As the world around us is quickly changing, we still feel strong attraction to the elements of the past – the way things used to be. People still feel this connection very passionately and collecting antique glass bottles is one way that we can experience it. Antique bottles enable us to travel back in time and experience those old things once again. Popularity of treasure-hunting for vintage bottles has grown enormously in the last few years. It is because many of us like the more simple and less busy times of the past.
There are lots of ways you can get your hands on antique glass bottles. The obvious choice would be to visit flea markets or auctions which are typical places for finding old bottles. However, you could find some antique bottles while cleaning out your attics, in an old shed in your backyard, sticking out of a construction site or just along the side of the road. Recently, there has been a new hobby created called “bottle digging” or “privy digging.” It is basically raveling down old roads or hiking and looking for old bottles. The easiest way to determine the age of vintage bottle which you found is to have a look at objects that surrounded it. If you found plastic bags right next to the bottle than it is probably just a replica and is not worth much. The crucial thing before looking for antique glass bottles in any property is to find out who is owner of the land and ask for his or her permission.
One can find antique glass bottles in many different shapes, sizes and colours. Most of the old bottles were handmade and therefore very few of them are identical. The thing that separates them and makes them unique are actually their flaws, such as bubbles within the glass . That’s why you can find 2 antique bottles that would be exactly the same. In this antique bottles are quite similar to old paintings. It is these little flaws that often make the bottle more sought after and therefore can make it more valuable. However, there are many other factors to consider when determining value of vintage bottle:
1) Age – usually there is a very simple rule: the older the glass bottle is, the more valuable it is, the easiest way to determine the age of the bottle is to closely examine the base of the bottle and have a good look at objects that surrounded it, it is quite likely that their age will match age of the bottle.
2) Colour – this is interesting, some colours are actually more valuable than others. The colors with the highest value are yellow and olive greens, cobalt and teal blues, yellow, purple, and green.
3) Design or Embossing – glass bottle is worth much more if it contains embossing that clearly identifies producer, the date when it was made and place where it was made.
4) Condition – it’s really simple, bottles that are in better condition are more valuable, chips or cracks usually reduce value of the bottle;
5) Category – there are many categories of antique glass bottles, for example medicine bottles, flasks, soda and alcohol bottles, druggist bottles, antique medicine bottles, antique milk bottles, avon antique bottles.
So why should you spend your precious time looking for antique glass bottles? Firstly, these lost everyday objects can be very valuable and you can make wonderful profit by finding and subsequently selling them. Imagine your excitement if you found out that the old glass bottle which you found in your backyard is actually worth 1000$ or more. If you really good in valuing the antique bottles you could start your own business of buying and selling antique bottles. However, there is also other, maybe even more important reason and that is the fun and sense of adventure that you experience while treasure-hunting for old bottles. Vintage bottles bring back memories of simpler, happier times when life seemed a lot less complicated. For many of us, antique bottles also bring back memories of loved ones sipping on a a bottle of soda or Coca Cola or some other product.
Collecting antique glass bottles is fun, self-fulfilling and increa