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Most secondhand shoppers know that Pyrex is a vintage dishware brand you should always snag from thrift stores and estate sales. Other brands aren’t such obvious pick-ups; they sit quietly on the shelf rather than draw the eye. Dishware by Anchor Hocking is one such example — it’s a brand worth keeping an eye out for. The Hocking Glass Company started producing dishes in 1905. Over the years, the company has released a wide variety of glassware that looks at home on any dinner table, with some lines becoming quite collectible. In the 1940s, Anchor Hocking released its Moonstone line, which would only be produced for about four years. Any collector today would be thrilled to add it to their kitchen cabinets.
Moonstone represents an attempt to bring hobnail-style glass, which was once favored by the upper classes, to a wider audience. The raised beads on the glass give it visual and physical texture and add a touch of whimsy to any table setting or dishware display. The glass is transparent but edged with white, and when light hits a dish, it can sometimes create shades of blue and purple. This colorful iridescence helped give the Moonstone line its distinctive name. Some dishes have ruffled edges, giving them a feminine vibe, particularly when they are stacked together. Anchor Hocking released a wide variety of items under the line, including a full dinnerware set, serving dishes, a candy bowl, drinkware, and even a relish dish. If you’re looking for beautiful Anchor Hocking glass colors that even collectors dream of finding, the Moonstone line has a lot to offer.
Hunting for Anchor Hocking Moonstone dishes while thrifting
Although the hobnail-style glass of Moonstone dishes is easy to spot on thrift store shelves, it can sometimes be challenging to determine whether you’ve found authentic Anchor Hocking pieces because the dishes were often left unmarked. When this line was released, the company added foil stickers bearing the name Moonstone to the bottom of its dishware, but many of these stickers have worn off over time. The design of the dishes can be a clue — pick up the piece and feel the raised bubbles to see if they’re smooth and round. This differentiates Hocking’s pieces from the hobnail-style glassware made by other contemporary manufacturers like Fenton. You should also see a design at the base of the dish that resembles a flower or sunburst with rounded edges.
If you’re lucky enough to find Moonstone pieces from Anchor Hocking, they’re not just a beautiful addition to your table; they are also harder-to-find items that can have a lot of value on the secondhand market. A single 11-inch Moonstone plate with ruffled edges is being sold by Replacements for almost $70, while a 10-inch sandwich plate is going for about $50. On eBay, you can find trinket boxes selling for as low as $5 and 71-piece dinner sets selling for as much as $200. Meanwhile, a set of five Moonstone plates sold for almost $73 on eBay. Some vintage Anchor Hocking drinkware is a valuable thrift store find, and Moonstone glasses are no exception. Plus, they’re a beautiful, whimsical addition to the table. You can find cup and saucer sets on reseller sites like Etsy for reasonable prices.
