Most McCoy pottery sells for about $15-40 a piece as of late 2026. Sold results for ordinary McCoy planters, jardinieres and leaf-and-berry vases cluster around a median of $24-30. Common cookie jars sell for about $30-75, better and less common jars for about $100-400, and a short list of rare jars sells for much more: the 1970s Freddie the Gleep jar has sold for about $2,500-5,000, and the 1940s Hillbilly Bear is the series' famous rarity, with very few sales on record. The older Brush-McCoy and early stoneware pieces form a separate, smaller market.
McCoy was made in enormous numbers in Roseville, Ohio, from the 1910s until 1990 and sold through dime stores and florists. That is why so much of it is around and why most of it is affordable. The money is in specific cookie jars, scarce glaze colors and uncommon forms, and that is also where the fakes are.
Quick answer
- Common McCoy planters, vases and jardinieres: about $15-40; sold medians around $24-30.
- Common cookie jars: about $30-75. Better jars in good condition: about $100-400.
- Rare cookie jars such as Freddie the Gleep: about $2,500-5,000 in recent sales; the Hillbilly Bear is rarer still.
- Fakes marked "McCoy" were made in the 1990s and later, often slightly smaller than the originals.
How to identify and value McCoy pottery, step by step
- Read the base. Most Nelson McCoy pieces from the 1940s onward are marked McCoy in raised or impressed letters, often with USA. An "NM" mark with USA is typical of the 1940s. "McCoy LCC" dates from the Lancaster Colony years, about 1974 to 1985. "Designer Accents" marks are from the last years before the plant closed in 1990.
- Remember that many pieces are unmarked. Early stoneware and many 1930s pieces carry no mark or only a shape number. An unmarked piece can still be McCoy, identified by form and glaze against the reference books.
- Separate Nelson McCoy from Brush-McCoy. Brush-McCoy was a different company formed in 1911, later called Brush Pottery, with its own marks and forms. Both made similar wares, and buyers price them separately.
- Name the line or form. Common groups include planters (animals, wishing wells, baby shoes), vases (leaf and berry, butterfly line), jardinieres and pedestals, kitchenware, and cookie jars. Cookie jars are the most collected.
- Check the glaze color. Many shapes came in several colors. Scarcer colors on a common shape can multiply the price.
- Check condition. Look for chips at rims and bases, cracks, crazing, and on cookie jars, worn cold paint. Cold paint was applied after firing and wears off easily; collectors expect some loss but pay more for good paint.
- Check the cookie jar lid. The lid must be original and fit. Replacement lids from other jars, or reproductions, cut value sharply.
- Price from sold results for the same form, color and size. McCoy asking prices often run far above sold prices.
What McCoy pottery sells for
Sold ranges as of late 2026, from completed online sales and auction results. Asking prices are often much higher.
| Piece | Examples | Recent sold range |
|---|---|---|
| Common planters | Animal planters, wishing well, flower pots | About $15-40; medians around $24 |
| Vases | Leaf and berry, butterfly line, cornucopia | About $15-50; medians around $30 |
| Jardinieres, small | Brushware and rose trellis types | About $20-70 |
| Jardinieres with pedestals | Large matching sets | About $100-300 |
| Kitchenware and pitchers | Mixing bowls, bean pots, water pitchers | About $15-60 |
| Common cookie jars | Apple, Strawberry, coffee grinder, cylinder types | About $30-75 |
| Better cookie jars | Character and novelty jars in good paint | About $100-400 |
| Rare cookie jars | Freddie the Gleep and similar short runs | About $2,500-5,000 in recent sales |
| Hillbilly Bear cookie jar | 1940s | Reported in the thousands and above; sales are very rare |
| Fakes and reproductions | Marked McCoy, 1990s onward | About $10-40 as decorative pieces |
Most McCoy that comes out of a house sits in the top rows of this table. A shelf of planters is a pleasant set of $20 pots, and they sell steadily to people who use them for plants. Collectors pay more for completeness: a full color range in one shape, a matched jardiniere and pedestal or a cookie jar with crisp paint and its own lid.
A short history that explains the marks
The McCoy family made stoneware in Ohio in the nineteenth century, and two separate companies came out of it. J.W. McCoy's pottery merged into Brush-McCoy in 1911, which became Brush Pottery in 1925. Nelson McCoy started the Nelson McCoy Sanitary Stoneware Company in 1910, making crocks and churns, and it moved into decorative and kitchen pottery in the 1930s. That is the company most people mean by McCoy. Its cookie jars started in the late 1930s and ran for decades, with new designs added nearly every year. The family sold the business in 1967, it passed to Lancaster Colony in 1974 and to Designer Accents in 1985, and the plant closed in 1990. Each change of owner left traces in the marks, which is why the base is the first place to look.
Condition and what changes the price
| Factor | Effect on price |
|---|---|
| No chips, cracks or repairs | Full value for the form |
| Small chip on base or rim | Deduct about 25-40 percent |
| Crack or old repair | Deduct about 50 percent or more |
| Crazing in the glaze | Deduct about 10-30 percent |
| Cold paint mostly intact on a cookie jar | Adds; worn paint deducts about 20-50 percent |
| Wrong or replacement lid | Deduct about 50-70 percent on a cookie jar |
| Scarce glaze color | Adds, sometimes several times the common color |
| Clear mark | Helps the sale; unmarked is fine if form is documented |
How to spot fake McCoy
In the 1990s the McCoy name was registered by a maker who produced reproductions marked McCoy, many of them cast from original jars. Similar copies followed from other sources. These checks help:
- Measure it. A jar cast from an original shrinks in firing, so copies are usually a little smaller, often by about 10 percent, than the documented size.
- Look at the mark. Fakes may carry the McCoy mark on a form McCoy never marked that way, or a mark with a date that does not fit.
- Check detail and weight. Copies tend to have softer detail and can be lighter or heavier than the original.
- Look at the paint and glaze. Bright, perfect cold paint on a jar said to be 70 years old is a warning sign, as is a glaze color not documented for that shape.
- Be wary of famous names. The Hillbilly Bear, Mammy and Freddie the Gleep are among the most copied, precisely because they are valuable.
Common mistakes
- Pricing every cookie jar like a rare one. Most McCoy jars are $30-75 items.
- Assuming "McCoy" on the base means genuine. The mark has been copied since the 1990s.
- Mixing up Brush-McCoy and Nelson McCoy. They are separate companies with separate prices.
- Ignoring the lid. An original, well-fitting lid is part of the jar.
- Repainting cold paint. Touch-ups reduce value. Collectors prefer honest wear.
- Throwing out a chipped planter. Common planters with small flaws still sell to gardeners for a few dollars, and they are worth more in use than in a landfill.
- Washing cold-painted jars in water. The paint lifts. Dust them dry.
How WorthPic reads McCoy photos
WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From photos it reads the form, the glaze color, the mark on the base and its style, the cold paint on a cookie jar, the lid and visible condition. Together these usually identify the piece, separate Nelson McCoy from Brush-McCoy and flag marks or proportions that do not fit the period. It then gives an honest value range for that piece and condition.
What it cannot know from photos is the exact size within the margin that separates some fakes from originals, the weight, hidden repairs or a hairline crack. It will ask for a measurement when it matters. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise.
What to photograph
- The front of the piece in daylight, against a plain background.
- The base straight on, with the mark readable.
- A tape measure next to it for height and width.
- Cookie jar lids off and on, and the inside rim of the lid.
- Chips, cracks and paint wear close up.
- Any label or paperwork that came with it.
- The inside of planters and jars, which shows the glaze and any interior cracks.
When to get it looked at in person
Common planters and vases do not need an expert. A cookie jar that may be one of the rare ones, or any jar you are about to buy for hundreds of dollars, is worth showing to a McCoy collector club, a pottery dealer or an auction house that handles American art pottery. They will measure it against documented examples and know the fakes. Our guides to Roseville pottery, Fiesta ware and how to read pottery marks cover the other American pottery often found next to McCoy.