Be Careful Of One Health Hazard When Thrift Shopping For Glass (And How To Spot It)

Glass is the design trend of the year. So, of course, you might want to go thrifting for glassware. As you're scanning the shelves, be on the lookout for green, yellow, deep red, pale blue, and brown glass, particularly if it looks old. Any bowls, dishes, cups, vases, jewelry, figurines, candlesticks, marbles, and chandeliers in those colors could contain uranium, the radioactive element. While this might sound like more than enough reason to drop the piece and run, uranium glass is actually safe to display in your home, provided you follow a few warnings. There are even collectors who specifically seek out uranium glass, meaning you could very well resell your piece to make some extra cash. 

Factories started using uranium to color glass in the 1800s, and after a 15-year stint where production halted around World War II, continued in the 1950s but with the element in a depleted state. This continued through the 1970s. Some companies still make uranium glass, but for collectors in limited editions, and for decorative use only (unlike decades and centuries past). It's a good find that could be worth some dollars, along with the pride of knowing you're passing on a rare piece of history, but you'll need to know how to identify the glass, when you should and should not handle it due to potential health hazards, and what value it may garner on the current resale market.

Yellow and green glass are the most common finds. Yellow pieces are usually known as vaseline glass. You can identify vaseline glass with the naked eye because it's translucent, although other kinds of yellow glass that contains uranium can be opaque. They may have a green tint as well. Uranium glass is usually green, and is often referred to as Depression glass. Identify glass made with uranium by looking at it in blacklight. It glows. You might spot an experienced collector whipping out a small blacklight flashlight in the thrifting aisles, at a garage sale, in antique malls, or at an estate sale with a pre-bid visit.

If you end up finding uranium glass and want to take it home, keep a few things in mind. You don't want to pass on it, because it can be a cheap and easy-to-find thrift store item that makes the ultimate statement piece in your own home. Although the earliest examples of glass may contain as much as 25% of uranium by weight, most contain as little as 2%. No matter the chemistry, you aren't meant to eat off uranium kitchenware or drink out of glasses. Uranium can cause harm to the body when ingested because it's radioactive, and that includes breathing it in. Decorative arts experts suggest passing on uranium glass that's in any way damaged. Make sure to wear gloves when handling items that are broken or have cracks.

Uranium glass is one of the most valuable items to seek out at a thrift store. So, when you're out, bring your own a blacklight flashlight. You can buy a small one online for under $10, and it will fit easily inside a pocket or purse. Sometimes, the glass will contain decorative details, such as etched designs and patterns. These can sometimes fetch more value. Look for makers such as the Fenton Art Glass Company.

Most uranium glass is more than 100 years old. Today's collectors like to show them off in a glass hutch with a built-in blacklight bulb. If you're thinking of collecting uranium glass or reselling it, the value of the glass depends on the piece. How rare is it? How old is it? How desirable is the pattern? Once you've found a piece, search for it on eBay and check the sold listings to see what price it most recently fetched in the online platform. You can find bowls and plates for as little as 99 cents on eBay, but more intricate and difficult-to-find items could easily sell for over $1,000.