Question:
I have a set of dishes from my grandmother and I can not seem to find the pattern name. Also can you help me with a possible value? I have 8 dinner plates (one chipped), eight salad plates, eight coffe cups + saucers, cream pitcher & sugar bowl, salt and pepper shaker (used condition) and a small serving bowl (hairline crack). Some have the red wing on the back, some are just printed with red wing. Robin

Answer: The name of your pattern is Frontenac from the Futura line and was introduced in 1958. It was introduced in 1958 and made for only about three year, because it did not sell well. The design of Frontenac has been attributed to Charles Murphy, but I do not have any original documents that confirm this.
Frontenac can be fairly difficult to find, but it isn’t considered to be among the more collectible of Red Wing dinnerware patterns. The ink stamp markings on the back don’t affect the value of the piece; the numbers are simply stock numbers. I’d estimate the following values for your pieces, assuming excellent condition:

Dinner plate: $10-15
Salad plate: $5-10
Cup: $5
Saucer: $5
Sugar and Creamer: $25-30 for the pair
S&P run $20-30 or so per pair

Unfortunately you’ve provided no measurements for the bowl so I don’t know if it is a cereal bowl, sauce dish, nappy, etc. But given the bowl’s crack it has minimal value, $5 to $10 at most and less if this is a small size bowl.

The chipped pieces have very little value. Except for hard to find items, collectors will generally pass on buying damaged pieces and will wait for a better one to come along.

Larry