Many antique dealers are unwittingly advertising mustache cups for sale that are in reality shaving mugs. A proper Victorian gentleman would guffaw up his sleeve to see such a faux pas. Mustache cups and shaving mugs may belong to the same church, but they do not occupy the same pew. They do not serve the same purpose. A mustache cup is meant to protect the mustache, while a shaving cup is used to remove unwanted facial hair.
Mustache cups appear to be a treasured Victorian secret.
Although there are thousands of collectors, there are no known collectors clubs. These curiously comely cups have been quietly collected for years, and forty to fifty years ago it was relatively easy to acquire a beautiful and rare example at a reasonable price. That is not true today. As highly prized cups are fading from the marketplace, their prices are increasing between sips. Given the present day interest in Victoriana and an increase in the number of men who sport mustaches, one would not be surprised to see a resurgence of interest by famous potteries in producing valid reproductions of mustache cups.