Antique Lamp Value
Price data updated June 2026 from recent eBay sold listings.
Antique Lamps Value Chart (2026)
| Type | Typical sold range | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antique Oil Lamp | $38–$125 | $80 | 45 |
| Antique Kerosene Lamp | $15–$135 | $86 | 6 |
| Antique Brass Lamp | $42–$125 | $75 | 64 |
Typical range = middle 50% of recent eBay sold listings (single items, lots excluded). Exceptional examples exceed it; rough ones fall below.
Antique Lamp Value Estimator
Loading the estimator…
How Much Are Antique Lamps Worth?
Here's the honest answer most owners don't want to hear: the typical antique oil, kerosene or brass lamp sells for well under $150. Based on recent eBay sold listings, antique oil lamps mostly change hands between about $38 and $125, with a median near $80. Antique brass lamps land almost identically — roughly $42 to $125, median around $75. Kerosene lamps follow the same pattern (median near $86), though that sample is thin and noisy.
These figures come from real completed sales, not asking prices, and they reflect what people actually paid. The market for common 19th- and early-20th-century lamps is deep and well-supplied, which keeps prices grounded. A clean, complete, attractive lamp from a recognized maker can clear $200–$400 when restored, but those are the exception, not the rule.
If you own a fairly common stand lamp, hand lamp, or hurricane-style piece in working but unremarkable condition, plan on the median range. Treat anything above $250 as a pleasant surprise that requires a specific maker, rare glass, or large decorative form to justify.
Antique Lamp Identification Guide
JHistory / CC BY-SA 4.0 — click for source
See more: museum & archive photos on Wikimedia Commons · hundreds of recent sold examples on eBay (with prices — the single best way to match yours).
What Makes an Antique Lamp Valuable?
- Completeness (font, burner, chimney, shade). Lamps are assemblies, and missing parts kill value. A complete lamp with its original burner, matching chimney and especially its glass shade sells for multiples of a bare font. Many of the cheapest sold listings are loose burners, filler caps and 'spares or repair' bodies.
- Maker and marks. Names like Bradley & Hubbard (B&H), Plume & Atwood, Edward Miller, and Coleman command premiums. Check the burner collar and base for stamps. Unmarked generic lamps sit at the bottom of the ranges.
- Glass type and decoration. Plain clear or amber glass is common and cheap. Cased, cranberry/ruby, cut-to-clear Bohemian, hand-painted Gone-With-The-Wind (GWTW) globes, and figural fonts push prices toward and past the top of the range.
- Form and size. Tall GWTW parlor lamps, large hanging library lamps, and matched-shade table lamps outperform small hand lamps and miniature 'nutmeg' lamps. Size and visual impact drive decorator demand.
- Condition and originality. In this data, original-condition lamps cluster around the median while professionally restored examples (rewired, repolished, reshaded) reached $150–$400. But amateur over-polishing or replaced wrong-period shades hurts value with knowledgeable buyers.
- Electrified vs. fuel-burning. Electrification is neutral-to-slightly-positive for decorators but can deter purist collectors. A reversible, well-done conversion sells fine; a crudely drilled font does not.
Valuable Antique Lamp Types & Maker's Marks
- Gone-With-The-Wind (GWTW) parlor lamps. Tall, two-globe lamps, often with painted floral or figural shades. Among the stronger sellers here, with electrified examples reaching the $250 area; original kerosene versions with matching painted globes can do better.
- Bradley & Hubbard (B&H) / Plume & Atwood. Respected American makers. Marked burners, hanging library hardware and complete lamps carry a premium. Even B&H parts (chains, motors) sell on their own.
- Hanging library / hall lamps. Ceiling-mounted lamps with smoke bells, frames and retractable chains. Complete examples with original glass do well; stripped frames and lone smoke bells sell cheap.
- Coleman / pressure kerosene lamps & lanterns. Quick-Lite and pressure-mantle types appeal to a separate collector base. Desirable models (e.g. European pressure lanterns like Ditmar/Petromax) occasionally spike well above typical lamp prices.
- Finger / hand lamps and miniatures. Small, common, and abundant. Usually the lowest tier unless in rare colored glass or a documented pattern.
- Brass floor and Moroccan/decorative brass lamps. Sold more on decorator appeal than collector pedigree. Large, heavy, polished pieces fetch the upper range; thin reproduction brass sits low.
Antique Lamp Sold Prices: Recent eBay Sales
A representative slice of the actual transactions behind the table above — lowest to highest. Each links to the original listing.
-
$20 -
$35 -
$55 -
$75 -
$85 -
$100 -
$130 -
$250
Selling Your Antique Lamp: What You'll Actually Net
For most lamps in the $40–$125 range, eBay is the realistic venue, but do the math first: between final-value fees (roughly 13%+) and shipping, a $70 lamp nets meaningfully less. Lamps are fragile and oddly shaped — glass shades and chimneys break in transit constantly — so you'll need a large box, lots of packing, and often to ship the shade separately or sell it locally. Heavy brass floor lamps are expensive to ship and frequently sell better through Facebook Marketplace or local auction for local pickup.
If your lamp is genuinely high-end (rare colored glass, signed art-glass shade, important maker), a regional auction house with a lighting or decorative-arts sale will reach the right buyers and handle packing. For everything else, set realistic expectations: list complete, photograph the maker's marks, disclose any cracks or replaced parts, and price near the median rather than chasing the top.
The Most Valuable Antique Lamps
The lamps in this guide are the everyday tier. The true top of the lighting market is a different category entirely — leaded and reverse-painted art-glass table lamps by Tiffany Studios, Handel, and Pairpoint, which reach five and six figures at major auction houses. Within ordinary oil, kerosene and brass lamps, the realistic ceiling is the low-to-mid hundreds: a large, complete, restored GWTW or hanging library lamp, or a rare colored-glass example with its original matching shade. If your lamp isn't art glass and isn't signed by a celebrated maker, expect it to live in the two-figure to low three-figure range.
Verified record sales (cited — these are the documented exceptions, not expectations):
- Tiffany Studios 'Pond Lily' leaded-glass lamp, c. 1903 — $3,372,500, Christie's, New York. The world auction record for Tiffany Studios. [Antiques and The Arts Weekly]
More category records on our most valuable antiques page.