘valuable’, ‘one of a kind’, etc. and you may find someone “dumb” enough to give you $10k for one of your dishes, but Good luck!
    If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t!

  16. I have a corning ware Spice of life piece with a glass lid that the pattern is upside down. Does anybody know the approx value?

  17. I have a dish corny vintage with the blue triple blue flowers on it what’s a Pyrex glass top once you know what it’s worth

  18. Have blue cornflower corning ware baking dishes in various sizes. CorningWare stamped on back as well as size and made in Canada. Are they worth anything.

  19. I have the ‘Spice O’ Life: table design with French word in script underneath’ and the ‘Corning Ware’ stamp underneath. 2.5 liter. Would anyone know if this is worth getting valued?

  20. I found a corningware spice of life 2lt… the one that everyone is so happy about…but I can’t find the lid. I just don’t think it would be a good price for me.

  21. Hi.
    I have a Corningware Spice of Life 25cm frypan casserole dish with lid in perfect condition and has rarely been used. The Stamp underneath shows it is an A10 piece but I can’t find out anything about it. Is it rare and what would it be presently worth?
    Thank you for a great site.

  22. Hello, my casserole dish has the Corning ware stamp under the handle, it is marked A10B, is this something Corning did? Or is it a replica? Thanks in advance.

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