Teco Pottery

Most Teco pottery sells at auction for $300 to $900. The median across 1,296 Teco lots sold since 2018 is $425, and about 9% sell above $3,000. What separates the two is almost always the designer. Revere Auctions has sold 18 Teco lots at a median of $1,200, close to three times the national median. We offer free auction estimates: send photographs including the base, where the model number is.

What Teco Is Worth

Teco was the art pottery line of the Gates Potteries in Terra Cotta, Illinois, launched in 1902. It is Prairie School pottery, architectural in feeling, and it is best known for a soft matte green glaze.

Based on 1,296 sold lots. All prices are hammer prices (before buyer’s premium), from U.S. auction results January 2018 through June 2026.

About 112 of those 1,296 lots cleared $3,000, and the best result since 2018 was $75,000. Those are all named-designer architectural pieces. A plain matte green Teco vase is a few hundred dollars, and that is the normal case rather than a disappointment.

Fernand Moreau for Teco, Vase Model 420, Sold $2,500 by Revere Auctions

The Model Number and the Designer

Teco pieces carry an impressed mark, the word TECO in a vertical arrangement, and most carry a model number. That number is the key to the whole market, because it ties a pot to a documented design and, often, to a named designer.

The designers who move prices include Fritz Albert, William Day Gates who founded the firm, Hugh Garden, William Bryce Mundie and Fernand Moreau. Several were practising architects, which is why the pots look built rather than thrown.

Photograph the base so the mark and the number are both legible. A number turns a generic green vase into a specific, researchable object, and that is frequently the difference between a $400 lot and a $2,500 one.

Teco at Revere Auctions

Revere has sold 18 Teco lots at a median of $1,200, against a national median of $425. We catalogue Teco by designer and model number rather than as generic green art pottery, which is what puts a piece in front of the people who pay for it.

Revere Auctions results. All prices are hammer prices (before buyer’s premium), from U.S. auction results January 2018 through June 2026.

Twelve of those eighteen lots sold for $1,200 or more. To be straight about it, we have not yet handled a top-tier Teco: our best is $2,500. What the record shows is that ordinary and mid-market Teco does well here.

Teco Pottery Appraisals

An auction estimate and a formal appraisal answer different questions.

A free auction estimate tells you what a piece would likely sell for at auction. It costs nothing and it is usually enough to decide whether to sell. Send photographs including the base and we will respond with a range.

A formal written appraisal is a signed document stating a value for a stated purpose: insurance, estate settlement and probate, or charitable donation. It is a paid service written to a different standard of value, and insurance appraisals in particular are normally higher than the auction estimate for the same piece.

Revere Auctions provides both through our appraisal and valuation services team. If you are not sure which you need, ask for the free auction estimate first.

How to Sell Teco Pottery

The strongest results for Teco pottery come at auction, where national and international collectors bid against each other. Revere Auctions offers free, no-obligation auction estimates: send photos and dimensions and our specialists respond with a current market valuation and a recommendation on how to sell. Consigned works are professionally photographed, cataloged, and marketed through our fine art auctions to a worldwide bidder base, and we regularly arrange shipping for consignors across the country. If you need a formal written valuation for insurance or estate purposes, our appraisal and valuation services team can help; you can also read more about how selling at auction works.

Related guides: art pottery values, Rookwood pottery, Grueby pottery, art pottery marks.

Reviewed by the fine art specialists at Revere Auctions, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Teco Pottery: Frequently Asked Questions

How much is Teco pottery worth?

Most Teco sells for $300 to $900 at auction. The median across 1,296 lots sold since 2018 is $425, and about 9% sell above $3,000. Attributed architectural pieces by named designers are where the high prices are; the best result since 2018 was $75,000.

How do I identify Teco pottery?

Look for an impressed mark reading TECO, usually arranged vertically, and a model number on the base. The model number matters as much as the mark, because it ties the pot to a documented design and often to a named designer.

What do Teco model numbers mean?

Each Teco shape was assigned a number. That number identifies the design and frequently the designer, such as Fritz Albert, William Day Gates, Hugh Garden or Fernand Moreau. It is often the difference between a few hundred dollars and several thousand.

Is all Teco pottery matte green?

No. The soft matte green is the best-known glaze and the most common, but Teco also produced browns, greys, blues and a crystalline glaze. Glaze alone does not identify Teco; the mark and model number do.

Where can I sell Teco pottery?

Revere Auctions has sold Teco at a median close to three times the national median. Send photographs of the piece and the full base, including the model number, and our specialists will respond with a free auction estimate.

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