10 Old Bottles Worth Money & a Handy Price List

29 Jul.,2024

 

10 Old Bottles Worth Money & a Handy Price List

Whether you are a collector, digger, trader or someone who just loves the look of a few old bottles decorating a kitchen shelf, an antique bottle price list is the ultimate resource for identifying and appraising these utilitarian objects from the past. Being able to spot old bottles worth money is a really useful skill, so tuck this list in your bag as you peruse the wares at antique shops, flea markets, and estate sales.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit soyan.

When you go out hunting for new old bottles to add to your collection or want to dig a little deeper into what you already have, it's always a good idea to come prepared. It can be difficult to gauge the value of a bottle offhand, but a price list can help.

Free Printable Antique Bottle Price List

Because there are thousands of different types of antique bottles and their value depends largely on condition, age, rarity, and other factors, it would be impossible to include every bottle in existence on a list. Instead, it's more useful to look at various categories of antique bottles, and the value ranges you can expect to find for these categories. This handy printable list includes all the major bottle categories.

If you need help downloading the printable price list, check out these helpful tips.

PDF_| https://cf.ltkcdn.net/antiques/files/907-antique-bottle-price-list.pdf

The following estimates of value are from current auctions, past auction results, and antique valuation services.

Small Medicine Bottles

Small medicine bottles typically sell in the $3 to $20 range and have these qualities:

  • Less than six inches tall
  • Clear glass
  • Marked with the name of a practitioner and/or location
  • May say "elixir," "tonic," "syrup," etc
  • May be an interesting shape

Small Colored Glass Bottles

Bottles come in all kinds of gorgeous colors, and some colors can be worth a lot. There's a big range, but many sell for between $40 and $100 if they're in good shape. They tend to have these characteristics:

  • Less than six inches tall
  • Green, brown, cobalt blue, amber, or other color
  • Marked with a company name
  • Sometimes marked with the word "Poison"

Tiny Glass Bottles

Really small bottles are adorable, and they can also be valuable. They often sell for around $3 to $25 and have these features:

  • Less than three inches tall
  • Various shapes
  • Marked with company name or location
  • May be crudely constructed

Cola Bottles

Bottles from well-known cola companies can be worth almost nothing or sell for hundreds of dollars. It all depends on how old and rare they are, as well as whether they're in good shape. Some Coke bottles can be worth $300 or more, especially if they are commemorative editions or are really old.

Read More

  • 7 Old Coke Bottles Worth a Ton of Money Today

Tablet Bottles

Tablet or medicine bottles regularly sell in the $15 to $45 range. Look for these characteristics:

  • Less than six inches tall
  • Dark-colored glass
  • May have logo or original paper label

Read More

  • Collecting Vintage Medicine Bottles: Types & Values

Ink Bottles

Ink used to come in bottles, and they are pretty common. Still, collectors sometimes specialize in these bottles, which often sell for between $8 and $20. Some can be worth much more. Look for these qualities:

  • Less than three inches tall
  • Squat glass bottle with short neck
  • May have faceted sides
  • May have logo or label

Milk Bottles

Up until the middle of the 20th century, it was really common to get your milk delivered in glass bottles. These still abound in antique shops and at flea markets, and they often sell in the $10 to $20 range. Some of the most valuable milk bottles can be worth hundreds, though. Watch for these characteristics:

  • Small or large size, less than 16 inches tall
  • Classic milk bottle shape
  • Dairy name embossed or printed

Flasks and Liquor Bottles

There are as many styles of liquor bottles as there are types of liquor, but some of the really old and interesting ones can be worth money. Expect them to sell in the range of $20 to $200, although there are definitely outliers. These are a few of the qualities to watch for:

  • Flat shape or round
  • Sometimes amber or brown glass
  • Can be rare, depending on the manufacturer
  • Logo or label on side

Perfume Bottles

Antique perfume bottles come in all kinds of shapes and can be some of the most exciting glassware to collect. Really rare ones can sell for thousands of dollars, but most sell in the $20 to $200 range and have these characteristics:

  • Cut glass or pressed glass
  • Sometimes colored glass
  • Stopper included
  • May include logo or label

Narcotic Bottles

Like other medicines, narcotics came in glass bottles. These can be worth quite a bit to collectors, usually selling in the $50 to $100 range. Look for them by these signs:

  • Less than six inches tall
  • Usually amber or brown glass
  • May contain original label or logo
  • Will have words like "narcotic," "opium," and "laudanum"

How to Use an Antique Bottle Price List

If you're wondering whether you have an old bottle worth money, looking it up on a price list can help.

  1. Examine the bottle. Note its size, color, markings, and condition.
  2. Look up the bottle type on the printable list.
  3. Check the bottle you have against the detailed description of the type.
  4. Note the value range for the bottle. Bottles in rare colors and great condition will fall at the higher end of the price range. Those with condition issues or in less desirable colors or shapes will fall at the lower end of the range.

Need to Know

If you suspect you have a very valuable bottle or you're planning to sell one, it's a good idea to get your pieces professionally appraised. Appraisers consider factors like market trends, condition, manufacturer, material, desirability, and more when setting a price on an antique bottle.

For more sourcing spherical glass bottleinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.

Other Price Lists for Antique Bottle Collectors

You can also find other price guides for antique and collectible bottles. Many cover a specific bottle type, such as Jim Beam Figural Bottles: An Unauthorized Collector's Guide by Molly Higgins or the Antique Trader Perfume Bottles Price Guideby Kyle Husfloen and Penny Dolnick.

Other price guides provide a more generalized listing of old bottle types. Warman's Bottles Field Guide by Michael Polak is a compact volume, for example, perfect for toting along on a dig or a jaunt to the flea market. Antique Trader Bottles Identification and Price Guide by Michael Polak is a large book, but it also comes in an electronic edition. You'll find extensive information about bottle types and prices.

Quick Tip

You may notice that many printed price lists are out of date. Times are changing, and printed guides can't reflect the current prices of every type of bottle. We still think they're handy for identification, though.

Tips for Using Price Lists

When using a price guide to determine the value of an antique bottle, consider the following tips:

  • Be honest about the condition. Since value is largely based on the bottle's condition, this can be one of the biggest factors in determining where your bottle falls on the price range. If you overestimate your bottle's condition, you also overestimate its price.
  • Stick to a general category if you can't find your exact bottle on a price list. Often, small factors like color, brand, or manufacturing method can have a big impact on price. If you use the price of a bottle that is similar to yours, though not identical, you may not get an accurate result.
  • Carry your price list with you. You never know when you might encounter a bottle you'd like to look up. If it's a simple printable, you can keep the price list in your wallet or purse.

Limitations of Price Lists

Price lists for antique and collectible bottles can help you determine whether your piece is valuable, but they have a few limitations. Keep these in mind as you use the books and publications:

  • If they are specific, price lists tend to be hundreds of pages long. This can make it difficult to carry them around with you.
  • Typically, price lists include a range of values. This is because value depends on several factors, including the condition, age, rarity, and uniqueness of the bottle. Be suspicious of any price list that gives exact values.
  • Printed price lists can quickly become dated if market conditions shift. For instance, if there's a trend in collecting, a specific type of bottle may increase in value.

Are You Holding a Treasure?

A price guide can be a helpful tool when you're shopping for or identifying old glass bottles. Although price lists have limitations, they can offer some fascinating general information about the value of your finds. You might discover that the bottle you're holding is a treasure.

Determining the Price of Old Glass Bottles

Did you know "American Pickers" star Mike Wolfe got his start digging bottles when he was just a kid? He's in good company. Collectors from all walks of life enjoy this pastime for fun and profit. But when it comes to valuing antique and collectible examples, their many varied factors to consider.

One great resource is Antique Trader Bottles Identification and Price Guide (Krause Publications) by Michael Polak. This bottle expert, who has collected more than 3,000 varied examples, also shared in an Antique Trader magazine article that there are several general factors, which are elaborated upon in his book, that must be considered when pricing bottles. Those key points are color, condition, and rarity.

Color Is King

Perhaps because glass color is the most immediate thing collectors notice about an old bottle, they often proclaim that &#;color is king." Rare colors do elevate the value of most any type of bottle, according to Polak. He ranks the following colors in the low to medium range, generally: clear, aqua, basic amber, milk glass, green, black, and dark olive green.

As the colors become more unusual, the values often start to rise. More uncommon colors include teal blue, cobalt blue (in some instances), emerald green, purple (also known as amethyst), straw yellow, puce, yellow amber, deep blue-green, teal green, sapphire blue, and cornflower blue along with others.

What this equates to is that the same bottle in clear glass compared to one in a rare color like teal blue could have a difference in the value of several thousand dollars at auction. It is imperative that you look at comparables of the same bottle type in the same color when determining value. Don&#;t let yourself fall into the &#;one just like mine" trap if they aren&#;t exactly alike in terms of style, color, and condition.

Grading Condition

As with most antiques and collectibles, figuring out how much old bottles are worth relies greatly on the condition in which they are found. Polak suggests that there are six &#;variables&#; he uses when determining what kind of shape a bottle is in:

  1. Mint: This means there is no damage to the bottle whatsoever. &#;Must be clean with vibrant unique color, no chips, cracks, scrapes, or wear of any type.&#; Flaws, no matter how minor, downgrade the bottle in value.
  2. Extra fine/near mint: This level might exhibit very slight wear to embossing or a label that is still present. These types of flaws are nearly undetectable such as a light rub spot from case wear, or a very light stain. In other words, a bottle very close to mint with very little wrong with it.
  3. Very good/excellent: A label may have wear or be missing at this level, or perhaps the embossing with have a bit of wear. Nicks (known as fleabites in the business) in the glass would still be very, very minor and any rubs are very light. Glass color must be excellent as well, with no cloudiness.
  4. Good: While still completely intact, a bottle of this grade shows overall wear. May have minor scrapes or chips. Wear is easily seen without close inspection.
  5. Fair or average: This grade defines a bottle with &#;considerable wear.&#; The label will be missing or embossing damaged. Wear is very readily apparent.
  6. Poor or damaged: The presence of chips, cracks, major rubs, and/or severe stains overall. 

Considering Rarity

It&#;s good, first off, to remember that the amount of damage a collector will tolerate when it comes to an old bottle goes hand and hand with how hard that example is to hunt down. Polak mentions seven grades of a rarity in his book ranging from &#;unique&#; to &#;common.&#; A unique bottle, one where only one is known to exist, would be more acceptable with damage and still bring a high sum, but if it&#;s pristine the price goes up. Common bottles, on the other hand, need to be in top condition to bring top dollar and the value won't be nearly as high even then.

&#;Extremely rare&#; bottles have only five to 10 known examples, while &#;very rare&#; will have 10 to 20 known examples and &#;rare&#; means there are 20 to 40 examples known to exist in collections. The term &#;scarce&#; is used for 100 bottles in existence, while &#;very scarce&#; references 50 known examples.

Common bottles, according to Polak, include those that are &#;abundant and easy to acquire.&#; Clear medicine bottles from the late s along with certain beer bottles or whiskey vessels in readily available colors, for example, fall into this category. These are usually bottles beginners focus on, and again, they need to be in mint or near mint condition to retain the most value.

Other Valuation Factors to Consider

Collectors learn as they go along that several different factors go into grading and valuing bottles. Studying a book like Polak&#;s is a great place to start, but it takes years of hands-on experience to be able to evaluate rare bottles without further guidance. Don&#;t be afraid to ask a more experienced bottle collector or dealer for help. This is especially true if you have something you think is out of the ordinary.

&#;There are also several unique features or characteristics that can significantly affect value such as pontil marks found on blown glass, whittle marks, type of molds, glass imperfections, slug plates, variations of lips or tops and the glasshouse location where the bottle was manufactured,&#; Polak wrote for Antique Trader. These are all advanced nuances that may add value to a variety of different kinds of bottles, and you learn to pick up on them over time.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit OEM perfume bottle.