Pig Cookie Jars

Pig Cookie Jars are very popular among vintage collectible cookie jars. Cookie jar collecting is a wonderful pastime for people of any age. The phrase, caught with your hand in the cookie jar, makes you think of warm days in the kitchen with fresh cookies baking then being put neatly away until after dinner. The type of cookie jar varied, but one of the most popular motifs that has remained a collector's item to this day are pigs.

Names in the Business

By far the biggest name connected with pig cookie jars is the Shawnee Pottery company that began in the 1930s in Ohio. Here, the Shawnee factory was able to produce upward of 100,000 ceramic items a day selling them to various firms including notably Sears Roebuck and Company, S.S. Kresge and Woolworth. This connection to retailes is part of what drove the cookie jar market forward. The very first Smiley pig cookie jar came on the market at a price of $12.00 each. It was cold painted with a blue or red scarf.

Makers Marks

If you're lucky enough to find one of Shawnes's pig jars (or any of their cookie jars for that matter) you want to watch for the most common maker's marks used by the company. These include:
- Patented, Smiley Co., Shawnee, U.S.A.
- USA, 6
- Patented Winnie, Shawnee, USA, 61
- Patented, Mugsey USA
- Patented, Winnie, USA
- Patented, Puss N Boots, USA

A few jars also bore the mark for Great Northern or Kenwood.

Newer Shawnee Cookie Jars

Buyers should be aware that Shawnee Pottery produced cookie jars in the 1990s. These will have different marks than their vintage cookie jars. Specifically the Smiley line will have the year it was produced, the name of the jar, and signatures (it will also note it as a commemorative edition so that you won't be fooled). Unfortunately, of Shawnee's cookie jars the Smiley Pig and Winnie pig are two that have been frequently made into "knock offs."

What you can Expect to Pay A vintage Shawnee Smiley pig can start around $200, with the average price being about $500. This is because many collectors do not feel their set is complete without them. One of the highest prices ever fetched for a Smiley Pig was $6,750.00 in July 2002. The key to value is condition and whether or not the jar has any gold trimming or unique decals.

By comparison Winnie jars sell for $300 - $800 dollars on average. Like the Smiley Pig, any extra adornment ups the price / value considerably.

Other Names in Pig Cookie Jars

Shawnee was but one of several manufacturers to jump on the animal motif. Other names you might find include Purinton (value for vintage piece about $325.00), Hagen-Renaker (Price around 4,900 for 1950s edition), and more currently Coco Dowley Pig jars for about $70.00. Note that some pig cookie jars come with matching salt and pepper shakers.

Related Pages:

Vintage Shawnee Cookie Jars
are among the most popular in collectible antique cookie jars. Located in Zanesville, Ohio the Shawnee Pottery Company began operation in 1937...[Read more]

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