EAPC Rarity

by Tina Spain McDuffie Updated on

A common question we see on the Early American Prescut Collectors group is “What items are considered rare?” So, with plenty of input from the group administrators, I’m going to try to answer that question by categorizing EAPC pieces according to their rarity and/or scarcity. I’ll also provide criteria for each category.

Unicorns, aka Non-Production Early American Prescut

Unicorns are one-of-a-kind to few-of-a-kind EAPC pieces for which prototypes were made, but for whatever reason Anchor Hocking chose not to mass-produce them. Theoretically, the prototypes were supposed to be destroyed, but that was not always the case. These items are the rarest of the rare. Should you ever encounter them, buy them as you may not ever see them again.

Cocktail Shaker - prototype, non-production EAPC item
Cocktail Shaker

Very Rare, aka Quite Scarce Early American Prescut

Very Rare includes pieces that rarely come up for sale on eBay, Bonanza, Mercari, Etsy, Facebook Marketplace, etc. They’re items that are quite scarce. Most days you can perform a search and find none whatsoever. Many of these items had very short production runs, only appearing one or two years in an Anchor Hocking catalog. So, there aren’t very many in circulation. These items are considered Very Rare and Scarce. As with Unicorns, if you run across them and want them, buy them, because you may not ever see their like again.

Large Cranberry/Lavender 7-Part Platter from Australia. Photo courtesy of Nancy Hobbs.
Large Cranberry/Lavender 7-Part Platter from Australia. Photo courtesy of Nancy Hobbs.
A stack of EAPC Bread Plates. Photo courtesy of Tina McDuffie.
A stack of EAPC Bread Plates. Photo courtesy of Tina McDuffie.

Rare Early American Prescut

Rare items are usually findable, just pricey. For example, on any given day you can almost always find a few Oil Lamps listed on eBay and elsewhere, they just may be more than your budget can afford. These items are considered Rare and highly desirable. Again, most of these items had limited runs, so there aren’t as many in circulation as the more common items like the Sugar Bowl, Creamer, Gondola, and Divided Relish Tray.

EAPC Oil Lamp with Diana Globe sold by Lamplight Farms. Photo courtesy of Vicky Hilton Cunningham.
EAPC Oil Lamp with Diana Globe. Photo courtesy of Vicky Hilton Cunningham.

Uncommon Early American Prescut

These items are quite desirable and more of them are available than Rare items. Prices vary.

Butter is served in this Butter Server. Photo by Andrea Allen Huza.
Butter is served in this Butter Server. Photo by Andrea Allen Huza.
Taco fixings and sour cream in an EAPC Lazy Susan for Tina's taco bar. Photo Tina McDuffie.
Taco fixings and sour cream in an EAPC Lazy Susan. Photo by Tina McDuffie.
  • Complete Sets in original box
    excluding Sets listed above or as Common

Common Early American Prescut

These items are quite common. They all had long production runs. So, you can often find them in thrift stores, at garage sales, etc.

The 3-Toed Bowl, aka Bon Bon, has dozens of uses as proclaimed by this Anchor Hocking ad.
The 3-Toed Bowl, aka Bon Bon, has dozens of uses as proclaimed by this Anchor Hocking ad.
Tina's mom's punch bowl is filled with margaritas and ready for taco night. Photo Tina McDuffie.
My mom’s punch bowl filled with margaritas and ready for taco night.
Photo by Tina Spain McDuffie.
Early American Prescut Snack Set in classic red, white and blue display box.
EAPC Snack Set in classic display box.

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