Q: My two 12-inch ceramic Jim Beam decanters are 1968 election bottles. One is an elephant and the other a donkey. They’re both dressed in polka-dot clown costumes. With presidential elections coming up this year, I was wondering if they have any value.

A: The Jim Beam brand of whiskey dates back to the late 1700s. The company started selling special decanters filled with Kentucky Straight Bourbon in 1953. Political bottles, one for each party, were made for the presidential election years from 1956 to 1988. The bottles were made by Regal China Co. of Chicago. Your 1968 bottles sell today for $10-$25 each. The decanters are not as popular with collectors as they were 30 years ago. The most valuable Beam political decanter is a 1970 elephant bottle made for a Spiro Agnew vice-presidential fundraiser. At one time it was selling for more than $1,000.

 

 

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