Some collectors of old medicine bottles do so for the bottles themselves. But some collect them not only for their outward look or label, but for their contents. The latter can cause problems even with very old medicines.

According to Alan I. Roberts, president of the Dangerous Goods Advisory Council in Washington, DC, laws governing the sale of containers with flammable, corrosive or poisonous contents have been on the books since 1908. "While it’s likely most of the bottles dealers and collectors are handling don’t contain hazardous materials, I believe some will if, for example, they contain medicine."

Cough syrups and other medicines often contain alcohol, which is classed as a flammable liquid. Roberts pointed out that investigators make little distinction in regard to risk when they discover violations of the regulations–and the penalties may be severe.

Nationally, it’s the responsibilities of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to regulate toxic substances and investigate violations. Rebecca A. Frierson, a pharmaceuticals collectibles specialist with Liberty Antiques and Auctions of Newbury, South Carolina, who has sold over 700,000 old bottles, always has a DEA agent come in to inspect items before she they go on the auction block.

In 1970, Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, which became the legal foundation of the government's fight against the abuse of drugs and other substances. This law is a consolidation of numerous laws regulating the manufacture and distribution of narcotics, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, anabolic steroids, and chemicals used in the illicit production of controlled substances.

The CSA places all substances regulated under existing federal law into one of five schedules. The law bases this placement on a substance's medicinal value, harmfulness, and potential for abuse or addiction. The DEA, which enforces this law, has posted these schedules on its Web site (http://www.dea.gov). Schedule I is reserved for the most dangerous drugs that have no recognized medical use, while Schedule V is the classification used for the least dangerous drugs. The DEA is most concerned about the drugs in Schedules 1 and 2, consisting of 185 drugs and their derivatives, such as codeine, morphine, coca, cocaine, meperidine (Demerol), methadone, opium, pentobarbital, methylphenidate (Ritalin). The lists include barbiturates, amphetamines, cannabis, anti-psychotics, tranquilizers, muscle relaxers, and cough medicines.

Under the law, the DEA may begin an investigation of a drug at any time based upon information received from law enforcement laboratories, state and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies, or other sources of information.

"There’s a great concern about substances getting out and made into dangerous cocktails, especially from cough medicines," Frierson said. "The DEA doesn’t care if a substance is 200 years old, especially if it’s included in their Schedule II list. I’ve seen them go to antique shows, and if they find dealers selling that kind of stuff, they shut them down."

Frierson noted that rules are a bit more lax for poisons, such as strychnine and a deadly product called mercury bi-chloride, formerly used as an anti-syphilitic and to clean wounds. "This is nasty stuff, contains heavy metal, and is very dangerous."

She said that many more drugs have to be destroyed. She personally goes through all the items in a sale and hand touches all the bottles to make sure they have no contents. "There’s no problem selling the bottles as long as they’re empty," she said. "And there’s still significant collector value to a bottle without contents. There’s also a market for bottles with contents."

In the collectibles market, this goes both ways. Frierson said that the narcotics law requires the substance in question must be deleted from the seller’s inventory upon shipment and added to the buyer’s inventory upon receipt of shipment. Each must also have a secure storage facility. And both must be licensed by the DEA to traffic in controlled substances. Any seller or dealer and buyer or collector caught not obeying these requirements faces a heavy fine or imprisonment.

Frierson uses reference books to see how a substance is or has been used. This is especially important for substances no longer in the Physician’s Desk Reference or for poisons listed in Merck Manual. The above-mentioned mercury bi-chloride is a good example. Widely used in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, it’s no longer listed since it’s not used by doctors today.

According to Frierson, collectors usually collect bottles made before 1920 for their shapes and those made after 1920 for what the bottle may have contained. For example, there’s a market for bottles containing substances with notoriety such as Quaaludes, which the government outlawed because of their abuse. A bottle that contained them is worth $15 to $50 for the nostalgic value alone, especially to those who abused them. One person Frierson knows keeps Skittles in a former Quaalude bottle on his desk.

Some collectibles, like cereal boxes, are worth more with their contents unopened, but this isn’t so with old medicine bottles.

Often collectors look beyond the bottle or the contents and to the acquisition of one company over another such as Mallencrot acquired by Merck and Co., which used to be Merck, Sharp and Dohme. And before being Mallencrot, it was Powers and Weightman and before that there was a Powers and a Weightman– all significant drug companies. A very early pre-acquisition bottle can be worth substantially more, according to Frierson. Some bottles are worth more from the companies they came from than the contents they contained.

As an avid collector of a variety of antiques and collectibles for the last 20 years, Bob Brooke knows what he’s writing about. Besides writing about antiques, Brooke has also sold at flea markets and worked in an antique shop, so he knows the business side too. His articles have appeared in many antiques and consumer publications, including The American Antiquities Journal, British Heritage, Antique Week, Southeastern Antiquing and Collecting Magazine, OldandSold.com, and many others. To read more of his work, visit his main website at www.bobbrooke.com or his specialty antiques site at www.theantiquesalmanac.com

PHOTOS From Top to Bottom:

Pharmacy collectible collectors prize cobalt blue glass bottles. (Photo courtesy of Rebecca Frierson, HammerDown, Newbury, SC)

Poisons are a premium item in the pharmacy collectibles market. (Photo courtesy of Rebecca Frierson, HammerDown, Newbury, SC)

A bottle of Brou’s Injection, a remedy for syphilis made by the Fougera Co. is an example of the specific patent medicines that are popular with collectors. (Photo courtesy of Rebecca Frierson, HammerDown, Newbury, SC)

While empty medicine bottles like these are safe, those with their contents still intact can be dangerous. (Photo by Bob Brooke)