A cookie jar collection brings a smile to everyone’s face, whether young or old. Many are taken back to their grandma’s kitchen with the smell of cinnamon wafting in the air and the selection of that one “perfect” cookie taken carefully from her cookie jar.
This is a pictorial guide to vintage and antique cookie jars, along with current values, sizes and history of the jars and companies who made them.
A Little Company – Aunt Jemima
American Bisque is considered one of the big four companies for cookie jar collectors in both quantity and quality. A vintage collection probably would not be considered complete without at least one or two American Bisque jars.
- A Little Company Gallery
- Abingdon Pottery Gallery
- Advertising – Miscellaneous
- Alfano Studio Gallery
- American Bisque
- Animals and Company Gallery
- Appleman Auto Works
- Armadillo Andy
- Aunt Jemima Jar – Hard Plastic
- Aunt Jemima Jar – Soft Plastic
Barnum Animal Crackers – Basketball
Many cookie jar collectors like to specialize in a certain type of jar and bear cookie jars are on the top of many collectors lists. There are old ones, new ones, licensed jars and lots of advertising jars featuring bears. McCoy, American Bisque, Brush — all the grand old pottery companies made bear jars of some type or another.
- Barnum Animal Crackers
- Bear Cookie Jars
- Betsy Jars / B & B Pottery
- Black Cookie Jars
- Boyds Collection Jars
- Braums Dairy Gallery
- Brayton Laguna Coachman
- Brush Pottery
- Brush-McCoy
- Baseball – See Sports
- Basketball – See Sports
California Originals – Coca Cola
Coca Cola is the largest section in this category with over a dozen of cookie jars and I still have lots more to list. The first Coke jars are believed to be one of two McCoy jars, the can or the jug jar. There have been copies made of both these jars.
- Cahokia Creatives – Making a Jar
- California Originals
- Carmen Miranda
- Cavanagh’s Ceramicars
- Certified International
- Chefs
- Christmas Holiday -Misc
- Clay Art
- Coca Cola
- Clock
- Cracker Jack
Dairy Queen – Dummies
There are hundreds of Disney Jars and they were sold in many different ways. Disney auctions, Disney Limited Editions, at Disney Stores, Treasure Craft, California Originals, inexpensive jars sold at Walmart and the older turn-about jars from the 40s and 50s.
- Dairy Queen
- Disney
- Denise Teeters
- Donald Duck
- Dummies, Cookies for
Easter – Entertainment Logo Jars
Even decades after his death Elvis is one of the top entertainment licenses and it would be very easy to fill your home with Presley memorabilia. Want a dancing telephone? How about a table set with Elvis Silhouette dinnerware, Elvis drinking glasses, a choice of several different salt and peppers, or in the case of this list — a few Elvis cookie jars?
- Earth Rise Pot
- Easter
- eBay Feedback Jar
- Elvis Presley
- Encore’s Snow Buddies
- Entertainment Logo Jars
- Erwin Pottery (Negatha Peterson)
Flamingo – Football
One of the rarer jars in my collection is the Flying Saucer jar by Sylvestri. At one time it was valued at over $1500. Today, not so much, but still a great one to have, plus it’s so darn unusual.
- Fitz and Floyd
- Flamingo
- Flying Saucer
- Foo Dog
- Football – See Sports
- Frog
Ghosts – Grant Howard Jars
Several years ago the Grant Howard Company (the Howard from Holt-Howard!) produced a few cookie jars. The one that really caught the eye of collectors was the Pixie jar. The original pixie line never had a cookie jar, so it wasn’t a reproduction, just an addition to the line.
- Gone with the Wind / Rhett Butler
- Ghosts – See Halloween
- Grant Howard Jars
- Grease Monkey
Halloween – IGA
Vivid oranges, glossary blacks, spooky and whimsical. What’s being described? Halloween jars! The contemporary Halloween jars are a favorite of many collectors, even those that don’t normally collect cookie jars.
- Halloween
- Hamburger Helper
- Happy Memories Cookie Jars
- Harley Davidson Hogs
- Harry Potter Bernie Botts
- Hearts
- Hopalong Cassidy
- Howdy Doody
- Humpty Dumpty
- IGA Circus Daze Trains
- J.D. James
M & M – Monkeys
McCoy was one of the big three in the Cookie Jar world, but it’s number one in the cookie jar fakes attributed to the name McCoy. McCoy made hundreds of jars, but it did not make all the jars that are marked McCoy on auction sites today. Note to the wise — there is no such thing as a Brush-McCoy jar.
- M & M
- Maleficient
- Marilyn Monroe
- Marvin the Martian
- Mammy – See Black Cookie Jars
- Maxine Series
- McCoy
- Metlox
- Mickey Mouse
- Milk-Bone
- Monkey Business
- Morton Pottery
Nabisco – Nightmare Before Christmas
Nightmare Before Christmas jars from Disney are strange jars, just like the movie! Although there have been several jars in recent years, the best one to have is Treasure Craft’s Tombstone jar.
- Nabisco
- NBC Peacock
- Neiman Marcus Bear Series
- Nestle Bear
- Nightmare Before Christmas #2
- Negatha Peterson
Oreo – Quaker Oats
Over the years, Quaker Oats has offered numerous cookie jars of their company’s products. Several Aunt Jemima jars, bottles of syrup and of course jars looking just like the round cardboard boxes found on the grocery shelves.
- Oreo
- Penguins
- People
- Pigs
- Planet Hollywood
- Purinton Pottery
- Quaker Oats includes Aunt Jemima Jars
Rabbits – Roy Rogers
Raggedy Ann cookie jars- there have been dozens produced over the years, made by assorted companies and in all value ranges. The one thing they have in common is the curly red hair and the button eyes.
- Rabbits
- Race Track Logo
- Radko
- Raggedy Ann and Andy
- Rock City
- Rosa Parks
- Roseville
- Roy Rogers
- Royal Sealy
- RSO Bull
Sailors – Star Wars
Although everything “Shawnee” is collectible, the cookie jars are especially popular. The Smiley pig, Winnie pig, Muggsy dog, Puss n’ Boots and Dutch Jack and Jill were some of the more popular jars produced by Shawnee Pottery. Smiley, in his many variations, is one of the most “wanted” jars of all for cookie jar collectors, not only Shawnee collectors. A collection doesn’t seem complete without at least one or two Smileys.
- Sailors
- Santas
- Schwans
- Shawnee Pottery
- Slot Machine
- Snowmen
- Southwest Airlines
- Sphinx
- Sport Themes
- Star Jars
- Star Wars
Tony the Tiger – The Tucker
The Tucker – Do you know the car or the jar? In the late 1990 Mark Boone decided to produce a jar to commemorate a car. The 50th anniversary of the Tucker Car.
- Tony the Tiger
- The Tucker
- Treasure Craft
- Twin Winton / Don Winton
Uncle Mistletoe – Vandor
Love pop culture? Look no further than Vandor. Betty Boop, Marilyn, Elvis, Mayberry, the Beatles, and the Grateful Dead are mainstays. But mix in a little Janis Joplin, some Scooby-doo, then stir in the Honeymooners and the Pink Panther for a perfect recipe of a fun company.
- Uglydolls
- Uncle Mistletoe
- Uncle Sam / Patriotic
- Valentine Jars
- Vandor
Warner Bros – Woody Woodpecker
For the few years they were open across the country, the Warner Bros stores were prolific in the production of cookie jars. All the favorite Looney Tune characters, Batman, Superman, Power Girls and even a Harry Potter jar was sold at their stores.
- Wally Amos’ Chip & Cookie
- Warner Bros
- Watkins Spice Jar
- Willow Ware – J.W. McCoy
- Winnie the Pooh
- Winton – See Twin Winton
- Wisecarver, Rick
- Witch – See Halloween
- Wolfe Studios, Kathy
- Woody Woodpecker