Prohibition Liquor Bottles, ca. 1933
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GUEST:
My husband and I were in the liquor business many years ago, and one of his customers came in one day and said that her uncle had passed away and he was an MD, and that he had liquor at an estate sale that was from Prohibition. So I went over, and among other things, purchased this liquor. And for years, it has been put away, and it's never been opened.
APPRAISER:
How many bottles did you buy at the estate sale?
GUEST:
At the time, I think I had about 18.
APPRAISER:
Wow.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And do you still have the others, as well?
GUEST:
I do, yeah.
APPRAISER:
And are they all different brands, as these are here?
GUEST:
Um, the ones I have now are the same brands.
APPRAISER:
Uh-huh.
GUEST:
I just bought-- I brought you one of each.
APPRAISER:
And how much did you pay for these?
GUEST:
It couldn't have been more than maybe ten or $20 for all of them.
APPRAISER:
What a great find...
GUEST:
Well, this was probably at least 35 years ago.
APPRAISER:
Right. We all know about the Prohibition. It was a long dry spell for America.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
It went from the year 1920 to 1933. And there were a few select makers that were allowed to continue the production of liquor throughout Prohibition.
GUEST:
Oh, I didn't know that.
APPRAISER:
And first of all, you have the words "Bottled in Bond," which means that they were bottled according to the U.S. government standards.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
But then also on some of these, you see where they're made for medicinal use, it says.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
In the Prohibition era, you could go in to your physician, and it usually cost you about three dollars. You could have bronchitis, or you could say you had bronchitis.
GUEST:
(chuckles)
APPRAISER:
Right here, we have the Tom Hardy Whiskey Company. Here, we have the Frankfort Distillery. Over here, you have the Old Thompson by the H. Barton Company. On the end, we have the special Old Reserve. That's got to be the good stuff there. And then back here, this wonderful red and green, which is from Old Taylor, which is a renowned brand that went back into the 19th century. This one, in... for instance, has the original label on it. It says 1917 is when it was made, and then 1933 is when it was bottled. It has evaporated a little bit. And what it is is, there's not a super-tight seal on the cap. These are very, very rare. I've been in the business since I was 11...
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
...and I've never seen any. And recently, there was a write-up on some bottles which sold at auction which had all this Prohibition, "for medicinal use" on them. Initially, I was thinking a lower value, but in talking to experts who have read some of these reports that have come out in the market lately, I believe a retail value on them would be $3,000 to $4,000 in today's market.
GUEST:
For the five of them? For the five.
APPRAISER:
Yeah. And you have 18?
GUEST:
Yeah. Wow. I am very, very surprised. (laughing) And pleased-- thank you.
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