How Old is This Narragansett Beer Bottle?

[FreeBirdTim]

Found an old Narragansett beer bottle in the woods today. Can anyone give me an idea as to it's age?

It's 10 inches tall and it's a 16 ounce bottle. It's embossed with the Narragansett logo and it has "Brew Co, Prov., RI" below the logo.

It has two mold seams that stops at the neck. One seam is faint and the other is raised enough so that I can feel it with my finger. There's two seams on the neck, but they don't match up with the side mold seams.

The bottom is slightly recessed in the middle with no numbers or glass makers marks on it. There is also a tiny number "5" on the side at the bottom of the bottle. Any help would be appreciated.

 

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[Mackaydon]

You could ask them direct:
[email protected]
Don.....

 

[cje]

It's not the same company Don. They bought the name. The bottle looks to be circa 1910 to 1920 in my opinion. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narragansett_Brewing_Company

 

[FreeBirdTim]

It's not the same company Don. They bought the name. The bottle looks to be circa 1910 to 1920 in my opinion

That's what I was going to say. Narragansett has been bought and sold so many times over the years, they probably have no clue as to the bottle's age or history.

As for the age of the bottle, if it's circa 1910 to 1920, do you think the "5" means it was manufactured in 1915? That would be really cool to find a 100 year old bottle just lying on the ground in the woods!

 

[Mackaydon]

Is this your bottle?
https://www.etsy.com/listing/280434596/1910s-narragansett-brew-co-prov-ri-10-18
or this one?
http://www.littlerhodybottleclub.org/bottles/Narragansett_1336.1.html
Don....

 

[NJKLAGT]

Hey there FreeBirdTim, nice beer bottle!

The '5' is just a mould number. Many older Owens-style ABM bottles have a number on the heel of the bottle - usually a one or two digit number from 1 to 15, never a three digit number (they didn't have that many moulds).

I'd agree with cje, this one was probably made no earlier than 1910 and no later than 1930. I'll guess 1918 just for fun. Your century-old bottle is totally possible.

 

[diggummup]

I agree with cje, I think the bottle dates to the early 1900's time period based on the construction of the bottle. It could also be a soda bottle versus a beer bottle.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Mackaydon, that's the one! Couldn't find one on eBay, so I figured there weren't too many around. Guess I'll have to check out Etsy next time I find a cool bottle.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

I agree with cje, I think the bottle dates to the early 1900's time period based on the construction of the bottle. It could also be a soda bottle versus a beer bottle.

Wow, I never knew that Narragansett sold soda! That would be even cooler if it was a soda bottle.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

[

The '5' is just a mould number. Many older Owens-style ABM bottles have a number on the heel of the bottle - usually a one or two digit number from 1 to 15, never a three digit number (they didn't have that many moulds)

Makes sense, since most bottle year dates are on the bottom. Thanks for that info!

 

[wheatfinder13]

I think a lot of breweries made sodas during prohibition. Your bottle could have been a soda made by Narragansett during the prohibition years

 

[FreeBirdTim]

I think a lot of breweries made sodas during prohibition. Your bottle could have been a soda made by Narragansett during the prohibition years

Certainly possible, but the neck seems to suggest a beer bottle. It's also 16 ounces, which would be big for a soda bottle back then. And the bottle weighs a pound, so it's hard to imagine a little kid trying to wrestle with a two pound soda bottle (weight of bottle and contents)!