Depression Glass Patterns: How to Identify Yours and What It’s Worth

Depression glass is the cheap, machine-pressed glass made in the United States from about 1929 to 1940, sold in five-and-dimes and given away in cereal boxes and at movie theaters. Dozens of companies made hundreds of patterns. About twenty of them are the ones buyers ask for by name, and the ones you'll see over and over at estate sales.

This guide is about telling patterns apart. For the history and prices by piece, see our depression glass price guide.

Depression Glass Patterns Chart

Grouped by motif, so you can find yours by what you see. Prices are typical booth and estate-sale prices for pieces with no chips, cracks or cloudiness, in the pattern's common colors. They are what pieces bring in person, not the best results ever seen online.

Typical ranges as of October 2026. Prices vary by area and condition. Snap yours with PocketPrice to see what it'll bring near you.

Rare colors in these patterns, like blue Mayfair, red American Sweetheart or yellow Adam, bring several times these prices. They're also the colors most often faked, so check the reproductions section before you price one high.

The Patterns to Know, by Motif

Flowers and roses

• Sharon, nicknamed “Cabbage Rose”: one big layered rose with leaves. Pink, amber, green and a little clear. Pink is the color to find.
• Mayfair, “Open Rose”: roses inside open arches, many pieces on feet or stems. Pink is common; blue, green and yellow are scarce. Federal made a different pattern also called Mayfair, so look for the roses.
• Florentine No. 1 and No. 2: poppies. No. 1 has a scalloped, six-sided edge; No. 2 is round and smooth. Pink, green, yellow and clear.
• Floral, “Poinsettia”: a big pointed-petal flower in the center. Mostly pink and green, a little Jadite and Delphite.
• Adam: square plates with a center of leaves and plumes. Pink and green.
• Iris: tall iris blossoms over a herringbone background. Mostly clear and an orange-gold iridescent finish. Clear Iris was made again in later decades, so it's harder to date.

Fruit

• Cherry Blossom: branches with pairs of cherries and leaves. Pink and green, plus opaque Delphite in child's sets. The most copied pattern of all.
• Strawberry and Cherryberry: the same plain-rimmed design with strawberries or cherries. Pink, green, clear and iridescent.

Diamonds, blocks and geometrics

• Miss America: sharp, pointed diamonds radiating out like cut glass. Pink, clear and green; red is rare.
• Block Optic: rows of plain square blocks. Green is everywhere; pink, yellow and clear too. A cheap, easy pattern to start a set with.
• Windsor: small cut-looking diamonds all over. Pink, green and clear.
• Princess: octagonal (eight-sided) pieces with fine-line panels. Green, pink and topaz yellow.
• Doric: squared pieces with raised panels and a flower-like center. Pink, green and Delphite.

Ribs, rings and spokes

• Manhattan: wide, rounded horizontal ribs. Mostly clear, some pink. It looks Art Deco and later; it was made into the 1940s.
• Moderntone: plain pieces with thin rings near the rim. Cobalt blue and amethyst. Buyers want it in sets.
• Patrician, “Spoke”: spokes radiating from the center like a wagon wheel. Mostly amber, also pink, green and clear.

Lace, scrolls and swirls

• Royal Lace: a lacy band of scrolls and flowers. Cobalt brings the most, then pink, green and clear.
• Lace Edge, “Old Colony”: an open, pierced lace rim. Mostly pink.
• American Sweetheart: fine swirls and garlands near the rim. Pink and white Monax.
• Madrid: a busy all-over scroll. Mostly amber, also green, blue and clear.
• Swirl: swirled ribs from the center. Ultramarine (a blue-green), pink and Delphite.
• Cameo, “Ballerina”: a dancing girl in a band of swags and bows. Mostly green, also yellow, pink and clear.

For pink and green pieces in detail, see pink depression glass value and green depression glass value.

How to Identify an Unknown Pattern

1. Name the motif in the center. Cherries, a single rose, roses in arches, a flower, diamonds, blocks, spokes or plain? That narrows it to a handful of patterns.
2. Read the rim. A lace band (Royal Lace), garlands (American Sweetheart), a pierced lace rim (Lace Edge) or fine rings (Moderntone) often decide it.
3. Check the edge. Smooth, scalloped, six-sided (Florentine No. 1), or open lace.
4. Look at the shape. Square plates point to Adam or Doric; eight sides to Princess; round to most others.
5. Turn it over. Look at the foot (flat, ring or stem) and run a finger up the side for raised mold seams. Old pieces show wear on the base.
6. Note the color. Each pattern came in only certain colors. A color it was never made in means a reproduction or a different pattern.
7. Count the sections on divided plates. A grill plate (three sections, for a meat and two sides) was made in many 1930s patterns, including Cherry Blossom, Florentine, Madrid and Mayfair. Divided relish dishes with four or five sections turn up too; many five-part trays are later pressed glass from the 1950s and 60s, so match the pattern before calling it depression glass.

Still stuck? Compare it to the chart above, or take a photo. Plenty of plain or barely patterned pieces from the 1930s were never named; price those as unknown pattern.

Depression Glass Colors and Which Bring the Most

Typical ranges as of October 2026. Prices vary by area and condition. Snap yours with PocketPrice to see what it'll bring near you.

Red depression glass value: most red glass you find is Anchor Hocking's Royal Ruby from 1938 into the 1960s, worth $5–$20 a piece and more for pitchers and sets. True 1930s red in patterns like American Sweetheart or Miss America is rare and can bring $75 and up for a single piece. Yellow depression glass value: yellow sells below pink in most patterns, about $8–$30 a piece, except where it's rare. Jadite (opaque green) and Delphite (opaque light blue) are not see-through; Fire-King Jadite is 1940s–70s, later than depression glass, but sells to the same buyers.

Reproductions to Watch For

• Cherry Blossom: butter dishes, pitchers, tumblers and child's dishes. On many copies the pattern on the butter base stops short of the edge.
• Mayfair: cookie jars, shot glasses and shakers, often in cobalt and other colors the original never came in.
• Miss America: butter dishes, shakers, pitchers and tumblers. Original diamonds are sharp; copies feel rounded.
• Sharon, Adam, Cameo, Avocado and Royal Lace: butter dishes, shakers, candy dishes and small pieces in pink, green and cobalt.
• Madrid: reissued as “Recollection” from 1976 in amber, pink, blue, clear and teal. Early ones are marked “76”; later ones aren't.

The general tells: heavy, thick glass; blurry pattern detail; colors too bright or too pale; no wear on the base; and a color the pattern was never made in. When in doubt, price it as a reproduction. Copies still sell to people who want the look, at $8–$20.

Pricing Tips for Booth Vendors

• Tag the pattern name. “Royal Lace, Hazel-Atlas, 1930s” tells collectors you know what you have and catches people looking for it.
• Check every rim and foot. A chip cuts the price by half or more, and cloudy dishwasher haze rarely comes out.
• Sell sets together. Service for four, or a pitcher with six tumblers, sells faster and for more per piece than singles.
• Bundle the small stuff. Sherbets, saucers and berry bowls sell slowly alone. Price a stack of four or six as one lot.
• Light it. Colored glass sells on the glow: glass shelves, near a window or under a light.
• Keep it local. A $20 plate doesn't justify $15 of shipping and the risk of breakage. Ship only rare pieces and sets worth $150 or more.

Related Guides

See the full depression glass price guide, the color guides for pink and green, and our glass and crystal price guide for the rest of the cabinet.