The Vintage Pyrex Set With An Amish Print To Look For At Thrift Stores

Store loyalty programs have been around for ages. Today your loyalty card may give you cashback or discounts on the products you purchase most. Back in the 1950s and '60s, people traded their loyalty for stamps. When a shopper bought an item at their local grocery store, they got stamps. Once they had enough stamps, they could trade them in for various consumer products, like toys, furs, or Pyrex.

Never one to shy away from the chance to promote its products and get them into more people's homes, Pyrex released different colorways of some of its most popular patterns, such as Butterprint, through trading stamp programs. In 1960, a pink on white version of the popular country print (sometimes called "Amish") was available as a three-piece casserole set for stamp collectors.

While homemakers back in the day could have snagged the pink pattern for a handful of stamps, these days, Pyrex fans are willing to pay a pretty penny to get their hands on it. Pink Butterprint is one of the brand's dishes that shoppers are thrilled to find at the thrift store, due to its relative rarity and the high prices it usually commands at auction — often around $1,000 for a full set, with lids.

Pyrex released the first Butterprint pattern, with a white design on a turquoise background and a turquoise design on a white background, in 1957. The Amish-inspired design featured a woman and man, along with various images associated with farm life, like sheaths of wheat and a rooster. The pattern was one of the first to be printed on Pyrex's atypical bowl shape, which had two handles/pour spouts on each side and was called a Cinderella bowl.

Turquoise Butterprint was in production for well over a decade, which means it's not too difficult to spot when you're thrifting or visiting a vintage market. Pyrex also produced many different dish types in turquoise, from bowls to refrigerator sets to butter dishes and casseroles. Its sister colorway, pink-on-white, was only available in 1960, only through trading stamp programs, and only in a single three-piece 470 Cinderella casserole set. So it's pretty difficult to find these days. 

Knowing how to identify authentic Pyrex will help you verify you've found the real deal — look at the underside for a backstamp that reads "PYREX," plus the model number and use instructions. Also pay close attention to the piece's condition. Casseroles with lids are coveted and worth more than those without. Dishes with bright, pristine patterns and few signs of damage will also be worth considerably more than those that are scratched or faded.