I wrote this guide primarily for collectors of EAPG (Early American Pattern/Pressed Glass), c 1825-1915. But it can easily apply to most other types of collectible glass.

Collector books come with a VALUE GUIDE (quoted as BOOK VALUE or BV). I use these guides as just that, guides. It helps me to see "relative" value...value relative to other patterns, OR, to other pieces in the same pattern. I can pick out the "key" piece by its price in a value guide. Ex: If there were a 1,000 table sets (sugar, creamer, butter, spooner) made in a pattern, but only 100 vases were made, the key piece would be the vase. Obviously the vase would be priced higher since it is hard to get in order to "complete" the pattern/set...to have at least one of each form in a pattern. This is a very simple example, since most EAPG patterns came with berry sets, water sets, numerous compotes with or without lids, sauces, marmalades, pickles, fingerbowls, etc. And each maker had various methods of determining which pieces to make in what quantity. There were no "set" rules for the hundreds of glass pressers, issuing thousands of different patterns over a period of 90 years!

Values guide are not written in stone, and many are just plain OLD and out of date! Values go up & down with the market. Even different patterns in EAPG can go up one month, down the next, and they might not go back up again for several months or longer. Conversely, they could keep climbing in price.

-A "MARKET" exists when someone is willing to sell something to someone, who is willing to buy it, at a mutually agreed price.  The state of the ECONOMY, the TIME of year, the geographic LOCATION all affect the market. (think in terms of the cost of shipping glass any distance for the latter)

**One very important thing to keep in mind: BV (Book Value) assumes that an item is in "PERFECT CONDITION": no marks, chips, cracks, scratches, dings, pings, bruises, fleabites, ground-down chips or after-market edge grinding, repairs. AND that all components are present: lids, bases, etc. One exception: UNDERBASE WEAR is a good thing, since it is consistent with age. If you were a 100 years old and were slid around on a wooden table for all that time, you'd have scratches under your base too. :)

"MINT" implies that the glass looks pretty  much the way it did when it came out of the cooling lehr, i.e., the factory. For EAPG, it could have:

   -FOLD or FLOW LINES (the mis-nomered "straw lines")

   -SHEAR MARKS

   -INCLUSIONS/spots of IMPURITIES (black, white, gray, rust, green, etc.)

   -POT STONES (pieces of clay pot caught up when hot glass is scooped out prior to molding)

   -UNDERFILLING (smooth rounded edges where there is no glass, or low relief in a part of the design)

   -OVERFILLING or "FINS"  (extra glass along the mold lines...these often have fleabites...tiny nips...because they're very fine & easily broken)

   -STRESS MARKS. These are debatable. Stress marks can be seen by holding the glass in just the right light. They are fine, wavey, usually along the edges, and don't extend through the whole thickness of the glass. I believe they occur during the cooling process. And, unless extreme, suggesting instability, are merely part of the manufacturing process. They should, however, be noted in a description of condition, since some collectors fine them objectionable in all but the rarest pieces.

The following is a brief summary of a CONDITION CHART found in the extensive 5 volume book on Boston & Sandwich Glass written by Barlow & Kaiser. It briefly shows the way that condition affects the value of a piece of glass...B&S in this case, but it pretty much applies in all areas of glass...and again, is just a guide. If a piece if very rare & desirable, the affect that damage has on its value is harder to determine.

B&K CONDITION CHART with affect on BV, when BV= 100%:

   -CHIPPED 80% of BV

   -BRUISED* 60%

   -CRACKED 50%

   -BROKEN 25%

*A bruise is a starburst pattern found after a direct hit, with the possibility of eventually leading to a chip, crack, or even a hole, depending on handling after the event. Under the heading of "chipped," come several variations:

     -CHIPS (vague to say the least when designated as "large" or "small"...unless pictured or stated in inches)

     -FLAKES (shallow chips which are less distracting),

     -NICKS

     -FLEABITES (see above),

     -SCRATCHES (not unusual, but sometimes very distracting, therefore worthy of mention),  

     -ROUGHNESS or ROUGH MOLDLINES, this latter being least objectionable, since they can be construed as a result of manufacture (see fins above). Many EAPG edges were not FIRE-POLISHED, so the edges are very susceptible to "roughness." IF, however, a pattern is known to have a fire-polished edge (the object was reheated to smooth out the mold lines), then there should be no roughness! Here is where your own knowledge about your pattern is important.

*Hint: FEEL the edges of glass with your fingers. Your fingers can often find irregularities (chips) before your eyes. Obviously, do this VERY carefully, lest you cut your little fingers! ;)

-An additional type of DAMAGE not addressed, is "SICK" glass. This is a condition where the top layer of the glass turns foggy almost frosted, a pale GRAY HAZE. This is not the intentional acid frosting seen in specific patterns, on specific areas of the pattern. Sometimes there is a linear demarcation, since standing water can cause this damage. Most commonly sickness is seen in bottles or jars, although any form can become sick. Sometimes there is an accompanying sheen, the latter due to dishwasher heat & chemicals. (NB: One should NEVER put EAPG in a dishwasher or even very hot water!). Generally, sick glass is a permanent condition. Expensive special handling by a professional repairer might restore the grayed glass to clear. Only occasionally can graying be a temporary condition due to hard water staining or spotting. If Iron-Out or any other hard water treatment does not remove the gray, the glass is sick. In my experience, MOST grayed glass is sick!

-Yet one other type of damage not mentioned is "SUN PURPLING," a condition fairly unique to EAPG because of its chemical composition & age. Of course, some sun purpling in clear glass could be a natural phenomenon from 100 years of exposure to light. But the majority of it seen today (especially the really dark stuff) has been artificially altered to that color. As such, it is not in the condition which was intentioned at manufacture: colorless clarity. To many dedicated EAPG collectors, sun purpled glass is considered a tragedy and is not collectible.

ALL of these types of damage should be mentioned in a description of glass being sold! And it doesn't hurt to put in some of the accepted "normal" findings listed under "Mint," since these can reinforce the acceptance of a piece as being legitimately EAPG in origin.

-The value-condition issue relates to something which I call "SHELF" or "FILLER" status. Ex: I don't have the piece. It could be rare or scarce, or not. It has a big chip on one side. It's appealing in appearance. I can display it so that the chip doesn't show or is not the center of attention. The price is quite low, relative to BV. This has shelf or filler value, which depends on...you & your burning need to have it! :) (hopefully until you can find a better piece to replace it)

-The internet has done a lot to change what is "RARE" or "SCARCE."

If you see 2 of something in one or 2 weeks on ebay, which is listed in a book as scarce, does that make it less scarce? Not necessarily! If, however, over a period of time, say a year, you see one a week, or 3 or 4 every month, then it's certainly not scarce. OR, it's being reproduced (repro'd/copied/remade). Seeing 2 of something "scarce" in a week or two could be coincidence, OR occasionally: someone has seen a similar piece hit a sky high price one week, so he/she  pulls his/hers out too, to catch the price wave. The price could be good even beyond 2 or 3 pieces, until the existing buyers at the time, or "wanters" are satisfied.

-A lot of what price an item hits on ebay has to do with how many "INTERESTED EYEBALLS" are watching that week! Sometimes it comes down to just 2 bidders, both who have deep pockets and/or who are desperately determined to have that one particular item.

If you have any questions or don't understand any of the above, please feel free to ask me for clarification. I believe that EAPG is a wonderful collectible, not to be feared. It should be admired, studied, and cherised for its age, history, and beauty. I offer this guide because of the many times that I've gotten glass in misrepresented condition. I've also gotten many poorly packed pieces, but that's a whole other topic! As mentioned above, condition is very important for value. And knowledge is power...for both buyer AND seller.

Happy hunting!

Ger (ger55 on ebay)