What do the numbers on these pages mean? Sometimes, when I have enough examples that have sold during that year, I will state them in terms of a range, ie, 250-400. However, there may have been items that sold beyond either end of the range. The range is usually based on auction sales from several recent years.
Where do the numbers come from? In the listings, the lowest price may be only one-tenth of the highest price during the same year. Why is that? The nature of the auction can make a big differnce also. An auction held in conjunction with a major convention will usually feature rarities and top quality items--and attract big spenders. Local auctions often will not attract many collectors so some pieces may go wanting.
The numbers represent the auction sales of that color in that shape for that pattern, in dollars, for the years listed (the numbers in parentheses).
As of 2009, I have been tracking live auction sales of Carnival Glass for the last 17 years. To obtain the figures, I either go to the auction and record the sales or take the figures from other people's reports of the auction. I generally cover 20 auctions per year. That's not every auction, of course, but does cover the major auctions. That amounts to 6,000 to 9,000 items per year.
There are a number of reasons for that sometimes wide variation. In some cases the lowest prices may have been for unattractive pieces, items with unannounced damage, or simply that nobody at that auction was interested. Conversely, examples that sold for high prices probably had extraordinary iridescence or a couple of bidders may have fought over it. Auction dynamics can play a big role in prices.