Fiestaware is famous for the bright colors and solid design of its pieces. It is the most collected brand of kitchenware in the United States. It was extremely popular in the 1940s and 1950s; the bright colors were used to lift people’s spirits after the depression.
If you have vintage Fiestaware, it could be worth some money, depending on its condition and its color. Fiestaware was originally made in West Virginia by the Homer Laughlin China Company and it was available starting in 1936. The style of the pieces was similar until 1969. They produced a few new designs from 1969 to 1973 and then they stopped production. They introduced a new line in 1986, which is still available today.
The most valuable pieces are those produced between 1936 and 1969. If you have Fiestaware and you want to find out how to tell if it is vintage, continue reading.
Check Out the Color
Fiestaware is known for its bright colors. The original five colors were green, cobalt blue, yellow, red, and ivory. The following year, they added turquoise. In the 1950s, they introduced new colors. In 1951, they retired cobalt blue, yellow, and ivory. They replaced these colors with softer pastel colors including gray, chartreuse, rose, and forest green. These four colors were made for approximately eight years and in 1959, they discontinued them and added in medium green. In 1969, they started making pieces in antique gold and turf green.
When the brand re-emerged in the 1980s, Bloomingdales carried pieces in apricot, rose, white, cobalt, and black. New colors were brought in each year after that and old colors were discontinued. As a result, there is a limited number of pieces available.
You can tell if your Fiestaware is vintage by checking the color since colors are only made during particular years. You can even determine in which decade it was made.
Look for the Fiesta Mark
The Fiesta mark is the best place to start when you are identifying your Fiestaware. The company has used a number of different marks and some do cross over between vintage and modern pieces, but you should start here.
The mark can appear as a stamp underneath the glaze or imprinted on the piece as an in-mold mark. Normally, you will find that flat items such as plates have the stamp while hollow items such as mugs have the in-mold mark.
If you are looking at a stamp, you can tell if it is vintage because the word Fiesta is written in all lowercase letters. None of the modern Fiesta products have a stamp in all lowercase letters. If you find that the stamp is in all uppercase letters, it is modern. If you notice an “H” on the mark, it is a piece made after 1986. In addition, modern pieces might have the words “Lead Free” stamped on the bottom. Finally, modern pieces have a three-number code that designates the year and quarter when the piece was made and these are all modern.
Consult a Professional
If you are still having trouble identifying your Fiestaware as vintage, you can consult a professional. You can find online forums where you can upload a picture and they will be able to identify it for you. People who have experience in handling vintage Fiestaware can spot vintage pieces very quickly and easily.
Fiestaware is fun, bright-colored tableware that was a staple in American kitchens for many years and it is a popular collector’s item today. If you want to identify the vintage pieces from this brand, you can look at the color and the stamp. The colors are very specific for different time periods. If you still need help, there are professionals who you can find in many different Fiestaware online forums. They will be more than happy to help you identify a piece.