I have been collecting shotglasses for almost half of my life, and for the longest time, I felt like I was the only one who collected these things. Over the years, I have searched for information on shotglasses and shotglass collecting. There is not much information available, so I decided to create this site to share what I have learned.

Buying Shotglass Collections

Shotglass Size

While researching this I had found one attempt at creating an "official" definition for a shot in a State (the state of New York tried to legislate the minimum size of a shot in 1947), but the bill was not passed. The next closest thing was a law in South Carolina that required the use of mini bottles (at first 1.5 ounces, and later 1.7 ounces) -- no shotglasses or free pours allowed. This was repealed a few years ago. In March of this year, the state of Utah changed their definition of a shot from one ounce to one and one half ounces. As far as I can tell, Utah is the only state with a current law.

Bejing Olympics Shotglass Set

Over the years, there have been a couple of different sets of glasses available at Epcot. These sets usually have the flag of the country along with the name of the country. There are often more than eleven glasses in the set, as glasses from Finland and Sweden are available in Norway, while Nothern Ireland, Scotland and Wales glasses are available at the United Kingdom pavillion. These sets are specific to Epcot.

There are occasionally other shotglasses available at the pavillions, usually representing some part of the host country. This year there was a set at the China pavillion that I just had to buy. They have created a set of 38 shotglasses to commemorate the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. There is one glass for each of the sports. I have many Olympic shotglasses, but I have never seen a set with this many glasses. For those of you who are interested, I have found a place online where you can Buy This Set.

Doc Holliday's cup from the movie Tombstone

My usual answer to this question is that metal cups are easy to make on a small scale, and they often have no maker's mark on them, so their origin is difficult to determine. So even if I had the item in front of me, I might not be able to determine where (or when) it was made. Trying to identify an object from a movie is almost impossible.

Well, I decided to use some of my knowledge of the theater and movie making, and see if I could find out more. Asking somebody to remember a small prop from a movie made over a dozen years ago is quite a longshot, but as it turns out, I was able to contact someone from the the production who remembers the cup. If a prop comes from the property department (props) they will have more than one, just in case one gets lost or damaged. This cup stood out because there were no replacements, so when it went missing, it HAD to be found. Most likely this cup was picked up in Santa Fe by Val Kilmer himself, and he brought it to the set.

Anybody in Santa Fe want to start checking out the local metalsmiths?

Shipping Shotglasses

• Crumpled newspaper is a BAD packing material for glasses unless it is compacted tightly
• Put as much "stuff" between glasses as possible
• Putting stuffing inside thin walled glasses helps them survive some crushing
• Many people remember to keep the glasses away from the sides of the box, while others are good at keeping them away from the top and bottom, but few keep them away from all sides
• Most original packaging was not designed to survive shipping via UPS or USPS
• If there is an original box and you can remove the glasses, wrap them individually BUT DO NOT PUT THEM BACK IN THE BOX unless there is lots of extra room! In many boxes the slots were designed for the glass, not the glass plus wrapping -- putting wrapped glasses back in damages the box
• If there is an original box, with sufficient padding between the glasses, wrap the box tightly (like a birthday present) so the top cannot come loose, then put padding around it
• If you remove the glasses from the original box, try to put something in the box that will protect it from crushing, but that will not damage the cardboard insert(s)
• More is Better when it comes to padding

In the previous paragraph I mentioned insurance. In general, insurance for shotglasses is a waste of money (although some people think that a package marked as insured will get better treatment.) In order to make a claim, you need the small, green insurance receipt, and most shippers do not put it in the box. If you have the receipt, and wish to make a claim, you need an independent book or guide that identifies the glass and provides a value. Very few glasses can be identified this way.

Reviews

I NEED YOUR HELP!

I am in the process of trying to come up with guidelines for dating a glass based on the shape of the glass, and what the maker's mark on the base of the glass looks like. I am trying to determine the earliest use of a particular style of glass and the range of dates that a particular maker's mark was in use. For example, the Libbey Glass Company recently changed the base of their glasses -- The main mark is still a script upper-case L but the "mold numbers" are now below the letter, while prior to 1998 they were to the left of the letter.

This is where you can help me. If you have any glasses that have a date on them, such as those that were were made for a specific event, like a wedding, or the Superbowl, tell me the date, what the mark on the bottom of the glass looks like (see my identification page ) and the shape of the glass. Also, some newer glasses have copyright dates on them, and this information can be useful, but be aware that designs are usually copyrighted before they are used. An example of this is the logo for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics -- it was copyrighted in 1992, so glasses with this design might have been made 4 years before the "big" date.

You can send me the info by leaving feedback, or by leaving a message on the MessageBoard If you have a photograph, and you have your own website, you can link to the photo in your MessageBoard message.

Thanks
              Mark

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