ROMAN MINIATURE GLASS/VIAL 2 1/2 INCHES TALL LOVELY PATINA TRANSLUCENT GLASS

This is a very lovely small glass vial or miniature bottle. It is in excellent condition with the lower half very pale green that lets a lot of light throu. The upper half of the bottle is thicker 1/3 of the way up and the top third is very thin, fragile and nearly transparent. The 4th photo shows the piece upside down so you can see the glass more closely.

I have sold holy land and Roman since a trip to Greece and Israel a rather long time ago--40 years!

I became quite enamored of the ancient artifacts and purchased a few items in Israel that had been authorized by the Israeli Antiquities Depaertment. As you would expect, counterfeiters in Asia haven't stopped with their talents creating phony U.S. coins. Just look on ebay right now at how many U.S. silver dollars, other coins and commemorative half dollars are available--remarkably (not!) all from China....and nearly all at the same bargain price of $29.99. All of those selling the items have fewer than 10 feedbacks and one, with substantial feedback shows alarge number of negatives.

Thailand artisans who do splendid work and also sell Chines counterfeit goods have begun selling illicit items on ebay. The quality has gotten so good that you can be fooled at just a cursory look. A question I and several ebay sellers are asking is why won't ebay remove the blatant and easily identifiable sellers?

So buyers and seller alike have to be incredibly careful to avoid being duped. Last year IU had a rare opportunity to purchase a group of 12 Roman glass pieces. It helps to know longtime sellers who can help with identification. And naturally knowing the seller (in my case, the antiquities dealer here or in Europe is a major help.

I have a couple of other glass pieces listed here also. In the Fall I will be putting together a very special sale that will include a variety of antiquities--Roman coins, medieval "Crusader" coins, and dishes--and I hope to find a few more pieces to add.

IMPORTANT NOTE ON SHIPPING: I can ship this piece well protected in a box for $10 but I have also noted that when bought with other items it still will be $10 since I have no way of knowing today what other itemsmight be. A coin, for example, can ship FREE by being in the same box but the box for the glass piece will still be $10. If the other item you purchase is a lovely paper item it will be better to ship it flat for $5 and ship the glass separately. One good thing--once I know what you have purxhased I will sort things out to save you as much as possible and then refund any overpaying you made on postage.