Several glass companies used names to evoke the British royal traditions during the depression era, a period when families needed something to cheer their spirits. We have Windsor, Queen Mary, Royal Lace and of course, Coronation.
Hocking Glass released their Coronation depression glass pattern in 1936, the year Edward VIII became king of England. The king was dating Wallis Simpson at the time which generated enormous publicity in England and America. Coronation is one of the depression patterns with geometric motifs, and has no flowers or garlands. The outside rims are plain glass, with a row of ribs that are perpendicular to the rim, then wide panels and another set of ribs on the inside.
Hocking made all Coronation pieces in pink except the saucer with cup ring, plus a few pieces in Royal Ruby and green. The cup and saucer are also available in crystal. There are several sizes of bowls.
You may be able to find a full lucheon set with plates, cup and saucer, sherbet, bowls, although Coronation is not a particularly common pattern, at least not where we looked for glass. There is a pitcher and tumbler in pink too although the pitcher is difficult to find and costly. Serving pieces are limited to the large 8 inch berry bowl and pitcher, but you can find the bowl with and without handles.
The oddest piece is the crescent shaped salad plates made in pink and green. We see crescent shaped plates in some elegant patterns which were made a long time or released in full dinnerware sets (Fostoria American is one) but they are quite unusual in depression ware which was mass-produced.
Tumblers are footed and carry the finely ribbed star motif on the bottom. Gene Florence notes that the tumblers are similar to the Old Colony ones, also made by Hocking, except the Coronation pattern has the band of narrow ribs near the top which Old Colony does not. There are no Royal Ruby tumblers.
Aside from the Old Colony tumblers there are other patterns one might confuse with Coronation. Annapolis is a later pattern from Hocking that is superficially similar to Coronation. I noticed a piece of Annapolis listed as Coronation on eBay, so it’s wise to get familiar with both patterns if you like Coronation
Hocking made only one piece of Coronation with a stem, the sherbet. There are no goblets.
I only saw a few pieces of Coronation during the 20 years I sold glass and I just checked eBay and Etsy to see how common it is online. eBay has many bowls in Royal Ruby and pink but only a few plates, sherbets or cups. Etsy has a better assortment, including tumblers but more bowls than anything else.
I would consider Coronation moderately priced in pink or Royal Ruby for bowls, plates, cups, saucers, sherbets which are relatively easy to find. Green pieces are more costly and I saw none listed on eBay or Etsy today.
The two-handled Royal Ruby bowl we had was nicked in the rim. The glass seemed soft to me and like all vintage glass, the bowl rims will nick if you are not careful how you stack them.
If you like the bold geometric shapes and designs in the later depression glass patterns then consider Coronation, especially if you enjoy Hocking’s Royal Ruby.