Q: This Mother’s Oats box has been in my basement since we moved to Wisconsin in 1971. Do you have any idea what “beautiful cup and saucer” would have been enclosed? There is no date on the box, but it’s in pretty good condition. What might it be worth?
A: Several different premiums were packaged in large boxes of Quick Mother’s Oats. A 1952 newspaper ad for Quaker Oats, which has owned the Mother’s Oats brand since 1911, listed a “Fire-King” glass cup and saucer, aluminum kitchen utensils, “Wild Rose” pattern china, and Carnival Ware premiums. Fire-King made Jade-ite “Alice” pattern cups and saucers for Quaker Oats from 1945 to 1949. Don’t be too disappointed that you don’t have the premium. A Jade-ite “Alice” cup and saucer sold for only $14 a couple of years ago, but an empty box like yours has sold for $25.
I have 6 sets of the jade colored cups and saucers, 5 sets never used, and they came in the Mother’s Oats boxes. We used to have the bowls and plates also, but they have all been broken over the years. At least I now know what they’re worth which I have been trying to find out.