Question:
My father-in-law bought a 12 gallon red wing crock today. What made it stand out was that it had the word "special" printed in red above the number, which he has never seen before. I don’t have the piece with me so I can’t provide an image, but was wondering what "special" might mean and what value it might be placed at. There are a few small chips and a hairline fracture. If an image is requested we can provide that within a few days. Thank you. Li

Answer: Li, I have seen a number of Red Wing crocks with the word "Special" stenciled above the gallon-age number. Most of the ones I have seen are on 8 gallon Red Wing crocks. Also, I have only seen them on the potteries crocks which tells me that they were produced between 1936 & 1947. Even though these Special crocks are much scarcer to find than the normal Red Wing crocks, the values are not that much higher. With the hairline and small chips the value is between $50 & $70. Also, I have no idea of why or what they were produced for. Al Kohlman