These are strictly my own opinions and nothing said here is to be taken personally or out of context... but what separates collectors from investors? Lots of things especially when it comes to a broken bottle.
Today I share a few of my broken dreams and as a collector I enjoy these as much as any other bottle in my collection. An investor would not look twice at such bottles... a collector recognizes these are little bits of history, deserving of preservation, doing their best to save them, while an investor will look for a trash can.I have several broken bottles in my collection. I wish they were not damaged. Who doesn't like a nice clean minty condition bottle? Nobody and that kind of bottle appeals to just about everyone. What about the other bottles? Below are selections from my collection, which in all likelihood will be the only examples of these bottles that I will ever own. The odds are against for ever upgrading these bottles. My line of thinking is that it is better to have a lesser one than NONE AT ALL. I am a collector.
The first bottle BUFFALO BOTTLING WORKS // BUFFALO LAGER BEER is so rare that I have yet to meet another collector who has one. It had been listed on feeBay and I watched it for week after week as the seller kept trying to find a buyer. I didn't want to spend any money (that was my investor side) on a broken beer bottle, but I felt (the collector coming out in my) that if I didn't acquire it, it would be discarded and the world of collecting might never know about this obscure bottle. Missing its entire top has not stopped me from respecting this bottle.The second bottle is a sad tale of a seller fail. Having inverted embossing this BOTTLED BEER // F. GOMILLA is a wonderful oddity it. Many years ago the owner of this bottle contacted, they were no longer collecting and were looking for a good home for this embossed beer. To say I was excited would be an understatement. The day the package arrived I couldn't get home quick enough so I could open it. What a shockof disappointment when I looked inside. Having started its journey as a whole bottle it was now a pile of pieces and shards!!!! Trying to be nice the seller had thrown in an extra bottle (that I did not want), the bottles were very loose in the box as the seller had not packed the items well enough to survive... alas... the wrong bottle was broken. I have searched high and low for another one of these with no success. Even with the glue job I still really like this bottle.
Finally I was at a bottle show in St. Louis and a dealer had this F. RAACKE // WHITE BEER on their table. Every time I walked by that table I would stop and look at it. Late in the day I started up a conversation with them and discussed how I was surprised no one had purchased this bottle even though it was broke I thought it was a great example because of the color. I actually had (have) one that is a very pale aqua and this broken one was much prettier. The dealer said he was going to take it and cut it up and make a drinking cup out of it. I couldn't let the bottle be humiliated. I immediately asked him what his bottom dollar for would be and acquired it. He then produced the blob top, gave that to me, when I got home I made this funny looking neck from packing tape, have kept it and never been ashamed of it.How about some of you COLLECTORS, show us what you've saved from the trash?
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You really explained a dilemma I have always had! On the one hand, no one wants a broken bottle ( no matter how old it is since it has lost its value), yet on the other, it may be the only remaining example of that bottle. For that reason (if they are not completely smashed or gone) there is still some value in keeping them (if for nothing else than to preserve them). I feel like you in some regards! You just helped me to put my thoughts into two categories regarding the "disposition" of the bottles that I find (one would be to keep because of its age and rarity; two, to try to sell them if they are common, like a coke bottle). I often find older bottles, but because they are broken, I sadly leave them since I was judging the value of them instead of their historic or "aesthetic" value. Now I know that I am more of a collector like yourself than just an investor. I do have tons of the common old sodas that I honestly need to get rid of since I do not have space. Yet, as you say, I want to keep the more rare ones, since it may be the only example I will find.
Story of my life. Sending a bottle thru the mail is like playing Russian roulette. You never know who is gonna get it.
I think this is interesting and in a new way makes a bottle look less junky, it does a nice job of preserving the embossing, which I like, but... they don't really look like bottles now. I just don't know if I could do this to some of my examples and be happy with them. Personally my broken gems don't bother me that much. This may be a good option for lots of collectors. Not sure if it would increase the so called "value", but may save a few bottles from being tossed out letting them be appreciated for the history behind them.
