The Rare Vintage Pyrex Prototype You'd Be Thrilled To Spot At A Thrift Store

Pyrex designers were known for having a bit of fun and experimenting with different colorways for some of the brand's most well-known designs. The rare and valuable pink and orange Butterprint patterns are one example, as are the various color schemes for the popular Gooseberry pattern. Some colorways are much more common than others — you're likely to easily find turquoise Butterprint dishes at a thrift store, but orange or pink are trickier to track down, for instance. The same is true for pink Gooseberry versus the yellow version.

Here's another multi-colorway Pyrex pattern to add to the list — Barcode, aka Blue Stripe or Blue Barcode. Released as a promotional item in 1966, Barcode stood out from other promo products in a few ways. First, it was released on not one, but two casserole sets: model number 470, which contained a one-pint, 1.5-pint, and one-quart casserole dish, and model number 480, which contained a one-quart, 1.5-quart, and 2.5-quart casserole dish. However, it's the Barcode prototypes that are really sought after.

The Barcode pattern was made in a few other colorways for prototypes (how many, exactly, isn't actually known, but there are at least eight) and the rarest include yellow and green, orange and yellow, and yellow and black. The alternative colorways may have been created for promotional items that never saw the light of day or were never officially released to the public due to production problems. If you do spot Barcode in a color other than blue at the thrift store, be sure to take it home, as it could be worth thousands

Although the official name of Barcode is "Blue Stripe," barcode is a fitting description of the pattern — a series of vertical bars of varying thicknesses against a solid color background. The casserole dishes are in Pyrex's dreamy Cinderella style of dishware, with two handles that double as pour spouts on either side. While they were initially made in sets of three, you're likely to come across a casserole on its own when browsing a thrift store, either with or without a matching lid. Should you come across a full set of three, be prepared to pay more than for an individual piece. The price will also go up if you find a dish with its lid, as it's not uncommon for the two to get separated after all these years.

As for the colors, blue is the most common and easily available, with single dishes costing around $70 to $100 with a lid, and around $45 to $50 without. A full set of three with lids might cost around $350. Beyond blue, other existing Barcode colorways include orange stripes on yellow, yellow stripes on green, brown stripes on orange, blue stripes on yellow, and black stripes on blue. A single prototype dish in a rare colorway, like orange and white, could easily sell for $3,500, even without a typically coveted lid. Whether you find a run-of-the-mill blue piece or a rarer color, you can verify that the piece is authentic and valuable Pyrex by checking to see if it reads "PYREX" on the underside.