Bottle values

[chrispl57]

I went to an estate sale and picked up a few medicine bottles but I am having trouble finding the value of them because most of them where never opened if anyone could help that would be great.


2oz bottle

This is one has never been opened and has the original 24 pills inside.

and this is a 1 oz hair tonic that has never been opened.

 

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[surf]

Hello chrisp,

Welcome to the TNet, and thanks for showing us your bottles. While in nice shape, except for the dubious color of that Lavoris , they're common mid 20th Century bottles. If you can find a buyer, i'd imagine $5-10 for the lot.

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[fistfulladirt]

Value is always in the eye of the beholder. I have had to almost give away 120+ y.o. bitters and other medicines, as there is a very small market for old bottles.

 

[surf]

Value is always in the eye of the beholder. I have had to almost give away 120+ y.o. bitters and other medicines, as there is a very small market for old bottles.

Hello fistfulla,

While I'd agree that the market for common bottles is in the dumper, good bitters and upper end medicines have done okay of late. There's nearly thirteen thousand listings, currently, of pre 1900 bottles at that well known electronic auction site. Several of those may even sell...

Annual Baltimore Bottle Show & Sale

 

[diggummup]

Value is always in the eye of the beholder. I have had to almost give away 120+ y.o. bitters and other medicines, as there is a very small market for old bottles.

I wouldn't say that. The market is growing everyday in this area of collectibles. I do agree that value is in the eye of the beholder though. Bottles can be hard to price sometimes because of this. What you value highly someone else may not. An experienced collector may pay x amount for a certain bottle and a novice may pay 2x or more for the same bottle.

 

[fistfulladirt]

I wouldn't say that. The market is growing everyday in this area of collectibles. I do agree that value is in the eye of the beholder though. Bottles can be hard to price sometimes because of this. What you value highly someone else may not. An experienced collector may pay x amount for a certain bottle and a novice may pay 2x or more for the same bottle.

That was just a comment based on my experience. The market was big in the early '80's. I've been digging/collecting since 1975. Lately, I've exposed many nice old sodas, bitters and even inkwells for sale, and I can't recall selling more than one or two, and I price these things at two bucks each or less! I suppose you have to take 'em to the shows. I've seen the same bottles at flea markets with price tags 10X what I'm asking. I see the same bottles year after year not selling...just saying.

 

[surf]

Hey fistful,

Perhaps you can be more specific as to the bottles of which you speak. I'd say that the recent peak in prices paid for commons was 2008. Commons have gone drastically downhill since then.

I've not sold many of the bottles that I've dug, but those that I have sold have been for good prices.

The great majority of bottles are commons, of one degree or another. Condition, and color are key. Local druggists and sodas always seem to be in demand, as do good inks & bitters.

I'd like to point out that this rare colored Drakes recently sold for $46K:

Rare blue-green Plantation Bitters bottle sets new auction record at $46,000​

 

[fistfulladirt]

Hi surf, yea I'm talking of the common bitters, and patent medicines.