Depression Glass Reproductions

If you're going to buy old glassware, you have to know what you're buying, and what it's worth. Nothing is worse than buying something you thought was old, only to later learn that it is a reproduction. I hope this information will help you avoid buying reproductions, especially when the seller is selling them for antique prices.

Adam Butter dish in Pink

New mould repro
Original top: the veins within each leaf meet at the center vein.
Repro top: veins within leaves do not meet. Overall design is weak (poorly moulded).
Original bottom: the four main leaves point to each corner.
Repro bottom: the four main leaves do NOT point to the corners.

Avocado Pitcher and Glasses

Original mould repro
Repro colors are amethyst, cobalt, forest green, forest green frost, pink frost, ruby (an "orange-y" ruby), yellow, light blue, irridized, teal, and gold.
CAUTION: Repro is also being made in pink, a color which was originally made. Newer pink is darker than the original, which was a true light baby pink. New green is significantly darker than original.

Cameo Shaker

New mould repro
Like many repros, the mould design is very indistinct compared to the original. Many examples of the repros have a smaller capacity than the original (the bottom of the shaker is about 1/4 filled with glass).
Repro is being made in blue, which is not an original color. Repro green is unlike the green of depression glass, and the repro pink is very close; must use indistinct mould and smaller capacity to identify repro pink.

Cameo Children's Dishes

New mould repros
No children's dishes were originally made.

Candlewick

Repro pieces include: cigarette box, individual salt, coaster, astray, vase, candleholder, 3 pc. heart set, plates, cups, saucers, some bowls, a relish, a small basket, and a children's set.
Repro colors include: cobalt, evergreen, ruby, ebony, cranberry, pink, crystal, crystal with gold beads, plus frosted pastels.
Markings: some repros are marked Dalzell Viking or DX (seconds) on the bottom, but this can be removed, some are marked "B" (Boyd's), and some are unmarked.
Some repro crystal pieces are heavier and off shape, but without originals this can be tough to distinguish.
Beware of odd or rare colors.

Caprice

Repro crystal pieces cannot be distinguished from the old.
Some repros are marked with "F" (Fenton) and have some mould changes (such as ruffled edges) and color variations from the originals.
Some repros are marked with a 1/16" diameter dot in the center of the base (Degenhart).
Sky blue (new color) is darker than the original Moonlight Blue.
Some repros have a roughness to the glass.
Some repros have a greasy feel; they have not been fire polished.

Cherry Blossom

ALL PIECES listed below - New mould repros
ALL PIECES - any pieces with crude leaves with SMOOTH outer edges are REPROS.
Bowl, cereal
- Original: bottom "well" is 2" across.
- Repro: bottom well is 2 1/2" across, and is the same shape as the 8 1/2" bowl.
Bowl, medium (8 1/2")
- Original: jagged edge leaves
- Repro: crude, smooth edge leaves
Cake plate
- Original: Lines between arches line up with feet on old pieces.
- Repro: not true, and leaves have too many lines; they look like feathers. Color is paler than original.
Child's Butter Dish
- None originally made
Child's Cup
- Lopsided handle
Cup
- Original: design appears in bottom of cup
- Possible multiple mould repros: some have no design in bottom of cup; some have upside-down pattern
Plate
- Original: jagged edge leaves
- Repro: smooth edge leaves, also 25% heavier
Platter - 13" divided
- New platters are much heavier than the old; glass on the bottom is thicker
Pitchers, scalloped bottom, all over pattern
- Branch on bottom of old pitcher has texture, new is smooth, while cherries on bottom of old pitchers are smooth and new are textured.
Saucers
- New have an offset mould line edge.
Shakers
- Uneven pattern on new pieces
- Smaller capacity on new shakers
- New tops almost always mean new shakers
Tray, 2 handled
- New Tray is heavier than the old; glass on the bottom is thicker.
Tumblers
- Pattern is weak on the bottom
- Arch separating the pattern from the plain sections is three bands on the old, one band on the new.

Florentine #2 Footed Pitcher and Tumblers

New mould repro
Under the flower, at the point where the stems cross, one stem is broken to allow the other to cross on the old. On the new, both stems break.
New pink is much darker and purplish; new blue is much darker.

Iris 6 1/2" Footed Ice Tea Tumblers and Dinner Plate

New tumblers have two distinct differences. First, turn these upside down and Feel the rays on the foot. New rays are very sharp and will almost hurt your finger if you press on them hard. Old tumbler rays are rounded and feel smooth in comparison. The paneled design on the new tumbler gets very weak in several places as you rotate it in you hand. Old tumbler paneled designs stay bold around the entire tumbler.
New dinner plates have two characteristics readily discerned from the old. The extreme edge of the pattern on the new dinners is pointed outward (upside down V). Old dinner plate designs usually end looking like a stack of the letter V, though optical illusions sometimes distort that a bit. Also, the inside rim of the new dinners slopes inward toward the center of the plate, whereas original inside rims are almost perpendicular and steeper.

Madrid - All Pieces

Original mould repros and new mould repros (see below)
Initial reproductions had "76" in the mould, most recent issues do not; most same color reproductions are very difficult to distinguish, and crystal is virtually impossible to distinguish.
Amber and blue repros are slightly darker than originals, while pink are slightly lighter. Teal color was never originally made.
New mould repros
Pieces now available which were never originally made include a 2 compartment grill plate, a footed goblet, vase/hurricane lamp, pedestal cake stand, preserve stand, short shakers, and an 11oz tumbler.

Mayfair

ALL PIECES - New mould repros
Cookie Jars
- Old jars have a 1 3/4" mould circle on the bottom that you can feel, new ones are smooth.
- New lids are curved, while the angle of the old is rather straight.
- Old green jars fluoresce (glow) under black light, new ones do not.
Juice Pitcher
- Mould circle can be felt on bottom of old ones, new ones are smooth
Shakers
- Opening on old is 3/4", on new is 5/8".
- Diameter of tops on old is 7/8", on new is 3/4".
- Height on old is 4 1/16", new is 4".
Shot glasses
- Repro pink shot glasses are lighter than originals and sometimes look orange.
- Green, light blue, and cobalt shots were not made originally.

Miss America

ALL PIECES - New mould repros
Butter Dish and Cover
- Stem on knob is longer on some repros.
- Edge of lid is more curved on some repros.
- If knob makes a bump on the inside of the lid, it is new.
- Looking through the stem of the knob, from the bottom, the old pieces display clean edges to the star, the new ones are distorted.
Pitchers
- Rim on new pitchers without the ice lips are smooth, the old rims have a bulge where the handle attaches.
- Diamonds on the bottom of the repro look squashed, on the old they get progressively smaller.
Shakers
- Smaller capacity (look 1/4 full of glass) compared to the original.
- Top edge of glass has a little seat on the old shakers.
- Hobs near the bottom on the new are less sharp than on the old.
- New tops usually mean new shakers.
Tumblers
- New tumblers have 1/2" thick bottoms, originals are only 1/4".
- Old tumblers have 4 mould lines up the sides, and a ring on the bottom.
- Old green tumblers fluoresce (glow) under black light, new ones do not.

Princess

Candy Jar and Cover
- Only the non-rayed foot candy jay is being repro'd.
- Pink is darker/rosier on the repro.
- Green is light bluish on the repro.
- Glass is rough and bubbly on the repro.
Shakers
- Repros have bubbly glass, horrible colors and a slick "greasy" texture.
- Tops are flat, not bullet shaped, like the originals.
- Tops are steel, not aluminum, like the originals.

Royal Lace

Juice and water tumblers in cobalt
- Old bottom has a "star" pattern, new bottom is plain
- Color is a little darker on the repros but not a definite giveaway.
Cookie Jar bottom
- Old bottom has a mould ring, new does not; may be heavier and darker but not a definite giveaway.
Cookie Jar lid
- Old lid has a mould line across the top, new does not
- Edge of new lid may be rough (poorly finished)

Sharon

ALL PIECES - New mould repros
Butter dish and cover
- Blue is closer to the color of Mayfair blue on the repro.
- Glass in the top is thicker in the repro.
- Originals knobs sat lower, repro sit higher.
- Original lid was easy to knock off center, repro has a rim to hold the lid.
Candy dish and cover
- Inside the lid, there is a 2" ring under the knob on the original, a 1/2" ring on the new.
- Base diameter of the bottom is 3 1/4" on the old, and 3" on the new.
Cheese dish and cover
- Repro cover is the same as the butter dish cover (with the same flaws).
- Bottom plate is too thick on the repro, and is very round.
Creamer
- Mould seam is centered on the spout on the original, off-center on the repro.
Shakers
- Repros have uneven, sloppy pattern to the roses.
- On the very top of the pattern is a bud and three leaves on the original, the repro looks like four leaves.
Sugar
- Bottom handle attachments are round on the repro, v-shaped on the original.
- Slight pattern differences
- Knob on the repro sugar lid is smooth, original has mould line