RIP to the Cookie Jar

     Well I am beginning to wonder if we all should just gather up all of our cookie jars, bury them in the ground...place a nice monument above them with the inscription, "RIP - Mr. Cookie Jar - You Once Were Worth More than the Dirt You're Now In".

     When I first got in this business, I was about 15 years old...it was 1996.  I had no idea what I was doing but I was a fast learner.  I learned quick that cookie jars were a hot item to have especially if it was made by Nelson McCoy, Hull or Shawnee or one of the other big name manufacturers. I can remember seeing cookie jars go for hundreds and some rare ones even up to the thousands of dollars.  NOT ANYMORE!!!

     Back then, Roger Jensen had found out that McCoy never trademarked their mark so not only did you have the original items selling and selling high, you also had his cookie jars making their way into the market.  Along with him and his partner, Larry Martin, they dominated the market for years with Antique Reproductions cookie jars.  I can remember a dealer in South Carolina selling Jensen's cookie jars back then for as high at $800 to $1,000 each.  Now I don't want you to go to thinking that an antique reproduction is normally worth that much money because THEY'RE NOT.  This dealer never disclosed whether it was new or old and because of that I am guessing buyers assumed they were old ones and possible non-production pieces.  But nonetheless, they sold and sold high.

     Jensen no longer manufactures as he once did.  Matter of fact, one dealer that used to buy from him has not bought from him in close to a year.  I've not had the opportunity to buy any of his wares in going on 3 or 4 years now.  Every now and then you may see one of Jensen's jars on Ebay as if you know what to look for his jars can be distinguished from other manufacturers just because of the style of the eyes and designs that Jensen made. 

     Several years ago a dealer in Georgia obtained the rights to legally manufacture trademarked and licensed "McCoy" and "Shawnee" pottery.  These are brand new items and have no association with the owners of Nelson McCoy Pottery or the Shawnee factory, but there are reproductions of antique Shawnee and Nelson McCoy items plus new designs that are marked McCoy and Shawnee.  They are beautiful jars, however, they are not selling anywhere near what one would expect a cookie jar to fetch.

      Considering that 14 years ago a Black Mammy Cookie Jar would bring a minimum of $150 to $300, it is so disappointing to see what cookie jars are doing now.  They seem to be dead in the water for the moment.  I've seen original Mammy cookie jars sell on Ebay for as little as $50 and the new Licensed McCoy Mammy Cookie Jars are selling consistently for about $40 to $60 each.  That is what really puzzles me...a reproduction item bringing more money than an old original...BUT IT HAPPENS!!!

     Now to today...I was watching an online live auction stream from Chattanooga, TN.  Up for bid was a "McCoy" Leprechaun cookie jar.  The original sells for $3,000 to $5,000 and only 3 or 4 are known to exist.  Now knowing from experience, this was one of Larry Martin's reproduction jars because of the way it was painted.  I've seen so many in my experiences that I know how to recognize who has made what.  Now I thought even with it being a newer jar it would bring at least $75 to $100 just because that was always one of my best sellers...but do you know what it brought???  TWENTY DOLLARS!!! Only $20 for a nice reproduction cookie jar.  That is less than today's wholesale prices for dealers on the new cookie jars that are available.

     So....RIP TO THE COOKIE JAR....I'm about ready to dig a big whole and bury mine...who knows a 100 years from now when I'm dead and gone someone may dig them back up and them be priceless...RIP COOKIE JAR...You once were dealers biggest moneymakers!!!