Question:
Hello, I have a Red Wing blue monk cookie jar that says "Thou Shalt Not Steal" on it. It has the Red Wing mark on the bottom. This was my grandmother’s cookie jar; she died in 1956. I am curious as to what this piece, which is in perfect condition, is worth. There are patent numbers on the bottom of the piece. I can’t read the beginnings of the numbers, but one number ends in 30328. I believe the other numbers end in 329 and 330. I would really appreciate your expert opinion as to its value. Thank you so much! Sincerely, Christine

Answer: Christine, Friar Tuck is the name of your cookie jar. The Friar Tuck cookie jar was introduced by Red Wing in 1941, along with his friends Katrina the Dutch Girl and Pierre the Chef. Price lists from 1942, 1943 and 1944 show them as being available in blue, yellow, and tan colors. An undated brochure, probably from the mid to late 1940s adds green as an available color. These three cookie jars were great sellers for Red Wing. Many thousands of them were made and production continued into the mid 1950s.

While these cookie jars are not at all rare, jars in excellent condition are not easy to find in any color. After years of use (often by the small hands of children more interested in the contents than the jar), these jars are usually chipped or cracked and have grease stains.

In the early years of production the patents numbers were marked on the bottom of the jars with an ink stamp. Some collectors place a higher value on jars that include the patent numbers, so add an extra $25 to $50 to the values listed below for your patent numbers.

A Friar Tuck cookie jar in excellent condition would be worth around $75 to $100 in the yellow or tan colors, with another $25 or so for blue. Green would be worth more because the color is less common.

Larry