The Vintage Pyrex Pattern With Country Charm You'd Be Thrilled To Find At The Thrift Store

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Some vintage Pyrex patterns are coveted because they are unique and hard-to-find, even among the most savvy thrifters. Take the valuable Blue Dianthus pattern, for example. Others are in-demand because, well, they're cute and attractive. The Friendship pattern, first released in 1971, falls into that second category. Featuring bright-red, Pennsylvania Dutch-style birds, and cheery, daisy-like flowers, the pattern was available on a large selection of Pyrex dishes. This included the dreamy Cinderella bowls and casserole dishes, round mixing bowls, oval bakers, and rectangular refrigerator boxes.

The Friendship pattern was available for several years, from 1971 to 1974, and is relatively easy to identify today. As with all things Pyrex, the price you'll pay for a dish with this cute pattern depends on its condition, size, and whether it's part of a full set or not. Originally, the bowls and dishes were often sold together as four-piece sets. However, over the years, it's common for some of the kitchenware to get separated from their counterparts.

The same is true for casserole dishes and their lids — a dish with a lid is worth way more than one without. That makes perfect sense with the Friendship pattern in particular, as the lids themselves often feature the birds and flowers design. Some of the lids were available in milky-white opal glass, rather than the typical clear glass, adding to the uniqueness of the line.

When looking for Pyrex's Friendship pattern at your local thrift store, keep an eye out for cheery, bright orange and red. Several of the bowls and dishes in the line are solid in color, with only the boldly patterned lids establishing that they were part of the collection, such as the red, round, 1.5-quart Cinderella casserole dish. The dish came with a clear lid with the pattern printed on it. A smaller, 1-pint Cinderella casserole dish features a solid-orange bowl with a white-opal patterned lid. Pyrex only released clear lids with the Friendship pattern for the initial release year. In 1972, the company switched to the opal lids.

As for the mixing bowls, only some of them feature the printed pattern. Both the Cinderella and round mixing bowl four-piece sets included two solid-color bowls and two patterned bowls. So if you come across a lonely, solid-red, round Pyrex bowl, it may just be part of the Friendship pattern collection that got separated from its mates. The same is true for a small, solid-orange Cinderella bowl and orange or red refrigerator dishes.

When figuring out how much you should pay for a dish with the Friendship pattern and how much it may be worth, the same rules apply as for finding valuable Pyrex in other patterns. Check out the condition, both on the inside of the dish and the pattern itself. Ideally, it'll have minimal wear or scratches. Prices for the Friendship set often range, on sites like eBay, from $30 for a small casserole dish or bowl to over $300 for a four-piece matching set.