You’re a whisky collector, it’s 2023, and you might think Bell’s decanters are not relevant to you. However Bell’s decanters once sold for £1,200 and now sell for £30. We think that the change in value of Bell’s bells since the 1990s has lessons to teach modern whisky collectors and investors.
What is Bells Whisky Worth?
In this video Mark analyses the changes in the market over the last 30 years that has led to Bell’s commemorative decanters going from £1,200 to less than £30 at auction – and that is if you can find an auction house to list them for you.
The reality is that Bell’s decanters look good on the outside, but inside it is just regular Bells; the exact same whisky that was in the standard glass bottles. People bought and collected these bottles because of how they looked and the statement they said about the owner (followers of our YouTube channels may notice some parallels with the current market there). And people also collected them as royal memorabilia.
The whisky market has changed a lot over the last thirty years, and on the other side of collecting there are fewer collectors of royal memorabilia. Combine that with the ban on selling alcohol on eBay and Facebook and that marked the end of the era of the Bell’s Decanter.
What should you do with a Bell’s Decanter?
Unfortunately a lot of auction houses have stopped even listing Bell’s Decanters. There are too many of them, they don’t sell well, and when they do they are hard to ship because of their non-standard shape.
If you have a bottle of Bell’s or a collection you have a couple of options:
- Search for an auction house that will list it for you
- Open and enjoy the nostalgia, then once empty you can sell the decanters on eBay
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