Collecting glass bottles is another popular hobby that is being pursued fervently by ardent collectors and can fetch you a good sum. The antique varieties convey its historical past and they are invaluable as they were manufactured by hand and no two are same. Some medicine bottles have the names of chemicals and warnings in the design unlike the present ones which have labels. The other antique ones that you can collect are ink wells, mineral water, vinegar, whisky, cosmetic, beer and torpedo. Syrup bottles for making sodas that were used by druggists are also a rarity and are worth a lot.
Why are Glass Bottles in Demand?
The reason why people collect them is because of their odd shapes and colors, their designs which makes them uncommon and in demand. You might find egg shaped bottles which were the trademark of Hamilton’s bottles or those shaped like log cabins, women’s figures, ears of corn or a pig as in the case of poisonous bottles that are no longer produced. You might also find sealed wine bottles, stoneware containers, cream pots, ointment pots, pot lids, clay pipes and heads of china dolls which all come under the classification of bottle collecting. Even unique colored flasks which are scarce are considered antique glass bottles.
How to Collect Glass Bottles?
You can find these rare items at flea markets, old dumps and houses, ghost towns and the campsites that were used by the early pioneers. You can also find them in car boot sales, antique fairs and auctions and bottle shows as well.
How to Recognize Genuine Antique Glass Bottles
You need to carefully examine the lip for if they are antique pieces then they will have crude lips when tools were not really used to create smooth rings around the lip and neck of the bottles. You can also distinguish the antique by its greenish color which was the preferred color of the earlier bottle makers. The bottom of the bottle should give you some hints also when bottles had bumpy and circular circles You can get good prices for your collection of glass bottles. Those that have pictures as trademarks and those that have embossing done are in good demand as well.
Care Required for your Glass Bottles
You should be extremely particular in preserving these uncommon antiquities and keeping in mind their fragile nature you should build a case with arrangements to hold the bottles intact. Any type of collision can result in destruction and loss of your priceless treasure. Always keep the glass bottles clean and away from direct sunlight.
Accumulation of dirt can discolor your collection thus modifying the value as well. You need to check various guides that can give you tips on the types of bottles that you need to collect, how to find out the value of your bottles and how to detect the spurious ones.
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