Most Lane cedar chests sell for about $50-200 as of October 2026. Plain blanket chests from the 1950s to 1980s sit at the low end, and many online estate auctions close Lane chests with no bids at all. Art Deco waterfall chests with good veneer and mid-century designs on tapered legs bring about $150-400. Miniature Lane chests sell for about $20-60.
That is not a judgment on the quality. Lane made cedar chests in Altavista, Virginia, from 1912 to 2001, in enormous numbers, and they were a standard wedding and graduation gift for decades. Almost every family has one, which keeps the price modest. Before anything else, if your chest was made before 1988, check the lock: the old automatic latch is the subject of a safety recall and should be removed.
Quick answer
- Typical Lane cedar chest, 1940s to 1980s, good condition: about $50-200.
- Art Deco waterfall chest with figured veneer, or a mid-century design on legs: about $150-400.
- Miniature "sweetheart" or salesman-sized Lane chests: about $20-60.
- Date it by reading the serial number on the bottom backwards: 658101 becomes 10/18/56.
- Chests made 1912 to 1987 have a recalled self-locking latch. Remove it; replacement locks are no longer available.
Is my Lane cedar chest safe? The lock recall
Lane and Virginia Maid cedar chests made from 1912 through 1987 have a latch that locks automatically when the lid closes, and the lid cannot be opened from inside. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, The Lane Company recalled 12 million chests in 1996 to replace these latches, and 14 children suffocated after being locked inside between 1977 and 2015. In 2018 the CPSC renewed its warning, and its notice says replacement latches and locks are no longer available. The advice is to remove the lock completely.
Removing the lock is usually a matter of opening the lid and unscrewing the latch from the inside of the lid and the lock body from the inside of the front panel. Keep the screws together and do it with the lid propped safely. A chest with the lock removed is not worth less in today's market; many sellers and buyers now expect it, and a listing that says "recalled lock removed" reads as responsible. Do not sell a chest with the old latch in place without telling the buyer.
How to date and identify a Lane cedar chest, step by step
- Find the brand. Open the lid. Lane chests carry the Lane name inside, usually on a label or stamp on the underside of the lid or burned into the cedar. Some also show trade names such as Aroma-Tite. Virginia Maid was a related brand covered by the same recall.
- Find the serial number. Turn the chest on its side or look underneath. The serial number is usually stamped on the outside of the bottom, sometimes on the back. It is often six digits, sometimes seven or more.
- Read it backwards. Reverse the digits and read them as month, day and year. A serial number 658101 reads backwards as 101856, which is October 18, 1956.
- Handle the extra digits. When the number is longer than six digits, the date is usually in the first six digits after you reverse it, and the remaining digits are a plant or style code. Lane used more than one numbering system over the years, so if the reversed number makes no sense as a date, it may be from a different system, and Lane customer service is the place to ask.
- Note the style. Waterfall fronts with rounded top edges and contrasting veneer stripes are Art Deco, mostly 1930s and 1940s. Chests on tapered or splayed legs with clean lines are mid-century, late 1950s and 1960s. Ball-and-claw or cabriole legs and carved fronts are traditional or colonial revival. A chest with a drawer in the base is a later blanket chest style.
- Measure it. A standard Lane chest is roughly 44 to 48 inches wide, 17 to 20 inches deep and 18 to 25 inches tall. Miniature chests are about 8 to 12 inches long and were made as promotional gifts and salesman samples.
- Check the veneer and the cedar. The outside is usually walnut, mahogany, maple or other veneer over a cedar or hardwood case, and the inside is aromatic red cedar. Lifting or chipped veneer on the top and corners is the most common damage. A faint cedar smell is normal on an old chest; a light sanding of the inside revives it.
What is a Lane cedar chest worth?
A Lane cedar chest is worth about $50-200 in most sales as of October 2026. The figures below are realistic local sale prices, not the asking prices on dealer sites, where vintage Lane chests are often listed at $700-1,200 and sit for a long time.
| Chest | Typical value |
|---|---|
| Damaged chest: lifting veneer, broken lid support, water marks | $0-50 |
| Plain 1960s to 1980s Lane chest, good condition | $50-150 |
| 1940s to 1950s traditional or colonial style chest | $50-200 |
| Art Deco waterfall chest with figured or matched veneer | $100-300 |
| Mid-century modern Lane chest on tapered legs, crisp veneer | $150-400 |
| Miniature Lane chest, promotional or salesman sample | $20-60 |
| Exceptional waterfall or mid-century chest, restored, in a strong city market | $300-600 |
The honest point about the low end: on online estate sale auctions, Lane chests listed in fair and even excellent condition often show no bids at all, as the estatesales.org lots in our sources show. Demand is real but thin, and the buyer is usually someone who wants a blanket chest for the end of a bed and can pick it up locally.
Why do most Lane chests sell for $50-200?
Supply is the reason. Lane made cedar chests from 1912 until the Altavista plant made its last one in 2001, and the 1996 recall alone covered 12 million chests, according to the CPSC. That is millions of chests still in homes, many of them inherited, and only a small number of buyers want one at any given time. Add the size and weight of a chest, often 60 to 100 pounds, and shipping becomes impractical, so the price is set by local demand.
The chests that rise above $200 do so because of design, not age. A waterfall chest with bold book-matched veneer, or a 1960s chest whose lines fit a mid-century room, appeals to decorators and to people furnishing in that style, and they will pay more for it.
What changes the price?
| Factor | Effect on value |
|---|---|
| Style: waterfall Art Deco or mid-century modern | Moves it into the upper ranges |
| Veneer intact, no lifting or chips | Expected for the upper end; lifting veneer cuts value by half or more |
| Original finish, clean | Preferred; a careful refinish is acceptable to most buyers |
| Painted over | Sells as a project piece, usually $25-100 |
| Recalled lock removed | Neutral or a slight plus in today's market |
| Recalled lock still installed | A safety issue; remove it before selling |
| Cedar smell present, interior clean | Helps; a light sanding revives it |
| Lid support hinge broken or missing | Small deduction; replacement supports are easy to fit |
| Base drawer working | Helps on chests that have one |
| Matching Lane label, original key | A small plus for buyers who like completeness |
A worked example
Say you inherit a walnut chest about 46 inches wide with a curved waterfall front and a strip of lighter, striped veneer running across the lid. Inside the lid is a Lane stamp. On the bottom, the serial number reads 842140. Reading it backwards gives 041248: April 12, 1948. That fits the style, since waterfall fronts were Lane's Art Deco look of the late 1930s and 1940s. The chest falls inside the 1912 to 1987 recall window, and the old latch is still on the lid, so the first job is to unscrew it.
If the number had not reversed into a sensible date, say a month of 14 or a day of 38, the chest would belong to one of Lane's other numbering systems, and the style would be the dating guide instead.
The value depends on the veneer. If the top is intact, the cedar inside smells and the recalled lock has been removed, a chest like this sells for about $100-250 locally, toward the top of that range in a city. If the lid veneer is lifting at the corners, expect $50-100.
Common mistakes
- Selling or keeping a chest with the old self-locking latch in place. Remove it.
- Trusting the asking prices on dealer sites. A $900 listing is not a $900 sale.
- Assuming an old date means value. A 1940s Lane chest is common and is priced on its looks.
- Refinishing a chest with lifting veneer without regluing first. The veneer needs to be fixed before anything else.
- Washing the cedar inside. Water raises the grain and does not bring back the smell; light sanding does.
- Mistaking a Lane miniature for a toy or jewelry box of no interest. They have their own small collector following.
- Shipping a chest across the country. Freight often costs more than the chest brings.
How WorthPic reads Lane cedar chest photos
WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From clear photos of the whole chest, the inside of the lid, the bottom and any stamps, it reads the maker's label, the serial number if it is legible, the style and period from the shape, legs and veneer pattern, the condition of the veneer and finish, and whether the old latch is still installed. It gives an honest value range with a most likely figure based on what similar chests actually sell for, and it says plainly when a chest is a common one. What it cannot know from photos is how the chest smells, whether the lid support works, hidden water damage on the bottom, or what local buyers are paying this month. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise, and if the serial number is unclear it will ask for a sharper photo of the bottom.
What to photograph
- The whole chest from the front in daylight, lid closed.
- The chest open, showing the cedar interior and the inside of the lid.
- The Lane label or stamp, close and sharp.
- The serial number on the bottom, in raking light so the stamp shows.
- The lock area on the lid and front, so the latch status is clear.
- Any veneer damage, close up, and the legs or base.
When to get it looked at in person
Almost never. A Lane cedar chest is a well-documented, widely made piece, and a check of local sold listings gives you the price. An appraiser's fee would usually exceed the chest's value. The exceptions are an unusual early chest from the 1910s or 1920s with original finish and paper labels, or a chest that is part of a larger estate needing a written valuation. For those, a regional auction house or an antique dealer who handles furniture is the right person. Our guide to antique furniture identification explains how construction dates a piece, how to find the value of antiques covers finding sold comparables, and if the chest is a 1960s design, the mid-century modern furniture value guide covers the Lane Acclaim line and its relatives. For the wider picture of how antique and vintage furniture is valued, including why so much of it sells for less than people expect, see the category page.
Sources
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: Lane and Virginia Maid cedar chest latch warning: 12 million chests recalled in 1996, chests made 1912 to 1987, 14 deaths 1977 to 2015, replacement locks no longer available, remove the lock.
- Wikipedia: Lane Furniture: founded 1912 in Altavista, Virginia, as the Standard Red Cedar Chest Company, renamed The Lane Company in 1922, last cedar chest made in 2001.
- Hunker: how to date a Lane cedar chest: serial number on the bottom, reversed digits as the date, and Lane's note that it used more than one numbering system.
- EBTH: Art Deco waterfall Aroma-Tite cedar chest by Lane: waterfall form, flame and diamond-matched veneers, Lane and Aroma-Tite marks inside, recalled lock removed, 46 by 18 by 18 inches.
- Estatesales.org: Lane cedar chest, Alexander, NC and Lane cedar chest, Covington, LA: Lane chests in fair to excellent condition with no bids recorded.