IT’S possible that your Pyrex kitchenware could be worth thousands of dollars, depending on its history and design.
The iconic brand has sold dishes to customers for over a century, and some from the 1950s and 60s are worth serious money today.
A special Pyrex design is worth around $6,000 (stock image)[/caption]
Pyrex was originally created by New York-based Corning Glass Works in 1908 with the help of Bessie Littleton, who was married to a scientist at the company.
Littleton’s husband specifically worked with borosilicate glass, which could manage extreme heat and cold without shattering.
After breaking her own baking dish due to the oven’s heat, Littleton decided to bake a sponge cake with the borosilicate glass, leaving Corning Glass Works inspired to create the Pyrex kitchenware line, per Food & Wine.
Over the years, Pyrex became a household staple for Americans, and it’s still that way for many in 2025.
Except, the classic dishes made from the 1960s, like the Turquoise Golden Birds Pattern Casserole Dish, have increased exceptionally in value and rarity.
While the coloring around the outside is turquoise, an included pattern of leaves and birds on the sides is finished in gold on the special release Pyrex product.
Special releases typically came to commemorate events at Corning Glass Works and were given to employees.
Another particularly rare aspect of the Turquoise Golden Birds Pattern Casserole Dish is that it comes in what’s called the Space Saver shape.
DETAILS MATTER
Pyrex created them to be rectangular and oblong for better storage in refrigerators and can rage from sizes between 1.25 quart and 2 quart, per Pyrex Love.
At least two listings on eBay for the nostalgic Turquoise Golden Birds Pattern Casserole Dish went for $6,000 recently.
That’s thousands more than what a Pyrex casserole dish would typically sell for around the time.
Except, some could be worth even more money.
The highest known purchase price for a Pyrex dish is currently $22,100, and it was also sold on eBay back in 2022, according to Curbed.
A seller also recently wanted $100,000 for one of the rarest known designs.
Brief Pyrex Facts
- Created by Corning Glass Works in 1915
- Idea came after Bessie Littleton used one of the company’s Nonex glass battery jars to bake a sponge cake
- First Pyrex line had 12 pieces, including plates and loaf pan
- Measurements weren’t added to measuring cups for Pyrex until the 1940s
- 80% of US homes still have Pyrex today
RARE FIND
It’s the Lucky in Love prototype bowl, first made in 1959.
While the standard version of the glass bowl has hearts and clovers along the sides, the prototype has just clovers, no hearts.
A prototype has been found and sold before at a Goodwill in 2017 for $6,000.
Corning’s Museum of Glass also holds a version, and it became so popular that Pyrex re-released Lucky in Love in 2018 for a limited time.
There were several food storage containers and lids offered with the Lucky in Love design at prices between $3.99 and $11.99.
Some expert thrifters have also managed to find valuable pots and pans from another beloved kitchenware brand.
Le Creuset, founded in 1925, has enameled cast-iron cookware that is extremely durable and retails for hundreds to thousands of dollars.
A shopper last spring paid just $42 for a braiser and Dutch oven from the brand that’s worth $980.
Similarly, someone else found a 14-piece Le Creuset set that was $1,500 less than its standard price.
