# Just found, question on value



## Marc26 (Feb 3, 2021)

Hello all,
   I enjoy reading the various posts here.  I was in the basement of an old pharmacy recently and found the Vapo Cresaline bottle, with box and paperwork.  As you can see the bottle is full, never opened.  The bottle is the same as some I have seen on eBay and those have "but it now" prices form $40 to about $80.  That seems overpriced to me and because the patent date is 1894 or so.  Do any of you have an idea of a realistic value for the three items in the picture?  I'm not looking to sell it, but just to have an approximate value for my collection notes.  Thanks much for any and all help.


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## RCO (Feb 3, 2021)

not familiar with this specific item , but agree a lot of ebay or online prices are inflated . often items sit online for months and never sell . 
some might of even been up longer , asking prices online aren't always accurate but might give a general idea as to value


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## CanadianBottles (Feb 3, 2021)

I think labeled Vapo-Cresolines are fairly common.  Probably not worth that much, if they're sitting up on Ebay for $40-80 then you know the real value is somewhere below that since those ones aren't selling.  I'd guess that value is somewhere around the $20 range.


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## K6TIM (Feb 3, 2021)

RCO said:


> not familiar with this specific item , but agree a lot of ebay or online prices are inflated . often items sit online for months and never sell .
> some might of even been up longer , asking prices online aren't always accurate but might give a general idea as to value


Paper labeled bottles with box in this condition bring higher price than others.the price statrs a $25 up as a norm! K6TIM


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## nhpharm (Feb 3, 2021)

Believe it or not, but that particular bottle dates to the 1940's or thereabouts.  It is considered a poison, but they are pretty common.  A complete example like this with box and papers is probably worth (as noted above) somewhere in the $25-$35 range.


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## Marc26 (Feb 3, 2021)

Thank you all for your answers.  I figured it was from about the 40s based on the other things near it.


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## YAKCHIK (Feb 3, 2021)

Speaking of pharmacies, I was gifted a box of stuff from an old pharmacy years ago. Would be interested in knowing if anyone has a idea of their age. I am new here, didn't realize I was a bottle collector until I started looking around the house.


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## glassdigger50 (Feb 3, 2021)

I agree $25 to $35, maybe $40 to $45 if someone wants one with the label, box and pamphlet.


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## hemihampton (Feb 3, 2021)

Me & my buddy's have dug lots of those, with out box or label maybe worth $1.00. Common. LEON.


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## capackrat (Feb 10, 2021)

Marc26 said:


> Hello all,
> I enjoy reading the various posts here.  I was in the basement of an old pharmacy recently and found the Vapo Cresaline bottle, with box and paperwork.  As you can see the bottle is full, never opened.  The bottle is the same as some I have seen on eBay and those have "but it now" prices form $40 to about $80.  That seems overpriced to me and because the patent date is 1894 or so.  Do any of you have an idea of a realistic value for the three items in the picture?  I'm not looking to sell it, but just to have an approximate value for my collection notes.  Thanks much for any and all help.



Everyone has done a good job to try and reply to your "realistic value" question.

I too  will try and help you price your item and follow-up with some research.

Firstly value and pricing are different terminology and I assume you are actually looking for a "realistic pricing" of your item since for example "beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

I only took Economics 101 but to the best of my knowledge and belief "the price elasticity of supply of collectible bottles is inelastic because the discovery of one might prompt the discovery of more. Because most collectible bottles can no longer be reproduced, its quantity supplied either does not rise or rise only slightly as the price goes up. One of a kind bottless are perfectly inelastic."

In layman's terms what this means is, if this item is rare then you can ask and get almost any price for it depending on demand, supply, bottle condition, and market conditions.

On one of the former issues, the supply for general medicinal bottles is very high since people got sick more years ago and there were more doctors (and quacks) very willing to sell them some medicine. Pepsi Cola was invented originally as a 'medicine' along with many other 'sodas' in a drug store for example.

On the latter issue, eBay 'auctions' are a near perfect capitalist market place in that the pricing will be determined by the bidders hence they should be used to determine bottle price values.

eBay 'buy it now' is an imperfect market place and should only be used in conjunction with eBay 'auctions' to determine prices of cellectible items. In other word 'buy it now' is a 'subjective' market and 'auctions' are an 'objective' market.

eBay (deliberately) does not allow access to sufficent history of their auction sales data to accurately price bottles. eBay sells this data to third parties so that the third parties can sell the data to us. In fact most aution houses sell their data because they know it sets pricing vaues. One example of an auction collation website is Worhtpoint which collates all the eBay auction sales data and sells subscriptions.

In summary, to accurately price your bottles you need to use a number of tools (especially blogs like this one) but the eBay and non-eBay auction prices are what truly dictate the final value.

I hope this helps and isn't to 'text booky' and please note that next I will research your bottle and get back to you upon completion with my best guestimate 'range' and how I derived the number.

Thanks,

Andy


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## capackrat (Feb 10, 2021)

Initial research reveals there is a full bottle without the box or provenance that was recently listed here:









						vapo cresolene bottle unopened bottle, I do not have the original box   | eBay
					

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for vapo cresolene bottle unopened bottle, I do not have the original box  at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!



					www.ebay.com
				




They are starting at $25 so it should be interesting to see if it sells and what it sells for.

If this item was paired with a Vapo Cresolene mini-lamp heater it looks like it could easily fetch $100.

Thank God Vapo Rub is less complicated these days. 

Stay tuned...


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## CanadianBottles (Feb 10, 2021)

YAKCHIK said:


> Speaking of pharmacies, I was gifted a box of stuff from an old pharmacy years ago. Would be interested in knowing if anyone has a idea of their age. I am new here, didn't realize I was a bottle collector until I started looking around the house.


Looks like they date from the 1950s or thereabouts.


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## capackrat (Feb 13, 2021)

My current research indicates that this bottle in mint full condition with box and paperwork is currently selling for at least $30 per the following recent similar auction sale 'calculations':

SOLD: 1/2 full bottle NM w/paperwork $26.99 + $10.75 = $37.74 - $5.00 ground shipping = $32.74 pricing value
SOLD: 3/4 full bottle NM w/paperwork $29.99 + $4.85 ground shipping = $34.84 pricing value

Pricing value range = $30 to $35

This is based on recent eBay and other auction sales of the same item apothecary bottle size & lesser contents in a similar condition.

Since this item will only cost about $5 to ship anywhere in the US by ground USPS or FEDEX, selling price includes any shipping charges over $5.

There is currently a 3/4 full bottle of the same item listed in a similar condition without the box or paperwork, but this will not sell at auction for the asking price of $25 + expedite USPS shipping and handling cost of $15.20.

This is based on the $5 ground shipping rule above and other information in the follwing eBay guidance message sent to a first-time seller:

_"You have a better chance of selling this if you ship by UPS or FEDEX since most collectors know that you cannot ship apothecary poison bottles containing liquids or solids full or partly full with an excessive LD50 per USPS Publication 52.

You still have a chance to change the shipping method and then you have a much better chance of getting at least $25._*"*

Your item appears to be in Mint condition so your pricing value is at the higher end of the pricing value range: at least $35

Hope this helps and please let me knwo if you need anymore info.

Andy


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## Clare (Feb 13, 2021)

I have this bottle without the label, lamp or any packaging, but I have no idea how much it would be worth. Interesting little piece though.


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Feb 13, 2021)

Marc26 said:


> Hello all,
> I enjoy reading the various posts here.  I was in the basement of an old pharmacy recently and found the Vapo Cresaline bottle, with box and paperwork.  As you can see the bottle is full, never opened.  The bottle is the same as some I have seen on eBay and those have "but it now" prices form $40 to about $80.  That seems overpriced to me and because the patent date is 1894 or so.  Do any of you have an idea of a realistic value for the three items in the picture?  I'm not looking to sell it, but just to have an approximate value for my collection notes.  Thanks much for any and all help.View attachment 218351


This is the apparatus that was used with this product. VAPO-CRESOLENE Kerosene vaporizer lamp. No box or instructions. 
ROBBYBOBBY64


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## capackrat (Feb 13, 2021)

Clare said:


> I have this bottle without the label, lamp or any packaging, but I have no idea how much it would be worth. Interesting little piece though.



Clare,

I researched this when investigating the auction value of the mint in box full bottle in the posting above, and the empty bottle in mint condition is selling for about $15 to $20 on eBay auctions, unless it is cobalt blue which is more collectible. Please post an image of your bottle.

There are probably some variants that fetch more money but we need a vapo-cresoline bottle collecting expert to join us and enlighten us on the rarer items since I don't collect apothecary bottles, only research recent auction prices to help people price them.

Andy


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## capackrat (Feb 13, 2021)

ROBBYBOBBY64 said:


> This is the apparatus that was used with this product. VAPO-CRESOLENE Kerosene vaporizer lamp. No box or instructions.
> ROBBYBOBBY64



I believe you light the kerosene lamp and heat the Vapo-Cresoline in the vented vaporizor container over the lamp.

This is worse than 'snake oil'. It is coal tar oil that is supposed to help whooping cough and other respiratory diseases etc by lining the lungs with oil, however the FDA found the liquid, solid, and vapors were poisonous in the 50's and cemented the FDA existence thereafter.

Maybe it would stop the Covid disease but in high doses you would die from the poison thereafter.

It was the precursor to Vapo-Rub Vaporizors which are a lot safer.

Andy


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## zack3303 (Feb 13, 2021)

In checking with recent one that were actually sold.  Ones with labels box should get about $30 and on the higher end $45 
that box looks pretty good compared to the others fulls ones that sold.

Last 5 i see on worthpoint are
34.99 half full no label no box
26.99 no label no box half full 
29.95 no label no box half 1/4 full
56.00 with label box and the mini kerosene lamp (have sold one of the lamp sets for $35)
69.90 also with the mini kerosenelamp (difuser)

get the mini lamp and you will have a great set!


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## zack3303 (Feb 13, 2021)

also none of the others had that insert !!!! for the vapo bottle


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## Clare (Feb 14, 2021)

capackrat said:


> Clare,
> 
> I researched this when investigating the auction value of the mint in box full bottle in the posting above, and the empty bottle in mint condition is selling for about $15 to $20 on eBay auctions, unless it is cobalt blue which is more collectible. Please post an image of your bottle.
> 
> ...


This is my bottle. Sadly, it's aqua and not cobalt. I've always wondered what the dates on the bottle mean. Is it the date of the patent?


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## Clare (Feb 14, 2021)

Check out this fun website entitled 'The Vapo-Cresoline [sic] Scam'!









						The Vapo-Cresoline Scam - Heritage Blog
					

Latest update on our Uncovering our Medical Instruments project by our Digitisation intern, Kirsty Earley. Ever see advertisements that offer to solve all of your problems? “Live longer by taking this pill!”, “Grow back your hair with this miracle wax!” There are a variety of products out there...




					heritageblog.rcpsg.ac.uk


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Feb 14, 2021)

Clare said:


> This is my bottle. Sadly, it's aqua and not cobalt. I've always wondered what the dates on the bottle mean. Is it the date of the patent?


Yes that is the patented dates. Yours is the later patent dates. July 17, 94  July 23, 94. Here is the earlier July 17, 91  July 23, 91.
ROBBYBOBBY64.


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## capackrat (Feb 14, 2021)

All,

Attached is Cecil Munsay's take on Vapo Cresoline bottles and lamps.

I wish I had that cobalt bottle...

Enjoy

Andy


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## capackrat (Feb 14, 2021)

I just found this circa 1931 Canadian ad below showing the very rare electric vaporizer and the more common kerosene lamp type. Has anyone seen the electric version on eBay since eBay started in September 3, 1995?


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## Clare (Feb 15, 2021)

I bet that electric one is worth some big bucks!

@ROBBYBOBBY64  Thank you for clearing up for me. I shall have to keep my eyes open for the earlier one.


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## capackrat (Feb 15, 2021)

The electric one is very rare since it was the last model produced and only in small numbers before the FDA 'banned" the 'poison' in the 50's.

I will post an image of one shortly with the latest auction value pricing.


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Feb 15, 2021)

Clare said:


> I bet that electric one is worth some big bucks!
> 
> @ROBBYBOBBY64  Thank you for clearing up for me. I shall have to keep my eyes open for the earlier one.


I don't think mine is any bluer than yours. I think it is just the picture. Less light is sometimes better for showing the color. Causes the camera to take a longer exposure. Usually the image is more saturated. I like back lighting in a window. Sometimes just off to the side. Flash usually causes a hot spot on the bottle. If I want to photograph hard to see embossing I catch a reflection of a window on the surface that is embossed.  It usually works well. 
ROBBYBOBBY64.


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## Clare (Feb 15, 2021)

ROBBYBOBBY64 said:


> I don't think mine is any bluer than yours. I think it is just the picture. Less light is sometimes better for showing the color. Causes the camera to take a longer exposure. Usually the image is more saturated. I like back lighting in a window. Sometimes just off to the side. Flash usually causes a hot spot on the bottle. If I want to photograph hard to see embossing I catch a reflection of a window on the surface that is embossed.  It usually works well.
> ROBBYBOBBY64.


They're brilliant tips, thank you. I'll give them a go next time.


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## Marc26 (Feb 17, 2021)

I have a sealed box VC, an open box with the full bottle (like Clare's, no color) and insert, and also the lamp in an open box with an insert.  I'm interested in keeping them, although I would be willing to sell the open box.  I'll be teaching a college course for new students on the history of treatments of ailments and illness and I'd like to have it to display.  I try to keep an estimated value in the back of my head.  At some point, I may want to get insurance on my collection......


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## mctaggart67 (Feb 17, 2021)

capackrat said:


> I just found this circa 1931 Canadian ad below showing the very rare electric vaporizer and the more common kerosene lamp type. Has anyone seen the electric version on eBay since eBay started in September 3, 1995?
> 
> View attachment 219107



The electric vaporizers show up in Canada regularly. In fact, I've had several over the years and the only way I can get rid of them is to put them in job lots. The lamp-types, for obvious reasons, grab more attention. Thanks for posting.


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## Marc26 (Feb 18, 2021)

Thanks for the info Andy.  I do have one to sell, and one to keep.  The value of the one to keep is much higher because it has meaning to me.  The one to sell does have some realistic price and I appreciate the suggestions from everyone.  I'll have to see what the market will support.  I've seen plenty of empty bottles, rarely bottles in a box, with the papers, and that are full.
Marc


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## Marc26 (Feb 18, 2021)

Clare said:


> This is my bottle. Sadly, it's aqua and not cobalt. I've always wondered what the dates on the bottle mean. Is it the date of the patent?


Clare,  Yes, this is the patent date.  I think that it is commonly confused with the production date, at least according to listings on eBay.


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