artiFACT Collectible

Miniature Embossed Emerald Green Antique Medicine/Poison Bottle

1880s–1920s · United States, likely a pharmacy or patent medicine manufacturer

Estimated value: $25-45

Between the 1880s and 1920s, patent medicines and pharmaceutical samples flooded the American market, often sold door-to-door or dispensed by druggists in small glass bottles like this one. Emerald green glass was favored for medicines and poisons during this era partly for its distinctive appearance and partly because the color was believed (incorrectly) to offer some protective properties—a practice that has made these bottles collectible today as snapshots of a largely unregulated industry before the FDA's founding in 1906.

Value is most affected by the legibility and rarity of the embossed text, color intensity, condition (no chips or cracks), and whether the specific pharmacy or medicine brand can be identified — rarer druggist bottles command higher prices.

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