Miss America is quite sturdy, thicker glass than some. The obvious spots to chip are the little diamond points on the rims which stick out, but in fact I’ve seen only a few pieces with rim chips. I have seen two places you might not think to check when you buy glass in addition to the rim and edge.
First, check the top wide smooth rim on pieces like plates or bowls. I have seen two or three plates that had big, smooth gouges in the top. This is not where one expects chips!
The other spot you might not think to check is the base of the wide, smooth rim around the top of cups, sherbets and other vertical pieces. There is a sharp angular drop off from that smooth band to the sparkling diamond design just beneath the band and it chips easily.
Notice this next photo is a close up of the edge of the smooth band on a crystal Miss America creamer and the nicks are in fact tiny. They might not bother you. When I sold glass I had to be extremely careful to note this type of damage but I think most people wouldn’t even notice it unless they happened to touch the roughest spot.
Of course check the edges all the way around, including the top, bottom and edge of the rim, the handles, creamer spouts, edges of the base. Little chips sometimes don’t show up visually but you can feel them.
Also hold plates up to check for wear. Miss America has an impressed star on the base that helps your eye go right by wear. Here’s a plate that looked fine on the table but has some wear on the impressed star.
The good news is that most Miss America wear isn’t particularly bothersome, especially if you intend to use your glass.
Next post we’ll look at reproductions in Miss America, thankfully not a big problem with this pattern.