bitter fish bottles

[mskimba]

Hi there, i have these fish bottles, are they worth something?
The 2 green ones about 12-15" on the bottom it says 77A Cevin3 75CL, the other green one just has a FA
The white one is 12-15" on the bottom it says75CC3VA77
the yellow on says absolutely nothing
(None of these have wheaton nj on the bottom)
and for the little one it is sealed and had DVE A 3 on it
thanx for all your info
Kimberly

 

[IronSpike]

Here's a thread with fish bottles:

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,273719.0.html

Very nice collection mskimba

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Welcome to TN mskimba. My guess on the large four would be reproductions of the valuable old much sought after Dr. Fisches Bitters bottle. Look for a seam going up the side all the way to the top lip seam. Try to post some seam pics and another of the small bottle and its label. It is also modern Im afraid as you can see the screw top. But the little one is more interesting.
http://www.bottlebooks.com/forsale/fishbottles/fish_bottles.htm

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

My link shows the 2 green bottles on the left. Here is what it says:

Here's a green glass figural fish bottle with cork stopper. Nicely detailed on both sides. Bottle measures 13" tall. Bottom marking: "77 A, CE VIN, 75 cl 3". This bottle is probably a very new wine container made within the last twenty years

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Your smaller interesting fish bottle is from Italy.

The bottom of this 12 1/2 inch fish wine bottle is marked with a large "F". The label reads: "ANTINORI 1973". "BIANCO DELLA COSTA TOSCANA ITALY..." These are fairly common.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

That only leaves us with the amber and clear bottles. I cannot find the numbers online but a close up pic of the seam going up to the lip should help a lot. We could tell if they were made in an automatic bottling machine. I dont have the original bitters bottle but here is a pic. The lip appears different.


Here is the United States, the first person to make wide-spread use of a fish shaped bottle was one W. H. Ware who patented a fish shaped bottle in 1866. He used the container for his Doctor Fischs Bitters. These much sought after bitters bottles are known in various shades of amber and clear. A second variant of the bottle embossed The Fish Bitters comes in amber, aqua, clear, yellow, shades of green, reddish puce and rarely cobalt blue. Supposedly the recipe for the fish bitters was obtained from a Dr. Gottlieb of Berlin, Prussia. The bitters was advertised throughout the 1870s and 1880s for dyspepsia, general debility, loss of appetite and as an antidote to alcoholic drink (which is strange since most bitters contained liberal amounts of alcohol.)
Fish Bitters in yellow like the one at the left are extremely rare and desireable. The bottle shown is valued between $2500-$3500. Amber examples are fairly common and bring between $150-200.

 

[Recovering Relics]

Here is a link that might help you out:

http://www.bottlebooks.com/forsale/fishbottles/fish_bottles.htm