Our modern society utilizes glass in many ways, and you can observe it almost everywhere, from windows, kitchens and cars to lasers, telescopes and cables. They are widely used and usually taken for granted by most people.
Pickers and collectors, however, take glass very seriously, as they should because it can be worth a lot of money if you know where and what to look for in glass. Let’s discuss some of the more valuable uses of glass, where to find them and how you can pick them for a profit.
But first, let’s learn a little about the history of glass.
Origins of Glass
While some believe that the first glass originated in the region of Syria around 5000BC, made by the Phoenician merchants, archeological finds say differently. According to findings, the first man-made glass was in Eastern Mesopotamia and Egypt around 3500BC.
This man-made glass would go on to be produced for hundreds of years through difficult methods until the invention of the blowpipe in the 1st century BC. After this, glass became easy to produce and its production accelerated throughout the Roman Empire.
Quickly spreading through Europe, gorgeous stained glass, used in cathedral windows, peaked during the 13th and 14th centuries. As interesting as the history of man-made glass is, glass has been around for millennia in the natural world.
Naturally occurring glass, like obsidian and tektite, are older than written history and primitive humans used obsidian as a sharp object to cut things and make weapons. While you can find naturally occurring glass all around the world, the value for pickers and collectors lies mostly in man-made glass.
Valuable Glass
There are many types of valuable glass items that pickers and collectors love to pick, collect and resell for a profit. These include:
· Glass Crystals
Crystal, or lead glass, is a variant of glass that has a lead additive, which replaces the calcium content typically found in glass. It makes for an easy-to-cut glass, which can be very good for designing shapes and engravings on the glass.
Crystal has a sparkling quality and has been used for centuries to make valuable glass items like decorative glasses and crystal statuettes. These are highly priced and can fetch even better prices if they are rare and antique.
Pickers and collectors need to be able to identify original crystal items because there are many fakes in the market. They usually look for clarity, silvery color (due to lead content) and how the glass catches light to determine the originality of a crystal.
Today, Swarovski Strass crystal is considered the best lead crystal in the entire world. There are many valuable brands of lead crystals that pickers and collectors are always looking for, which include:
- Waterford Crystal
- Baccarat Crystal
- Swarovski Crystal
Moreover, Polish and Italian crystals are highly desired because of their crystal quality, design and rarity. Of course, rare and antique crystals hold their own value because of their age and history, which is why pickers and collectors need to know how to identify them correctly.
· Depression Glass
Not all valuable glass is fancy and expensive like Swarovski Strass or antique lead crystals, Depression glass can also be valuable to pickers and collectors.
Depression glass is appropriately named so because it was made during the Great Depression of the 1920s. Before the depression hit America, handmade glassware in homes was a sign of wealth and prosperity.
Once the depression hit, glassmakers came up with depressions glass, unfinished glassware, as an affordable replacement to sell to American consumers. Some famous depression glass makers include Anchor-Hocking, Hazel Atlas and Jeanette, which produced depression glass from the 1920s to 1950s.
These glassware items were made in favored colors, shapes and with signature patterns including common patterns like American Sweetheart, Cameo, Princess, Mayfair and Royal Lace. There were more than 100 patterns produced during this era, some were very common while others were rare.
The colors of depression glassware also matter to pickers and collectors because common colors are almost worthless, while limited, rare and unique hues are highly demanded. Today, depression glass in the right condition can fetch a hefty price because of its historic value and rarity.
· Carnival Glass
Carnival glass, a type of pressed glass, preceded depression glass and both are from the early 20th century. They look similar and have similar designs but Carnival glass has an iridized glazed and multicolored look, while depression glass is monochrome and transparent.
Pickers and collectors can identify Carnival glass by its glaze, color, decorative asymmetrical design and patterns. The most popular patterns include Holly, Dragon and Lotus by Fenton, Poppy Show, Good Luck and Grape and Cable by Northwood.
Carnival glass can be worth thousands of dollars in today’s markets because of their vintage and historic value.
Sea Glass
Yes, sea glass is valuable – not all the sea glass you find at beaches but the right rare sea glass can be worth upwards of a hundred dollars. Pickers and collectors will look for color, size, shape and flawlessness to determine the value of sea glass.
Rare colors, like cobalt blue and deep aqua, on flawless sea glass can sell for $10 if they are jewelry quality pieces. While rarer colors like flawless red sea glass of jewelry quality may sell for more than a hundred dollars.
Where to Find Valuable Glass?
Pickers and collectors often find valuable glass and glassware at different sales and auctions including:
- Thrift stores
- Flea markets
- Online stores
- Estate sales
- Public auctions
- Private auctions
- Online auctions
- Beaches
These are just some of the most common places to find valuable glass and you can probably find them almost anywhere.
Conclusion
Valuable glass in the form of authentic crystals, Depression glass, pressed Carnival glass and even sea glass, can be worth looking for at almost any sale and if you can find the right glass, it can be worth a lot of money.
There are always fakes and the condition, rarity, authenticity, age and quality play major factors in determining the price of valuable glass. If you know what to look for, you will be picking valuable glass for profitable resale in no time.
What We Do
At ‘How to Become a Picker’, we are experts in picking and collecting all kinds of valuable glass from different sales and auctions across markets. We have successfully grown our picking company from scratch to now making 6 figure revenues a year.
This is all made possible through picking, collecting and reselling valuable items from garage sales, estate sales and auctions. We promote and teach the picker lifestyle to interested individuals and enthusiasts who want to successfully get rich picking.
You can learn more about picking and collecting valuable glass like crystals and sea glass for a profitable resale or how to become a picker, by visiting our website today.