You can light up so many rooms with simple decorative glass bottles. Bottles can be in the kitchen with herbs in oil or in a bath with bath salts. They are inexpensive, but add an elegant touch to any decor. You can even go to any craft store to find paints made specifically for glass. A lead glass look to an inexpensive bottle can be great for basking on a window sill above the sink. Glass bottles can be found in almost any color, shape, or height imaginable.
One of my favorite places to buy decorative glass bottles is at flea markets or yard sales. Goodwill stores have a great selection. You will soon find, no matter where you go, you will find some to fit in your collection. Collecting glass can become a great hobby.
When you start collecting for value rather than decorative value, consider what makes a bottle valuable. If you don’t have anyone who wants your bottle, then it is not valuable. Milk soda bottles and painted labels are popular right now with collectors. Some sell for hundreds of dollars.
Generally, the older the bottle is; the more valuable it is. The first bottles in America were made between the 1600s and 1850s. Hand-blown bottles were made before the turn of the century. After 1914, most of the bottles were made by machine. Chips or cracks reduce the value. Original packaging or labels add value. Cobalt blue is not only pretty, but they are worth more than the water seen in Coca-Cola bottles. Yellow green and purple are also worth a lot of money. The olive green, the glass of milk and the green are not so valuable.
Flasks are the most valuable designs. Handmade bottles have an individuality that gives them more value. A bottle that represents a historical event is worth more than a bottle of the same type with nothing. Bottles from Alaska and Hawaii are worth more as they are in high demand. The areas where bottles were produced often make them more valuable as well.
