Age

Antique pieces of glassware which are a century or two old tend to attract more value than the vintage ones crafted close to the mid-19th century. Because the antique pieces had handmade detailed designs whereas the vintage pieces were machine-produced (with designs merely pressed into them).

Rarity

If the glassware in question happens to share the same pattern and color as many other pieces of glassware then it won’t be so valuable. Such pieces then to be the vintage ones that were mass-produced by machines in the mid 20th century or later. The rare ones on the other hand are pieces with the least replicated patterns and color. Such pieces are usually from the American brilliant Era which was the golden Era for handmade glassware.

For instance, cut glass is the type of glass that is known to be handmade. As you can tell from the sharp cut-out patterns pieces. They tend to attract more value due to the effort put into designing them. Glasswares with pressed patterns on the other attract less value because less effort is needed to make them. Which is why they’re mass-produced.

Condition

Another factor that can dictate the value of your glassware is its overall condition. For instance, you can’t sell your antique glassware piece at its actual projected market value if it’s riddled with cracks, air bubbles, discoloration, and missing pieces. However, there are cases where the presence of irregularities in your glass does boost its value.

A great example is depression-ware. This type of glassware was commonly made with low-quality resources due to the harsh economic landscape of that era. So in the antique market today, depression-ware with irregularities is the most sought after. As such unorthodox features are proof that depression reigned during the Depression Era.

Aesthetics

Another factor that can push the price of your glassware piece up is its beauty. As glassware with unique patterns etched on them (floral or geometric patterns) and eye-catching color can attract more value than plain glassware with little design (unless they’re antiques or have been signed by a famous artist). Why do colors increase the value of your glassware piece? Because of the efforts put into giving the glass color, as well as the cost for producing colorful glassware.

For instance, the jadeite color glass didn’t form paint but rather from mixing uranium with the glass. The same can be said about blue (cobalt blue), as the color can be achieved from mixing cobalt salt with the molten glass.

What Type Of Glass Piece Is It?

You can also tell the value of your piece based on the type of glassware you’ve got in hand. For instance, your piece could be art glass which is the oldest antique type of glassware. They tend to attract lots of money in the right places. The same can be said for all other types of Glass we mentioned earlier in this article. Both the ones from America’s Brilliant Period and the vintage pieces.

How Can I Determine Value Of Antique Glassware

Do You Research

Surf online for price guides on the type of glassware you possess after confirming its type from the information we’ve provided above. Look out for various antique glassware books from the library which might give you complete insights on how to determine the value of your piece.

Observe

To get a clearer idea of how to price glassware you should visit avenues where the sales and auctioning occurs. For instance, you can attend an estate sale and observe the price of antique or vintage glassware pieces. Such an environment will also allow you to understand what is in demand, rare, and which piece or feature of a piece is common.

Hire An Appraiser

If you can’t get the right price for your piece or you just don’t have the time, then it’s best to hire an Appraiser. They’d have the resources to give you a good price range from the observation via three main factors such as:

• Age
• Rarity
• Condition
• Manufacturer or artist

Conclusion

By now you should be able to identify your vintage or antique glassware in hand. Especially with the help of our guide which offers a clear description of how to identify all 7 common types of antique or vintage glassware. Also, we’ve provided information on how your antique glass will be priced with certain factors such as:

• Rarity
• Age
• Condition  
• Aesthetics
• And type

And to give you an idea of what to expect from the glassware antique market, we’ve also set up top 10 in-demand pieces to which you can reference.

This article from txantiquemall

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