Apothecary · Instruments · Pharmacy · Quack Devices

What did you find?

An inherited doctor's bag, a cabinet of labeled bottles, a machine with a strange coil. Before you can know what it's worth, you need to know what it is. That's what this site does — and we never invent a price.

Start identifying →

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The Four Families

Route your find

Nearly every medical antique falls into one of these families. Pick the closest match to reach its identification guide and live market listings.

Amber apothecary bottles with ground glass stoppers on a wooden counter (illustrative)

Family No. 1

Apothecary & Pharmacy

Labeled bottles, jars, show globes, scales, mortars, drugstore cabinets.

Live apothecary listings →Identification guide

Victorian-style cased surgical instrument set with velvet lining (illustrative)

Family No. 2

Instruments & Surgical

Cased surgical sets, bloodletting tools, stethoscopes, field kits.

Live instrument listings →Identification guide

Early electrotherapy violet ray device with glass wand and wooden case (illustrative)

Family No. 3

Quack & Electrotherapy

Violet ray machines, patent cure devices, early electrotherapy.

Live device listings →Identification guide

Antique round-frame spectacles, leather cases and a monaural stethoscope (illustrative)

Family No. 4

Dental, Optical & Diagnostic

Dental cabinets and keys, antique spectacles, diagnostic instruments.

Live dental & optical listings →Identification guide

Some of these antiques are genuinely hazardous

Radium-dial and radium-cure devices are still radioactive. Antique thermometers, barometers and some instruments contain mercury. Old medicine bottles can hold controlled or toxic substances. Read the safety guides before handling, buying, or shipping: radioactive antiques · mercury instruments · bottles with contents.

The Market, Live

What real examples look like right now

The honest way to understand value is to look at live and completed listings — not a number a website made up. These searches open current eBay inventory.