# Thrift store Floats - are they old?



## Hamco (Jun 8, 2020)

Hello all - I am a collector of bottles mostly-(Owl Drug, Poisons, early shot glasses, etc) I like all old glass and can't pass up a nice piece of glass at the thrifts- I found 5 of these cobalt 6" diameter net floats in Eugene OR today.  I know very little about this area of glass.  I can tell that these are very thick, have some bubbles and imperfections in the glass. They have no makers' marks.  They all have water marks in the same place and look to have come from the sam net.  Its so rare to find 1 real antique glass item in a thrift much less 5 of them at the same time which made me think maybe they are repos but they just don't feel like that.  If anyone has an opinion on them I'd much appreciate it and would love to gain more knowledge on these items.


----------



## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Jun 8, 2020)

Japanese glass floats. I see them being sold. Usually found on a beach after a storm. Some can be big 8-14 inches. They seem real from your description. Water Mark's and all. They do make reproductions and they are made to look real. But I don't think water Mark's are part of the re-creation. 
ROBBYBOBBY64.


----------



## treeguyfred (Jun 8, 2020)

and before the Japanese made them they were manufactured and used in the UK and New England


----------



## CanadianBottles (Jun 8, 2020)

Hmm they sure don't look like any of the glass floats that I saw when I lived on the west coast, and I saw quite a few over the years.  Never saw any in cobalt, but more importantly those have a shiny mint sheen to them, whereas all the legit ones I saw were pretty battered after floating across the ocean from Japan.  I've also never seen one with a mark from the water like that, since you only get marks like that from sitting in stagnant water, not wavy water like the ocean.  I think these are repros that were sitting in someone's fish pond before they were donated.


----------



## Hamco (Jun 8, 2020)

thanks everyone - sitting in stagnant water certainly would make sense.  I didn't pay too much and they are a nice color - will look good in the back yard. - Thanks for all of the replies -


----------

