Nebraska Woman’s Porch Crock Sells for $32,000 on Her 91st Birthday

Lois Jurgens had been sitting with that crock on her porch for nearly 30 years. She’d thought about sticking it in a garage sale for maybe twenty bucks. Maybe fifty. Then an auctioneer came to her Nebraska home to look at some pieces for an antique crock sale. He took one look at the big stoneware jar and knew she had something special. On January 10, 2026—Jurgens’ 91st birthday—that crock sold at auction for $32,000.

The crock is a 30-gallon Red Wing stoneware piece from the late 1800s, made from clay dug near Red Wing, Minnesota. What sets it apart is the combination of a rare blue butterfly marking and double stamping on the vessel. According to Cowboy State Daily, the New York Post, and AOL News, Red Wing expert Larry Peterson estimates only four or five crocks like it exist in the world. The size alone is uncommon; the butterfly and double stamp together make it something collectors fight over.

Jurgens had no idea. To her it was just the crock that had been there forever. When Ken Bramer, the auctioneer, visited to assess items for the sale, he spotted it and explained what he was seeing. She decided to consign it. The rest was a bidding war.

The Auction

Three phone bidders went after it—one in Kansas, one in Iowa, and one in Texas or Arizona. The Kansas buyer didn’t even pause for the occasion: they were out hunting pheasant and kept bidding until they won. Jurgens told outlets it was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to her in 91 years. Not bad for something that almost went to a garage sale.

Stories like this pop up every so often. Someone has an old dish, a painting, or a piece of furniture that’s been in the family or on the porch for decades. They assume it’s junk or worth a few dollars. Then an expert IDs it, and suddenly it’s worth life-changing money. For Jurgens, the crock was a birthday surprise that had been under her nose the whole time.

Why Red Wing Stoneware Commands This Kind of Money

Red Wing pottery was made in Minnesota from the late 1860s into the twentieth century. Collectors care about size, glaze, stamps, and decorative marks. Large crocks—especially 30-gallon—were used in dairies, breweries, and kitchens. Few survive in good condition with rare markings. The butterfly stencil and double stamp on Jurgens’ crock put it in a tiny club. When only a handful exist, prices jump.

So the lesson isn’t that every old crock is worth thousands. It’s that some are, and the only way to know is to have someone who knows stoneware take a look. Jurgens got that chance because she was already consigning other items. For everyone else with an old jar or pot sitting around: it might be worth a second look before the next garage sale.