New Princess Pattern Jars

New Princess pattern candy jars have bee reproduced since the mid-1990s. New jars are available in pink and blue and possibly other colors. Wholesale prices have averaged about $8.50 each over the years. New and old are shown side by side in Fig. 1 below.

Original Princess was made by the Hocking Glass Company for about four years, ca. 1931 to ca. 1935. The majority of original Princess was made in green, pink, topaz and apricot. Some originals were made in blue but this color is very rare. No original blue candy jar has ever been found.

The easiest way to detect the new bases is to look at the foot. The underneath of the foot of original jars is divided into panels which radiate out from the center as in Fig. 3. The foot of the new jars is smooth and plain as in Fig. 2.

New and old lids aren't quite as easy to separate as the bases and require more careful examination. The main differences are between the knobs and the horizontal disc just below the knobs.

The tops of old knobs are rounded (Fig. 5); tops of new knobs are more pointed (Fig. 4). Old knobs sit on top a 2" diameter disc (Fig. 5 arrow) that is a full 1/ 4" thick. New knobs are on a disc (Fig. 4 arrow) that is just slightly more than 1 7/8" and 3/16" thick. Looking down from above, old knobs (Fig. 7) have two sides which are flat and two sides which curve. All four sides of the new finials are flat (Fig. 6).

Fig. 1 New on left, old on right

Fig. 2 New base smooth

Fig. 3 Old base has rayed panels

Fig. 4 New knob

Fig. 5 Old knob

Figs. 4-5 The old knob is round, the new knob more pointed. The disc below the knob on old lids is 2", on the new, slightly more than 1 7/8".

Fig. 6 (New) New knob top view

Fig. 7 (Old) Old knob top view

Figs. 6-7 Looking down from above, old knobs have two flat sides and two sides which curve in towards the middle. New knobs are flat on all four sides.