Cindy's Horse Racing Memorabilia Museum

Racing Memorabilia Museum - 1974 Derby Glass

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Kentucky Derby Glasses Price Guide
New 2008 edition!
by Judy Marchman
Only $12.71

One question I get in e-mail more than any other is what are the differences between the variations of the 1974 Kentucky Derby glass, especially the difference between a Libby and a Federal. Rather than having to keep sending this via e-mail, I decided to make a quick web page about them.

There are 6 variations of the 1974 glass, although many people only recognize 4 of them.

  1. Libby with Canonero
  2. Libby with Canonero II
  3. Federal with Canonero
  4. Federal with Canonero II
  5. Unmarked with Canonero
  6. Unmarked with Canonero II

When the 1974 glass was first made, the 1971 winner's name was listed as Canonero which is an error. Some 450,000+ were made this way and when the error was discovered, they redid the entire run of 450,000+ with the correct name of Canonero II. Since there are about the same number of correct vs. error glasses out there, there is no added value to either.


Because of the large number of glasses made, Libby ran out of blank glasses and had to purchase some from Federal to finish out each run. Supposedly there are about the same number of each Federal variation as well with no added value to either. The number of Federals used was very low, but no exact figure is known. The two Federal variations are the only ones that have any real value and they are quite difficult to find.

Because of the way glasses are marked on the bottom by the manufacturer by simply enbossing the mark in the glass while it is still molten, many times the mark will fill back in resulting in an unmarked glass or one with a partial mark that is indistinguishable. Many consider these to be the same as a Libby glass, but some exacting collectors consider them another variation to have to collect. These glasses are valued the same as a Libby glass.

Here are the marks you will find embossed in the bottoms of the glasses. They don't show up very well in photos so I also drew over them to give a better idea of what they look like.

Libby Mark

Federal Mark

Note that the Libby mark may or may not have the circle around it as the one shown does. Generally I see more without it, just the "L" by itself, than I do with the circle.

For current pricing info, check the Equillector site, but generally speaking the Libby/unmarked glasses have a $5-$10 value while Federal glasses are gradually climbing and are easily $150 each now.

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