Found a way to identify antique glass without a blacklight

I've been collecting old depression glass for a few years now and kept getting fooled by modern repros. After one bad $40 mistake at a flea market in Cincinnati, I tried holding a regular LED flashlight against the edge of the piece. Turns out old glass has a faint yellowish-green glow that newer glass doesn't have. It's not perfect but it's caught 3 fakes for me already. Anyone else got a cheap trick like this for spotting the real stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

ward.piper24d ago

Wait, did you hold the flashlight against the edge or shine it through the middle? My friend Sarah tried this on a teacup she bought at a thrift store in Columbus and swore the glow was different than her other pieces. She took it to an antique dealer later who confirmed it was a repro from the 80s. She was so mad because she'd paid $25 thinking she got a steal. She still uses that trick now and says it's saved her from buying fakes at least twice more.

norag5520d ago

I actually see it a bit different than your friend Sarah's experience. The flashlight test works best for certain glass pieces but it's not foolproof with ceramics like teacups. I've seen plenty of old authentic pieces that didn't glow much and some modern fakes that lit up bright because of different mineral content in the glaze.