Bottles

Antique Collectible Bottles are a major collector's item. 19th century and early 20th century bottles are especially popular. There are many reasons why these are collected. One is the historical value and story that they tell. Oftentimes, bottles can be found out in the wilderness, left there from many decades and even centuries before, to be dug out by collectors. Some are quite beautiful and contain rich colors of glass along with many various shapes and sizes.

Other collectors prefer the more modern memorabilia bottles such as from the early days of Coca-Cola "Coke" when they made their famous brown and green coke bottles. Although, the rarest and most valuable bottles come from the 1800s when they were handmade and the molten glass was blown by mouth. Modern bottles on the other hand were machine made, especially those that needed to be distributed in mass quantities like beer bottles, liquor bottles, soda bottles, milk bottles and more.

One thing that people look for and get excited about in collectible bottles is when they have interesting or exotic shapes, such as figural bitters for example. Another thing they look for is those with labels and embossings, particularly dire warnings such as poison bottles and medicine bottles. Pontil Marks are another big thing they look for. Some collectors focus on brand names, venues (such as pharmacy) or regions that the bottles were used in (such as the Wild West). As with all collectibles, the condition and rarity are very important when it comes to the value.

There are all kinds of bottle classifications in addition to the ones mentioned above. Even Ink bottles, perfume bottles, snuff bottles and any other kind of bottle is sought after. Mason Jars (Fruit jars), Ball Jars and flasks are also classified in with antique bottle collecting as well.