Fenton Glass Value by Color: A Story

We recently bought a vintage Fenton covered candy dish. It’s a hobnail milk glass beauty with a crimped rim and pedestal. Doing research to try and assign both a date and value, it quickly became clear that although we are very partial to milk glass for home decor, as a seller, we had backed an aesthetically pleasing but losing horse. What follows is a story, a story about Fenton glass value by color.

Before we get to the story, some things are helpful to know.

Fans of Fenton have scanned in and posted catalogs, advertisements and price lists that are awesome resources when trying to figure out when a particular piece was made. Stretch Glass Society has good selection, including one from 1955 showing our covered candy dish at the top left. There are also many Fenton books, although one must remember that the values given in collecting books are rarely actual market values.

Fenton made a wide range of pieces for over 100 years, including pieces for purely decorative purposes and functional pieces for the table. All the pieces have exquisite workmanship. Rule of thumb, if there is anything sloppy about the production, it’s a knockoff. Fenton didn’t do haphazard. Another important Fenton hallmark are the gorgeous glass colors and color blends.

Fenton commonly made pieces in a multiple color ways to match trends of the time, like this extremely 1960s array of a different pedestal candy box from 1969. (The plastic daisy prop is perfect, is it not?)

Back to the story…

A price list from 1959 showed that our covered candy dish, #3887, was made in three colors that year–amber, milk and topaz opalescent. Looking at a few other price lists, it seems that milk was made most years, plus one or two more colors. In terms of cost, the 1950 wholesale price was $2.00 per candy dish if you purchased a dozen. It was up to $2.50 in the mid 1960s. All colors were the same price.

What determines today’s price for vintage and antique items a simple formula with three variables. Scarcity + Demand + Condition = Market Value. Neither the price originally paid when the piece was bought new nor the price paid on the secondary market have any bearing on current market value. The Scarcity variable is why we have a Fenton glass value by color story.

Our milk glass piece is the best deal for vintage shoppers. Looking at past recent sales, most of the pieces sold for $25-$35. That’s a deal for a piece of vintage art glass. Why so cheap? There’s a lot of them. One of the 1960s catalogs says that hobnail milk glass items were the most popular pieces made by Fenton. Of course they would have made tons of those. That only confirms what we vintage glass lovers already know. The secondhand market is swimming in hobnail milk glass from many makers. It’s hardly scarce. (For milk fanciers like us, this is not a problem.) Vintage sellers have to keep their prices competitive–you aren’t going to sell your piece for $75 if all the rest are priced at $25. Abundance means lower prices.

Now, let’s check prices on some other colors. They were made for limited periods of time, meaning there are fewer, meaning they are harder to find. As you might suspect, the sale prices are higher. FYI, all the prices quoted are actual sold prices, and all the sales were within the past couple months.

This aqua blue opalescent version sold for $61, roughly double the value of the milk glass. (eBay sale by cmch60.)

The topaz opalescent version has a value-added parlor trick, fluorescing under a black light. This piece was listed at $225, quite a price jump. eBay seller nationallytrsrd3 accepted a best offer on it, so we don’t know the actual sale price, but we can’t imagine a veteran seller accepting an offer greater than 20% off.

eBay seller kskaren05 sold this light blue version for $236. Not exactly sure what Fenton called this color,  but it’s stunning.

Speaking of stunning, the deep intensity of this plum opalescent version really brings the drama. Seller jeanherric59 sold it on eBay for $255.

Finally, the grand marshall of this footed candy dish #3887 parade has to be this rich green piece, which was listed on eBay for $325. Seller deborahlvintage accepted a best offer, so the actual hammer price was less, but still…

It’s pretty obvious that the formula of Scarcity + Demand + Condition plays out in this real life Fenton glass value by color story. Colors that were produced for a shorter period of time may have sold for the same price when they were new, but their scarcity has given them premium pricing on the vintage market. It’s the same story with some colors of depression glass as well. A less common yellow set might be worth significantly more than it’s more common pink sibling.

When people were purchasing these pieces for themselves or as gifts back in the day, did investment value factor in to the buying decision? Hopefully not. Likely not. Buying things for their investment value rarely pays off. Fenton glass was a thing of beauty, something you bought because it appealed to you aesthetically. And certainly something people collected to enhance their homes. Those are the same reasons we buy it today. And that is the true value of a fine thing.