Let me start off by saying that my knowledge about olf bottles would be classified as noob sauce at best...
My wife's father collected these bottles 30-55 years ago... and passed away just about 30 years ago... Many of them were cleaned and on display... but many many many hundreds sit in baskets just as they were when he gathered them... I am guess there is between one and two thousand bottles total...
My mother in law would like to bring these to market and I agreed to assist with the process... cleaning - cataloging... pictures and assisting in finding a buyer or selling them off in groups or individually...
I'm sure there are varities here... I took some initial photos and have indluded them below...
How should I proceed? Anyone in the CT/RI/MA area avalable to assist helping to determine value (for a fee)? What else would you recommend that we do?
Your Skull & Cross bone Poison bottle is a Sharpe & Dohme KU-19 2 3/4" tall, Lt. cobalt blue glass, ABM bottle. Center panel is embossed with a skull and crossed bones with a star above and below skull & bones. The two side panels are embossed : " POISON " The base is embossed : " S. D. / 173 ". Rounded back pane. I believe the going value is 90.00 + If it has any Chips or cracks no matter how small it will lower the value
It would be easier for me to help with prices if you could type out what is embossed on each bottle.. I know it sound like a huge task,but that is the only way I'll be able to help... Also here is a list of Common bottles worth less then 1.00 find any of these put them in a yard sale for 1.00 each http://www.antiquebottles.com/common.html
your Irvin C Harvey Conn. Is a Hutchison style bottle.. How you would describe this would be light aqua Tombstone Slugplate Hutch.. There is nothing online I could find for this bottle.. but that doesn't mean it's not a high dollar bottle that will probly only be known by a local collector
Here is a Medicine bottle site poke around here to see if this helps... He also has somewhere on there where you can email him to get prices an info for bottles not on the web site http://www.antiquemedicines.com/bottles.htm
some people call me the creeper ,cuz they don't know my name or face - Alice Cooper
All I can say is WoW If that is just a random sampling, they are awesome Digger Dave on e-bay sells many many old bottles dug from privies and ones he got at sales. If you are familiar with e-bay, you can look up his site and check out the completed listings to see what he got for similar bottles. Take your time if you can, you have got some very sweet bottles Paul
A few of these are really good and would do well at one of the rare bottle auctions. Ebay is good also. The market is a bit low currently. I see some really good glass here that should fetch hundreds each. This is assuming attic mint condition, no damage whatsoever. It is impossible to give "true" pricing, only ball park estimates, owing to the fussy nature of the subject and not knowing the true condition of the pieces. I like to shoot for a value that I would say is the very least I would accept. This is only an opinion and is a very ambiguous answer. But for someone like you, you need a good ball park of value, and members can offer some assistance.
Your post has so many pics that it is hard to work with. Can you somehow re-post the pics with numbers? That way we can start throwing you good guestimates of value by reffering to the number of the pic.
Pic number three is a good one, let's say a good estimate would be $400 to $800. I would have to do some more digging though to make sure this is not grossly wrong. The aqua Phoenix Bitters is a classic, that should be I would say maybe $300 min and might push a lot more. I have never seen a Rumford's with that funky green, that could be a $50 piece, or more? There are some good price guide books out there, and Kovel's online is very helpful. Paul, best of luck with this very nice collection.
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A few of these are really good and would do well at one of the rare bottle auctions. Ebay is good also. The market is a bit low currently. I see some really good glass here that should fetch hundreds each. This is assuming attic mint condition, no damage whatsoever. It is impossible to give "true" pricing, only ball park estimates, owing to the fussy nature of the subject and not knowing the true condition of the pieces. I like to shoot for a value that I would say is the very least I would accept. This is only an opinion and is a very ambiguous answer. But for someone like you, you need a good ball park of value, and members can offer some assistance.
Your post has so many pics that it is hard to work with. Can you somehow re-post the pics with numbers? That way we can start throwing you good guestimates of value by reffering to the number of the pic.
Pic number three is a good one, let's say a good estimate would be $400 to $800. I would have to do some more digging though to make sure this is not grossly wrong. The aqua Phoenix Bitters is a classic, that should be I would say maybe $300 min and might push a lot more. I have never seen a Rumford's with that funky green, that could be a $50 piece, or more? There are some good price guide books out there, and Kovel's online is very helpful. Paul, best of luck with this very nice collection.
I agree with everything except Kovel online... alot of the prices on there are either out dated or over price..not a reliable source especially to a beginner
some people call me the creeper ,cuz they don't know my name or face - Alice Cooper
I would like to order a few books to aid in this learning process... any suggestions?
and thank you for the word on taking our time... My wife, mother in law, and I plan in taking the next two weeks to slowly get it all cleaned up, cataloged, and photos taken....
Yes this is just a sampling... like I said... there are between 1,000 and 2,000 bottles... He passed away in 1980... and was bottle digging for about 25 years....
There are also some indian artifacts... and some plates and other stuff he recovered...
Good to hear some of the early estimated a a few mentioned...
I'm excited to learn some in this process and help her out :-)
I would like to order a few books to aid in this learning process... any suggestions?
and thank you for the word on taking our time... My wife, mother in law, and I plan in taking the next two weeks to slowly get it all cleaned up, cataloged, and photos taken....
Yes this is just a sampling... like I said... there are between 1,000 and 2,000 bottles... He passed away in 1980... and was bottle digging for about 25 years....
There are also some indian artifacts... and some plates and other stuff he recovered...
Good to hear some of the early estimated a a few mentioned...
I'm excited to learn some in this process and help her out :-)
Thank you all!
Paul
Paul the best books for prices would be anything by Digger Odell http://www.bottlebooks.com/products.htm.. If you need to know a quick way in cleaning the bottles let me know I will post how to clean the haze off of most bottles
some people call me the creeper ,cuz they don't know my name or face - Alice Cooper
[font=comic sans ms]Thanks for sharing the images of those estate bottles. It's a bit jarring to think about someone going through a similar process with my bottles and other collectibles.
Just a sobering word here. I see lots and lots of "dollar bottles" in that accumulation. They are dollar bottles if you can find a buyer. As already pointed out here, the market is soft for slightly-better-than-common bottles. Condition is crucial.
eBay is the universal market, so learn how to use the search engine there. Dealers will give you about half of retail (less, if you are unaware). There is plenty of misleading information available, some based on differing local market value.
The aqua Phoenix Bitters is a classic, that should be I would say maybe $300 min and might push a lot more.
[size=14pt]The value of a colorless/aqua Phoenix Bitters is somewhere around $100. It is the olive-amber bottles that have substantially more value.
“A man should keep his little brain attic stocked with all the furniture that he is likely to use, and the rest he can put away in the lumber room of his library, where he can get it if he wants it.”
--Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle) in "The Sign of Four"
A few of these are really good and would do well at one of the rare bottle auctions. Ebay is good also. The market is a bit low currently. I see some really good glass here that should fetch hundreds each. This is assuming attic mint condition, no damage whatsoever. It is impossible to give "true" pricing, only ball park estimates, owing to the fussy nature of the subject and not knowing the true condition of the pieces. I like to shoot for a value that I would say is the very least I would accept. This is only an opinion and is a very ambiguous answer. But for someone like you, you need a good ball park of value, and members can offer some assistance.
Your post has so many pics that it is hard to work with. Can you somehow re-post the pics with numbers? That way we can start throwing you good guestimates of value by reffering to the number of the pic.
Pic number three is a good one, let's say a good estimate would be $400 to $800. I would have to do some more digging though to make sure this is not grossly wrong. The aqua Phoenix Bitters is a classic, that should be I would say maybe $300 min and might push a lot more. I have never seen a Rumford's with that funky green, that could be a $50 piece, or more? There are some good price guide books out there, and Kovel's online is very helpful. Paul, best of luck with this very nice collection.
I agree with everything except Kovel online... alot of the prices on there are either out dated or over price..not a reliable source especially to a beginner
creeper I agree with you, Kovel's are overpriced now, in this particular market and time. I do like Kovel's because the prices are not too far off, and reflect good pricing in a normal robust market. No matter how old the listing, bottle prices always go up in the long run, so the older lists are extremely valuable. Also, Kovel's bottle listing is vast and available online. In a few years, the Kovels lists could very well become under-priced.
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Paul, I wish to apologize about the bum estimate on your Phoenix, I would trust Harry Pristis' assessment on this piece. I only know just enough to take a decent stab at it, but always in good faith and good will. I look forward to some comments from other members, especially concerning the #3 pic. Road Dog specializes in these beauties. You have some other pieces that need a good hashing also.
I looked down I think pic 52 the aqua med from NY if pontiled is up there, lets say 100 beans (just estimating).
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That Pic #3 Jackson..........Wow!. That's a must for an Auction House. I have record of one like that (5 1/8" larger one) going for near $3600 bucks. That Olive Rumford if it were mine would be in the 100-125+ range. You have quite a collection it looks like.
That Pic #3 Jackson..........Wow!. That's a must for an Auction House. I have record of one like that (5 1/8" larger one) going for near $3600 bucks. That Olive Rumford if it were mine would be in the 100-125+ range. You have quite a collection it looks like.
3600$ >> HOLY SCHNIKEYS! Jean remebered that right after her husband died 31 years ago that a guy he used to dig with offered her 300$ for that bottle... But she passed... Good thing :-)
I am excited to start going through all those bottle tomorrow night...
That Pic #3 Jackson..........Wow!. That's a must for an Auction House. I have record of one like that (5 1/8" larger one) going for near $3600 bucks. That Olive Rumford if it were mine would be in the 100-125+ range. You have quite a collection it looks like.
I suspected Pic #3 would have been in the thousands just by the look of it but couldn't read the bottle to research it for you to be sure.. I don't ever put a price up I am not sure about.... Good thing Roaddog came in to let you know for sure...
some people call me the creeper ,cuz they don't know my name or face - Alice Cooper
That Pic #3 Jackson..........Wow!. That's a must for an Auction House. I have record of one like that (5 1/8" larger one) going for near $3600 bucks. That Olive Rumford if it were mine would be in the 100-125+ range. You have quite a collection it looks like.
That IS a standout bottle! A 4.25" example is listed in Knapp's 2006 Price Guide. It reports a Greer 707 estimate of $2500; but, there is no other value information.
There is no listing for Rumford bottles in the 2006 Guide.
“A man should keep his little brain attic stocked with all the furniture that he is likely to use, and the rest he can put away in the lumber room of his library, where he can get it if he wants it.”
--Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle) in "The Sign of Four"
Holy Crow! I knew I could be grossly wrong on #3. I thank Harry, creeper71 and Road Dog for offering some great info and clarification on my gut-reaction numbers. No harm intended though, just trying to get Paul off in the right direction. A bit of research pays off every time. Regards to all, gleaner.
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Paul, I just got a rough estimate for your D W JACKSON bottle from a friend that made a Medicine price guide... he wrote thos back to me..
"That’s a tough one. I have it listed but I haven’t seen any sell in recent history for a value basis.
An olive one sold in the Greer sale. It’s a very rare bottle. I assume it pontil scarred?
I’m guessing you are in the $1000-3000 range but its hard to guess on these rare ones. Matters how the condition is , color, and who is bidding on it."
Can you please take photo of the bottom of this bottle ..please have a clear an close up pic ..please ....
some people call me the creeper ,cuz they don't know my name or face - Alice Cooper
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Re: Old Bottle Collection...
go to google and look for a bottle show near you and pick out the cream of the crop and take them with and find out what they are worth i am going to one next weekend i have some awsome bottles and insulators hoping to make some money this weekend one bottle i have i seen sell on ebay 3 years ago for 1,473.59 it would be nice to get half of that for it
go to google and look for a bottle show near you and pick out the cream of the crop and take them with and find out what they are worth i am going to one next weekend i have some awsome bottles and insulators hoping to make some money this weekend one bottle i have i seen sell on ebay 3 years ago for 1,473.59 it would be nice to get half of that for it
he can't pick the cream of the crop if he doesn't know what he is looking at or what he is looking for to be cream of the crop.... It's not eazy to learn bottles an values..
some people call me the creeper ,cuz they don't know my name or face - Alice Cooper
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Digger Dave on e-bay sells many many old bottles dug from privies and ones he got at sales. If you are familiar with e-bay, you can look up his site and check out the completed listings to see what he got for similar bottles. Take your time if you can, you have got some very sweet bottles 
Paul 
Originally Posted by gleaner1
That Olive Rumford if it were mine would be in the 100-125+ range. You have quite a collection it looks like.
