April 20, 2014 By David Cycleback
1902 Celluloid baseball pin
Just as buyers want to know if an antique table is made of oak or maple, a wedding ring is gold or brass or a statue is steel or bronze, serious collectors of antique plastic toys, trinkets, figures and jewlery want to know the type of plastic in an item. If you start selling old plastic items on eBay, bidders will ask you the identity of the plastic. Some vintage plastics, including Bakelite and Celluloid, are highly collectible these days.
Beyond general interest, identifying an item as being made from certain plastics shows that it is indeed old, or at least consistent with being old. Bakelite and Catalin, for examples, were discontinued decades ago and will only appear in an an old toy or piece of jewelry.
Track and Field trophy with a Bakelite base
This brief article shows how to identify the five most common plastics used to make many vintage and antique collectibles:Celluloid, Bakelite, Catalin, Casein and Lucite.
How to tell plastic from other materials?
Most people have a good feel for what plastic feels like, but glass, crystal, rubber and other materials are sometimes mistaken for plastic. This is particularly true if the item is small, such as a button on a coat, or embedded into a larger object.
Most people have a good feel for what plastic feels like, but glass, crystal, rubber and other materials are sometimes mistaken for plastic. This is particularly true if the item is small, such as a button on a coat, or embedded into a larger object.
Lucite beer tap
Plastic is warmer to the touch than glass, crystal and most gemstones. Just put the object to your cheek to test. Plastic is also usually much lighter. Glass items, such as a wine glass, will have a distinct sound when clicked with the fingernail that plastic does not. Plastic often has a seam, but rubber and glass can too.
The sometimes used hot needle test will often reveal the identity. A red hot pin won’t pierce glass or gem,stone, but can enter plastic and often gives a distinct plasticy smell. Rubber will give off a rubber smell. Wood will often give off a burnt wood smell. The hot needle test is a destructive test, so it should be done with care, if at all, and only in discreet areas, such as on the bottom. Many collectors do not use the hot needle test as it can leave a small hole.
Celluloid football bulldog
** Plastic #1: Celluloid
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