Antique bottles - value sought

[SFPHOTO]

W/O CRACKS OR CHIPS
Been in our family at least 100 years, in storage for the last 50 years
Looking for replacement value (confirmation, see my guess w/ description)

45 - TALL (gin?) BOTTLE W/ MAKERS MARK (Marion Flint?) +/-14 in
60 - AMBER BOTTLE W/ RING PONTIL +/- 8in
145 - (2) GREEN BOTTLES W/ RING PONTIL
15 - SODA w/o markings
15 - RAWLEIGH MEDICINAL (shows crack but is solid)
15 - SLENDER 9.5" tall

Thanks for looking!

 

[DavidW]

I have no info on values, but just a comment on one of the bottles. The dark olive amber or olive green square bottle on the upper left is a "Case Gin" and they were made in large numbers (especially in Holland) and many were exported to the US. I can practically guarantee the large M on the bottom has no relation to Marion Flint Glass Co. or to ANY glass manufacturer in the United States. Most likely, the "M" is the first initial of a glassmaker in Holland (or, possibly, England or Germany). The bottle might date from sometime in the 1870s-1920s time frame.

 

[DavidW]

One more comment -- the RAWLEIGH'S bottle would only have sentimental value for having been passed down within the family. Those Rawleighs bottles (there are a number of different sizes and embossing variations around) were made in large numbers so they have minimum monetary value - perhaps 50 cents to 5 dollars, depending on size and condition. With a crack, it has almost no value from a strictly monetary standpoint. But certainly has sentimental value if owned by ancestors in your family!

 

[nhpharm]

45 - TALL (gin?) BOTTLE W/ MAKERS MARK (Marion Flint?) +/-14 in: Machine made, common, maybe $10-$15 depending on the audience.
60 - AMBER BOTTLE W/ RING PONTIL +/- 8in: Reproduction. Maybe $10.
145 - (2) GREEN BOTTLES W/ RING PONTIL: These are the best you have. $250-$200 each. New England Chestnut Flasks.
15 - SODA w/o markings: $5 or so, very common.
15 - RAWLEIGH MEDICINAL (shows crack but is solid): Practically worthless.
15 - SLENDER 9.5" tall: Usually described as French. $20-$30.

 

[SFPHOTO]

We moved an 88yo relative from her home into assisted living and subsequently found lots of thing she put into storage 50 years ago.

Thanks everyone, very helpful comments.

Made another photograph of the 'Chestnuts'

 

[CanadianBottles]

I have no info on values, but just a comment on one of the bottles. The dark olive amber or olive green square bottle on the upper left is a "Case Gin" and they were made in large numbers (especially in Holland) and many were exported to the US. I can practically guarantee the large M on the bottom has no relation to Marion Flint Glass Co. or to ANY glass manufacturer in the United States. Most likely, the "M" is the first initial of a glassmaker in Holland (or, possibly, England or Germany). The bottle might date from sometime in the 1870s-1920s time frame.

In this case it's an ABM case gin, so likely not from Europe in my opinion. In Canada we get lots of case gins, and it's common to find ABM and applied lip case gins side-by-side - my guess is that the applied lip ones are from Europe and the ABM ones are locally-made. I know for sure that Dominion Glass was making them anyway because some are marked. I wonder if the M might stand for Melcher's, that was a major Canadian gin brand and it's possible that the one in the picture made its way down to the US during Prohibition. It looks exactly like the Canadian-made ABM case gins, and the size of the M makes me think it's a bottler's initial rather than a glassmaker's initial.

 

[SFPHOTO]

Our family was in South East ME in the early 1800's and presently family members live in Augusta and Portsmouth.

So ABM Melchers is a possibility. Might then think my $45 guess 'could' be a 'replacement cost'.

Great to have all these comments - Thank You.

 

[CanadianBottles]

Our family was in South East ME in the early 1800's and presently family members live in Augusta and Portsmouth.

So ABM Melchers is a possibility. Might then think my $45 guess 'could' be a 'replacement cost'.

Great to have all these comments - Thank You.

I'm afraid the $45 value is way too high. I'd put the value around $1-5, if that. Maybe it depends on where you're located, you might be able to get a bit more somewhere where they're less common, but I bought an applied lip case gin with the label intact for $5 a few years back at a bottle show. They're neat-looking bottles but even the applied lip versions are common enough that they're widely available for anyone who wants them, at least in Canada anyway.

 

[DavidW]

I'm afraid the $45 value is way too high. I'd put the value around $1-5, if that. Maybe it depends on where you're located, you might be able to get a bit more somewhere where they're less common, but I bought an applied lip case gin with the label intact for $5 a few years back at a bottle show. They're neat-looking bottles but even the applied lip versions are common enough that they're widely available for anyone who wants them, at least in Canada anyway.

CanadianBottles, thanks for the insight on possible Canadian origin. I wasn't positive by the photo whether that is a handmade or machine-made bottle. I would have to challenge you a teensy bit on the value......... in a "high end" bottle show with mostly longtime, experienced collectors, yeah it might be considered as worth 1 to 5 dollars, but (in my opinion) case gins are sold in antique shops and flea markets for somewhat higher - for those casual buyers more interested in an old looking bottle for decor purposes, I think $5 to $10 or even $20 is more typical in those kinds of venues.
Actually I rarely seen case gins around here in antique malls (Louisville KY area) and if I do, it seems they always have a rather high price tags (like 30 dollars or more) although admittedly I don't know how often they actually sell at those prices.

 

[CanadianBottles]

CanadianBottles, thanks for the insight on possible Canadian origin. I wasn't positive by the photo whether that is a handmade or machine-made bottle. I would have to challenge you a teensy bit on the value......... in a "high end" bottle show with mostly longtime, experienced collectors, yeah it might be considered as worth 1 to 5 dollars, but (in my opinion) case gins are sold in antique shops and flea markets for somewhat higher - for those casual buyers more interested in an old looking bottle for decor purposes, I think $5 to $10 or even $20 is more typical in those kinds of venues.
Actually I rarely seen case gins around here in antique malls (Louisville KY area) and if I do, it seems they always have a rather high price tags (like 30 dollars or more) although admittedly I don't know how often they actually sell at those prices.

Yeah there's probably a regional aspect to it, I remember case gins being very uncommon when I lived on the west coast as well. I don't see these ABM ones being sold for much than $5 around here in antique stores either (sometimes higher asking prices maybe, but not selling quickly) but considering how few I see posted on the forum I imagine they must be much more common in Canada than the US. In Ontario an applied lip case gin is roughly on par with a BIM Bromo-Seltzer and an ABM case gin is roughly on par with a screw-top Bromo. In some areas it's hard to go on a dig and not find a couple of case gins. Similar to the way that applied lip whisky bottles with nice wavy glass are considered decent finds in the US, but here they're so common that they end up either left behind or rarely selling from the dollar bins (I'm not sure I've ever succeeded in selling one at a flea market or garage sale for a dollar or less).

Come to think of it there's a decent chance that the case gins you see in antique stores originated in Canada too and were brought somewhere where they're more desirable. We see that a lot with common UK ginger beers here, I'm sure people aren't digging them locally and the asking prices are always several times what they'd be worth in the UK.