If You Grew Up In The 60s, Check If You Still Have This Valuable Bakeware

The next time you find yourself digging through your old cookware, keep an eye out for items that could be worth money. Vintage dishes, including bakeware items, are sometimes worth more than you might expect. CorningWare is one such brand that collectors absolutely love. CorningWare became a household name in the late 1950s, offering a new type of bakeware made from a blend of glass and ceramic. The creation offered a new "shatterproof" design, ideal for those who wanted safer cooking without the worry of a dish breaking from the occasional drop. If you've been cleaning out your old kitchen items, don't toss these vintage kitchen items, because they could be worth something.

When it comes to assessing the value of your CorningWare, the more pieces you have in a set, the more it will be worth. Other things to consider when determining how much you can get from your CorningWare include the condition of the item (stains, scratches, and other damage could decrease the value) and the design on the dishes. Looking at the stamp on the items gives you an idea of what year they are from, which also comes into play when determining the value. If you're curious about which CorningWare pieces are worth the most, let's take a closer look at the stamps, designs, and prices at which different pieces are selling.

If you look at the bottom of your CorningWare dishes, you will see either an embossed or a block stamp with a few pieces of information — the size of the dish, the CorningWare name, and "Made in USA." They may also have a note about being safe in the dishwasher or microwave. Even though the stamps won't give you the date of the dish, they will help give you an idea of when it was made. The pre-1960s dishes had an embossed mark on the bottom, while those from the '60s had blue or black block stamps (blue in the earlier years and black toward the second half of the decade). The "microwave-safe" stamps didn't start until the '70s.

The '60s blue cornflower CorningWare dishes are among the most popular, possibly because they're still easy to find in antique and thrift stores. A 1960s blue cornflower casserole dish recently sold for almost $55 on eBay, but from singles to sets, most items in this print seem to be going for anywhere between $8 and $50. The Spice of Life print is more difficult to find, but it sells for around the same prices as the blue cornflower pieces, with a casserole dish with a clear lid going for just over $55. Other items with this design are selling on eBay for $10 up to upwards of $100. Certain pieces in the Spice of Life print, like the 4-quart casserole dish, have fetched around $4,000, though. If you're fortunate enough to have a complete Spice of Life CorningWare set in good condition, you could add it to eBay listings that are well over $10,000.

If you plan to sell and your bakeware has stains, you can properly remove even the peskiest of them before posting them. However, if you're not ready to sell your CorningWare, displaying it could boost your kitchen's aesthetic appeal.