What are these

[BRIAN S.]

Hi Tomgor ,
Selling them seperate is the way to go. As far as ebay goes ...... I wouldn't worry about putting a reserve on them if your not trying to recoop any $$$$ you have invested in them. Better stuff on ebay usually brings a fair market value. And it seems you get more bidding wars going if there is a no reserve auction.
Or you could consign them to B.A.M. as they have no selling fees right now. Or Glassworks , Heckler's , or American Auctions. But , they do charge fees to sell thru there auction houses.
Hey , Good luck on whatever you decide to do with them . Brian

 

[WhiteLighting]

Quite abit of money if sold sepratley,in the american market even more than the english,just like my shear top inks........

 

[cowseatmaize]

An American bottle from the same time period can bring a lot more than a European one. An English mallet may get 75-100 dollars but an American may get $200+ unsealed. That's here in the US though. Since you’re in the UK I suspect yours are European. A sealed one is worth more than an unsealed one. There are lots of variables.
I'd like to add a word of caution. It's true you can get a good price on ebay but...

The world only sees ebay for a week. An auction house may run a catalog for a month or more and the buyers are in that market. They may be trustworthier then some of the unscrupulous buyers you will run into on ebay.

You should have a good feedback rating before you start. Many will be turned off by a new seller. Sellers who regularly sell bottles often get better prices than someone who's in the business of comic books or no specialty at all.

Do research and be sure to describe them accurately. Include nicks, chips, cracks and even scratches or you may lose what feedback you do have. Mention how you got them, it's part of their history. Give enough info but you can give too much also. On items as old as these some wear would be expected though.

These people are on ebay often and do well. The link below is of a similar one to one I see in your picture.
http://www.jeffnholantiquebottles.com/webpages/Item0099.html

Put them up separately and ship the separately. Don't offer combined shipping and pack, pack, pack well.

If you find a friend to sell them for you be careful. Write the add yourself to avoid trouble later. I'd guess friendships could be lost by having it done wrong by someone else.

Get an idea by looking in the pre 1900 flask, bitters and especially black glass categories (Utility & Black Glass here Wine/Black Glass in the UK). I just looked at the UK site and I see the same bottles listed in the US and I think the rest of the world.
There's no definitive method and no guarantees for the outcome.

I found this for the UK, it may help. http://www.onlinebbr.com/auctions/

Good luck and nice bottles.

 

[kumtow]

Tom, Cowseatmaize has a good point about eBay only being on for a week, however, there are some dedicated early glass collectors who check the Utility/blackglass section every day (including me). Ebay.com (American eBay) would be the best of all the different eBays as these bottles do well there. I have sold similar on Australia eBay and I was stunned at how poorly they did. I am not sure how well they will go on the UK eBay.

Cowseatmaize's comments on mallets is a little too general. European early glass is generally slit into two groups, English and Continental. A continental onion bottle is quite common and will realise $US 75-100. An English onion on the other hand is much rarer and will realise anything up to about $US600 depending on shape and condition. English mallets are more common than continental mallets however both types pull about the same price somewhere around $US200-300.

English seals are very sought after, yours at the front looks English, late 1700s early 1800s and will do well. Pre 1800 continental seals are very rare (seal at rear) and should do very well and I won't even guess at how much that could sell for.

May I suggest you have a look at a site called earlyglass.com. This is a site run by Mark Nightingale (from Cornwall I think) who is an early glass expert. The site has many early bottles for sale and you should find similar items to compare to yours. Be aware though that eBay will NOT get the prices that Mark has on his bottles.

You need to be aware that most postal systems will not insure fragile items for breakage. Most will only insure for loss so make sure you pack really well.

Hope this helps you out.
Alan

 

[kumtow]

But on the other hand.........to save you lots of hassle.........I'll give you 50 bucks for the lot.[][][][][&:]

 

[Tomgor]

Alan, you should have said something sooner. I just accepted 49.50.

 

[wootten]

please let us know what you found out about the bottles.....wendy usa

 

[Tomgor]

Dear All

thanks for all your help. this is the appraisal I have from an expert in the UK

"I would expect to see these fetch individually in auction (from which commissions etc need to be deducted), from left to right:
Large squat with remnants of gilding................................................approx £40-£50++
Flat lipped strange squat if molded, of no interest, if freeblown version?........ £10?
Very wide bodied squat at rear........................................................approx £40-£50+
Waterwashed, generally lightly pitted mallet to front .........................approx £70+
if of small (half) size?..approx £120+
Sealed coat of arms continental long necked mallet at rear................approx £150-£250+
Freeblown case bottle if blowpipe pontilled on base...........................approx £30
if not pontilled............approx £10
The sealed English cylinder............................................................approx £100-£160+
The double magnum squat.............................................................approx £100+

The continental seal is perhaps the most interesting and possible "sleeper" but at the same time the most difficult to price.

 

[wootten]

wow-what an interesting thread to read! It is so special to have others help out-I wish I had a bottle worth $$$$- wendy

 

[kumtow]

Tomgor,
You are joking with your appraisal aren't you. That appraisal is seriously UNDER valued. And I mean seriously. You'll get a hell of a lot more than that on eBay. I am being deadly serious here.