Daryle Lambert: Owensboro, Kentucky

Thanks to Flicker



I will be spending this week in Kentucky with family and friends and also researching the antiques and collectibles that people are looking for in that area. Local items bring big money but few people know the value of these items outside the location where they are collected.

Here are a few examples of items that I doubt you would give a second glance at but in Kentucky, particularly Owensboro, these will bring big money. First, Owensboro residents are proud of the past, where production of whiskey was a major source of income for the town. Yes, there was legitimate whiskey made in Kentucky and it wasn’t all moonshine. Where is the money to be made here, you ask?

Stoneware whiskey jugs with the name Owensboro on them (especially if they are the pint size) can bring several thousand dollars. The more common gallon size jugs will sell for several hundred dollars. Advertising pieces like ice picks, glasses, pitchers and other items that where used to help sell the distiller’s products are highly sought after today by avid collectors. Even cardboard signs and other paper ads for the companies that produced whiskey can bring big money.

Another part of the local economy of Owensboro in early years was the Owensboro Wagon Company. This company was one of the largest companies in the country making horse-drawn wagons which were the major way of transporting almost anything that was moved in those days. They didn’t have eighteen wheelers back then. A tin sign advertising the wagon company may sell for any where upwards of $3,500 if it is in mint condition.

Owensboro also has medicine and soda bottles that carry its name and the collectors are eager to find them and when they do, they will pay a fair dollar. You now know that each community has items that are usually only collected in their area. Most guides don’t list local area collectibles so it is up to you to research and find out which items are desirable and the values for these items. Why should this matter? If you find an Owensboro jug in Chicago, you may be able to buy it for $25 and sell it to a collector in Kentucky for several thousand dollars.

My personal, favorite Owensboro collectible is a tin “Allied Moving Van” toy truck that has an advertisement on its side for “Owensboro, Kentuckyagon Company. This company was one of the largest companies in the country making horse-drawn wagons which were the major way of transporting almost anything that was moved in those days. They didn’t have eighteen wheelers back then. A tin sign advertising the wagon company may sell for any where upwards of $3,500 if it is in mint condition.


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