Question:
I have a red wing marked 5 with the wing, oval reads RED WING Union Stoneware C? Red Wing, Minn. The inside you can see a crack along the bottom edge and seen lightly on the outside. Has a chip you can see in pic. This one has a casted hole in the bottom. Also a black line goes across the bottom. Not knowing if that is factory or someone did this? Not chips around it and really clean condition. It doesn’t have any place for handles like I have seen in some of them. Thanks for your advice! Paula

Answer: Paula, your 5 gallon Red Wing crock should not have a black line which extends across the bottom. Anyway, I have never seen one. Also, that cast hole may be an original spigot hole or someone may have drilled it. Look to see if there is glazing on the inside of the hole. If there is, than the hole is original. If it is raw clay and not the same glazing as on the inside and outside of the crock, than the hole was drilled. Even if the crock has an original spigot hole, the crack along the bottom of your crock will hurt it’s value. With the crack the value would be around $30. Hope this is what you were looking for. Al Kohlman