Kentucky Derby Glasses

Kentucky Derby Glasses

The Kentucky Derby is probably one of the most famous horse races in the world.  Many commemorative glasses have been made to celebrate the good times and the heritage, and as such these firm favorites have become brilliant collectible glasses that enthusiasts and Derby lovers alike enjoy.

Going back to as early as 1938 these commemorative glasses have been made with all the love and attention they deserve.

Each glass from each year depicted something unique and original about that particular year.

During the first world war when shortages were noticed, a replacement product called Bakelite had to be used, which is a form of plastic from 1941 through to 1945.

If you can get a hold of a 1950 or 1951 model of Kentucky derby glass then you are going to be in for a right treat as they are amongst the rarest of them all!

As a side note in 1974 there was a mistake printed on to more than 400,000 of these specialist collectibles and notably a horse name Canonero II was mistakenly printed as just Canonero.

It actually comes down to six individual variations. A Libby glass with Canonero and Canonero II, the same for a Federal glass, and the same for two unmarked glasses, each with the 2 variations.

The name is the name of the 1971 winner and yet surprisingly all those glasses were made without people noticing right away.  Incredible.

The Libby company in the end had to go and borrow glasses from the Federal company in order to meet it’s order books.

Yet besides this, time has proven that all variations have become just as equally collectible as one another.

However when it comes to value, the two made by Federal are the ones which retain their value over and above all other variations.

Some glasses such as modern gold edition glasses are normally made as part of a limited edition run of around 1000 glasses.

Each glass then comes with it’s own certificate of authenticity and becomes much more highly sought after.  Consequently the value of them goes up and they can be seen swapping hands for $60 or more.

If you are in to your collectibles and like high quality rare items that hold and increase in value then you will always do well with a top condition Kentucky glass.

Every glass from every year is going to hold it’s value but the races that are memorable are the ones that increase in value.  Such as when unknown jockeys or rare wins make the headlines.

As a lover of Kentucky glasses always keep your eyes open for anything related to this fascinating world.