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All Forums >> [Bottle Forums] >> What is it? BEFORE 1900 >> help with my grandparents' bottles

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help with my grandparents' bottles - 7/8/2003 12:27:40 PM    Guest My grandparents dug and collected bottles all around California. The hundreds of bottles are now mine, and I' m very excited, but overwhelmed! I don' t want to put them in boxes and storage, but am having a hard time knowing how to get started. Some I know I will want to keep, others I will probably sell, and I wouldn' t be surprised if a good number of them are too new or common to be collectable. It has been recommended that I just call in collectors to make bids and remove the bottles from their house, but I would like to learn more about this hobby that was so important to my grandparents, and to take an active role in determining what is " valuable," rather than taking the potential buyers' word. Can you please let me know if I' m on the right track... From my limited research it seems that I should first look for pontil marks, lip styles and mold seams, embossing, condition and color. I will clean the ones that seem to be the oldest, or unique (I have no idea how to tell if they are rare). I' ll take pictures and post some here. Who would you recommend I contact when I am ready to sell? There are far too many for me to keep! Thank you so much for your help. Any comments and suggestions are very welcome and appreciated!   Post #: 1

RE: help with my grandparents' bottles - 7/8/2003 7:39:38 PM    IRISH   Posts: 1238 Joined: 11/23/2002 From: cockatoo Australia Status: offline Hi Newbie, Sounds like you have gone about learning the basics the right way, you will find a lot of good info on this website http://www.users.bigpond.com/oz-riley/ . the best place to sell them is http://www.ebay.com/ also ebay is a good place to see what others are getting for the same types of bottles as yours. (in reply to Guest) Post #: 2

RE: help with my grandparents' bottles - 7/9/2003 10:45:25 AM    Guest Hi Newbie, and welcome. Wow, instant collection! I can understand your excitement and your bewilderment. What to keep....what to sell...how much is it worth...? Tough decisions, especially when multiplied my so many bottles. If you haven' t already found it, a good website is http://www.antiquebottles.com/ It lists many bottle clubs across the U.S., as well as a load of info and links for other sites that may help you. My own advice is, first and foremost, keep what appeals to YOU. A bottle doesn' t have to worth big $$$ to look good. I' ve been collecting almost thirty years, and my display has $5.00 bottles right next to $100 bottles, because they look good together. After deciding what you like, its research time. After all, some of the bottles you don' t like may be highly sought after by others. A resident from in or near that funny little town embossed on that plain bottle may have been looking for that piece many years. You can use money from the bottles you don' t want to get more(?) bottles that you do like. Try to find a club near you and GO! Shows can also be fun and informative. The web site I mentioned should help you find both. Also, as Irish said, eBay is a good place to get an idea of what people are paying for certain bottles. Just remember that it is an auction, and prices can be much higher or lower than the norm. Oh well, I' ve rambled enough. Send some pictures when you get a chance. Group together a bunch of bottles that you want to get rid of and send a picture to the forum. The folks here may be able to tell you if you' ve missed a good one. Of course, we want to see some of the good ones too. Good luck. (in reply to Guest)   Post #: 3

RE: help with my grandparents' bottles - 7/10/2003 3:09:35 PM    Guest Thank you for your advice and links. It is very welcomed and helpful. What a wonderful community this is! I' ll start sorting through the collection this weekend, and maybe post some pictures of my new treasures and mystery bottles sometime soon. Thanks!! (in reply to Guest)   Post #: 4

All Forums >> [Bottle Forums] >> What is it? BEFORE 1900 >> help with my grandparents' bottles

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