Two rare McKeevers Army Bitters turned up on ebay this week. Both were reported to be in mint, undamaged condition. The first, which closed on July 4th, brought $3301 and was auction # 190409345590. The seller was from the Atlanta, GA area.
The second example (auction # 320557162981), offered by a seller in Cleveland, OH, didn’t fare quite as well and brought just $2500 $3250. Although the bottle seemed just as fine as the other, sellers may have been scared off by a few negative marks on the seller’s feedback record. So goes the auction world.
For all you non-collectors out there, beware of a similar bottle marked McGiver’s American Army Bitters and is also marked Wheaton, NJ. These are found in amber as well as pale blue and green. Wheaton Glass Works produced these modern re-creations in the mid to late 20th century and they are fairly common. Their value is more in the range of $5-15
The second McKeever’s Army Bitters sold for $3,250 not $2,500.
Larry,
Thanks for pointing out this error. In my haste to publish this post, I must have failed to notice that the second auction had not yet closed!