The Valuable Blanket Company You Should Be Checking For At The Thrift Store

While you're busy scanning the clothing racks or sifting through shelves of chinaware at your local thrift store, you may not think to check the linens department for valuable items. Lurking in second hand shops among the mismatched '70s sheet sets and colorful, synthetic kids comforters, you might just find an unexpected collector's item in the form of a cozy wool cover. Pendleton blankets and throws can be worth a lot whether they are new or vintage, so you'll want to keep an eye out for them. 

The Pendleton brand has plenty of cachet for those who appreciate woolen goods. It was formed in 1909, when the company started making blankets as items to trade to various indigenous tribes for silver jewelry. The tribes prized the blankets, using them in everything from weddings to dowries, naming ceremonies, funerals, memorials. In light of this history, the brand is known for their Native American themed patterns and their success at continuing to make many of their high quality products in their original mills in Oregon and Washington to this day. 

New Pendletons will set you back a few hundred dollars purchased directly from the company's retail shop. But, just like a thrifted quilt could be worth a lot of money, vintage blankets from this brand can bring in some serious cash for resellers. On resell sites like eBay, vintage Pendleton blankets and throws have been known to go for anywhere from $600 to $1600 – depending on the rarity of the design. There are certain giveaways that will help you identify these pricey woolen creations for less at the thrift store.

One of our tips for spotting valuable, high-end items at thrift stores is to look for distinctive maker's marks or other labels that help identify items as authentic. In the case of the esteemed Pendleton wool blankets, you'll want to look for a tag sewn on or near the seam. Many of the Pendleton tags are blue, but there are other colors that can help to determine just how old the throw is. On the oldest Pendleton items — those produced between the 1930s and '80s — the brand name is typically in quotes and in all caps with a flourish on the letter "P."

While newer Pendletons are still being produced with Native American-style designs, there are also vintage blankets with these types of patterns. If you find a throw at a thrift store with one of these designs and the right type of tag, it could be a genuine antique or more recent limited edition. In either case, there's a chance it's worth a lot, so you might want to knab it.

Another Pendleton woolen to keep your eye out for is any blanket that has a series of four short lines near the seam. These lines were called points, and were featured on the brand's National Park collection from 1916 to 1937. Points or no points, any of the company's wool blankets made before 1942 are particularly valuable, and depending on the collector, it might not even matter if the items are in pristine condition.