NuclearKatie

Antique Uranium Glass

Madison, Wisconsin

Announcement    Welcome all! All of my uranium glass pieces are collected from antique shops around the midwest and mountain west. Feel free to check out the FAQs if you have any general questions about uranium glass or shoot me a message for specific questions or to enquire about a particular item!

Announcement

Last updated on Mar 7, 2018

Welcome all! All of my uranium glass pieces are collected from antique shops around the midwest and mountain west. Feel free to check out the FAQs if you have any general questions about uranium glass or shoot me a message for specific questions or to enquire about a particular item!

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Katie Mummah

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Katie Mummah

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About NuclearKatie

Sales 89
On Etsy since 2017

Shop members

  • Katie

    Owner, Shipper

    Katie is a nuclear engineering graduate student. When she's not working on her degree, she travels around the US to antique stores where she buys these Uranium glass pieces

Shop policies

Last updated on Sep 10, 2017

Shipping

See item details for estimated arrival times.

Customs and import taxes

Buyers are responsible for any customs and import taxes that may apply. I'm not responsible for delays due to customs.

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Cancellations

Cancellations: accepted

Request a cancellation: within 24 hours of purchase

More information

Last updated on May 11, 2022

Frequently asked questions

How do I make it glow?

All you need is a blacklight. If you're not setting up a prominent display for it, and you only want to show off the glow sometimes, I recommend buying this cheap flashlight from Amazon. It's what I carry around when I go antiquing (link: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XF3V8DH/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

Is uranium glass safe to use?

*Generally* yes. Treat it as you would any other leaded glass, in that it can be considered relatively safe for occasional use, with the exception of acids. Acidic foods like citrus tend to leach out the uranium (as well as lead, which some of these pieces probably contain as well), so using U glass with lemons, limes, oranges, or similar is never recommended. Using cracked or chipped U glass should also be avoided.

If you want to store solid food in U glass for the medium-to-long term, consider using a doily.

Radioactive Red Fiestaware is also safe, potentially even safer to use. However, like glass, I recommend not using cracked or chipped Fiestaware due to the risk of uranium flaking off into food/drink.

Will the uranium make my food radioactive?

No. The radiation given off from the uranium will not make your food radioactive.

In fact, the only way to make something radioactive is by hitting it with neutrons. Neutrons do not come off of uranium.

The only thing uranium will do is kill off some bacteria, similar to how food irradiation kills off bacteria on things like strawberries

Why does uranium glass glow?

A common misconception is that the UV fluorescence of uranium glass is caused by the radioactive properties of uranium. In fact, it is simply a chemical property of the uranium that causes this feature

Is Uranium glass the same is Vaseline?

Yes, although the term Vaseline is sometimes used to referred to glass with a similar color that does not contain uranium.

Each piece must be tested by checking the UV fluorescence and using a radiation detector such as a Geiger counter to confirm that it contains uranium.

How radioactive are these pieces? What is the count rate coming off of them?

Uranium glass is only mildly radioactive. Uranium is not very radioactive due to its long half life, and these pieces contain relatively small amounts of uranium.

Radioactive Red Fiestaware pieces are more radioactive, although still completely safe to own.

I do not make official count measurements on any of my glass pieces, and only count rates (CPM) on my Fiestaware. If you are really serious about finding this information out, let me know and I can potentially connect you with people who could help you obtain this information

Where do you buy these pieces?

I go antiquing at dozens of stores in many different states. Some of the states I have pieces from include Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin

How do you set your prices?

I buy all of these pieces from antique shops around the US, so I start with the price that I paid at the store. Then I add a small percentage to cover the cost of the shipping material and my time.

How old is the piece?

It can be difficult to date pieces found in antique stores. Uranium glass was very popular in the US especially in the 1930's when uranium was cheap, making the green glass part of a type of glasses now colloquially referred to as "depression glass". The pink and blue depression glasses do not contain uranium.

The history of uranium glass is much older though. The oldest known uranium glass dates back to the mid 1820s and an English glassmaker, Thomas Webb & Sons, began adding uranium to its glass in the 1840s. In the United States, uranium glass making picked up as uranium deposits were identified in the 1880's.

Unless I have identified the specific age of a piece, it is marked as being from the 1930s; this doesn't mean it is not older.