Collectible Antique Glass Comes in All Shapes, Sizes and Colors

By: Ann Marier

Occasionally you hear stories about a person who bought a small
glass jar at a garage sale for a nickel, took it home, cleaned
it up and found someone to buy it for hundreds of dollars. While
that is not an everyday occurrence, it does happen when you
stumble onto a piece of collectible antique glass.

To know collectible antique glass you must understand how glass
was made in the days from which your collectors clamor. Blown
glass was made by molten glass placed on the end of a glass tube
and blown up like you blow up a balloon. As it was being blown,
it was shaped by various tools and when complete it was allowed
to cool.

During the making of collectible antique glass bottles, a handle
may be applied by pressing the molten glass shaped like the
handle onto the jar once it started to cool. Occasionally this
process resulted in a crack in the bottle, which does little to
detract from the current value of a collectible antique glass.

Some Defects Aid in an Aging Piece

During the fashioning of blown glass, a tool called a pontil rod
was used to hold the glass while it was fashioned into the
desired shape. In the end it was simply snapped off and may be
polished clear, but the evidence of the pontil mark should still
be visible and gives a general idea of age and value of
collectible antique glass.

In later years glass objects were made of molded glass and many
of those were counterfeits of original blown glass. To find
modern molded glass masquerading as collectible antique glass
there are a couple things to look for like the wear factor. Look
at the bottom of the piece first to see if you can find the
pontil rod scar and then look for wear marks. If there are marks
where there shouldn't be, it's probably a fake.

Another hint is small irregularities in the top of the piece,
indicating spill over as if too much molten glass had been
poured into the mold. This would be a sign of shoddy
workmanship, as would too many bubbles in the glass. Although,
even in quality blown glass a few bubbles may appear, but in the
cheaper reproductions it won't take long to find them.

Perhaps your first step in buying collectible antique glass
should be the purchase of a collectible antique glass magazine
or book. It will usually identify the collection trends and help
lead you on the right collectible path.

Article Source: http://collectibles-articles.com

Ann Marier has written many articles on family life and different general health issues. Her latest articles tell you all about acquiring different "collectibles" for fun and possibly a profit.

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