Highest youve paid for a bottle?

[BellwoodBoys]

The most Ive ever paid for a bottle was $29.50 for a belmar milk.

 

[myersdiggers1998]

$125.00 for a bitters.

 

[earlyglass]

It seems as though I approach my collection a little differently than most of the folks who have posted on this thread. I spend a considerable amount more than what I am seeing posted here. It is not uncommon to pay $5000+ for a good rare bottle for your collection. I can quickly think of at least a couple dozen other collectors who do as well. When you figure that new records are being reached each year (most recently $176,000 for a flask and well over $200,000 for a bitters), the cost to place a great object into your collection continues to increase.

There are so many different levels of collecting. I understand that some people will never "spend" money on their collections, but will "spend" countless hours hunting. Everyone has their own reason for collecting, and comfort level. Umong other things, your comfort level can be based upon knowledge and finances, Whatever your comfort level, you can always find something to enjoy. After all, it is a hobby!

If it were viewed as an investment, it would be wise to put your money into the best pieces. These are the ones that have shown steady growth over many decades. Veteran collectors will always tell you to buy the best you can, but live within your means. I like the "thrill of the hunt" as much as the next guy, but when you have specific items that you have desired for years or decades, you buy them whenever the opportunity arises. Sometimes the opportunities are few and far between.

To give a direct answer to the question... $15,860. I am a regular working guy with a family and bills, but they are never deprived. The pain of a purchase hurts for a little while, but goes away. The bottle will be on my shelf for a lifetime!

 

[earlyglass]

I should add that I can get just as excited over a $50 bottle as I do for a $5000 bottle. If I plan to keep an item forever, the cost means very little. The real issue is if you can afford it WHEN it becomes available.

 

[westernglassaddict]

It appears that the question of how much has been spent on a bottle can be answered by simply searching out prices realized in the many bottle auctions. As far as the highest amount paid for a bottle by a forum member, I would wonder ...why? I would bet that some of the record prices for good glass have been paid by a few members or followers of this forum. I believe that Heckler's has realized at least one sale in the $170,000+ range, and the recent American Bottle Auctions offering included several western whiskeys over $10,000 and one over $25,000. The Bryant's Bitters sold in 1998 brought almost $70,000, and has sold since then for much more. After almost 40 years of aggressively seeking nice glass, I am continually amazed at the values of which rare and desireable pieces bring. Even in these economic times, the values continue to rise...

 

[blobbottlebob]

I've noted this earlier in the thread but it is hard to believe that there aren't more people spending high amounts of money based on the stuff they have. If you are an advanced collector and you want to acquire early, rare, colored, and pontilled, you are going to have to pay. You might get lucky like slick / sickrick and find a puece flask. Awesome. But if you're trying to collect a bunch of variants of historical flasks, you're going to need to shell out a lot of money to get them.

I remember when I first started collecting. I sold a (cracked) bottle for $175 that I found. I thought, some people must be nuts. Then as I started building my own collection, I soon realized that there is just no way to find every variant. You're going to have to pay if you're serious or you're limiting the scope of your collection . . .

 

[Steve/sewell]

I tell collectors pretty much the same thing Mike George Earlyglass described a ltlle bit ago about our hobby.The comfort level is key if you are purchasing most of your bottles.I am a working man also with lots of bills like the rest of you. You must save your money if you are to exceed the comfort level from time to time.It may mean you must sell a great bottle to get two to replace it. I agree whole heartily with Mike about investing in expensive great bottles versus collecting huge amounts of mostly common bottles.When your collection starts to exceed 300 bottles it may be time to reevaluate your collection.`With out offending some of the collectors here I have always felt why collect so many bottles that your display looks very similar to a super market isle shelf. Smaller amounts of great bottles with historical provenance are a much more sound investment and look great when displayed properly.As you know we cant take them with us to the next round of life.If you are going to have a large collection it might as well be valuable to someone in your family when you are gone.To the diggers and bargain hunters most of us started our collections that way.As you become more of a serious focused collector and begin to age and are consumed with work and raising a family, digging becomes less of an option and auctions and estate sales are the way to find great bottles.The most I paid for a piece of glass is $8755.37 including shipping and INSURANCE. In order to be able to spend that kind of money I had to sell 2 great bottle I already owned.In the end it was well worth it as the pitcher is one of a kind

 

[blobbottlebob]

I agree with almost everything you said Steve. And I think it is very sound advice to buy the best bottles you can afford. However, I part ways with you here partly . . .

When your collection starts to exceed 300 bottles it may be time to reevaluate your collection.

The type of bottles that I collect (mostly hutchinson sodas from my state) forces me to accept that there are about 1,000 variants if my goal is to get them all. I am approaching about 500 of them - and now I have most of the easy ones.

One reason I collect these is because they can still be found from time to time. I can road trip to a town in the hopes of actaully finding one. Secondly, these bottles rarely have the collosal price tags even when they are very rare.

Having said all of that, I still dream about the stuff that you get. If I could just find a few flasks, I'd be so hooked. But the prospect of buying every bottle to build a collection is so daunting, that I can't imagine how difficult and expensive it would be to build a respectable display.

 

[baltbottles]

When your collection starts to exceed 300 bottles it may be time to reevaluate your collection.

I'm up to about 220 Baltimore pieces. Now to get everything I am interested I need about 700-800 bottles. Its taken me a solid decade to get this far so at the rate I'm going I should be finished my collection by time I'm 70. But at least I can say I have dug about half of my collection so far. But i will say its getting harder to dig a good one I don't have.

Chris

 

[sandchip]

ORIGINAL: earlyglass

...The real issue is if you can afford it WHEN it becomes available.   

Amen, Mike. I look through old auction catalogs and wonder" Why didn't I go after that?!" Then I realize/remember "Because I couldn't at the time." New baby, brain surgery, thyroid tumor, adding onto the house...

Blessed to even be here.