worth saving?

[gxray]

Recently , in an old barn , I found hundreds and hundreds of mason jars and fruit jars in boxes , crates and barrels and scattered about all over the place. Also an old French style woodstove ( very ornate) with a crack in it. Do y'all think these are worth salvaging?...your opinions are appreciated.

 

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[Dman]

Yes!

 

[diggummup]

That depends. Do you plan on taking them to the fleamarket to unload them? If not then.........
If it was me i'd clean them up a little and pack them up and sell them for whatever I could get out of them. Customers can buy new lids and seals and as long as the glass isn't "sick" then they are good for re-use. Depending on how old they are some of them could fetch a good penny or two. By the way, people buy crates and barrels too. About the cast iron stove....people buy anything even if it's not in the best of shape . So the answer in short is YES! Can you post a pic of the stove and crates and barrels? Also what do the jars say on them it looks like you might have some square Ball jars there. I'd love to have all these to sell. Need more pics of jar types.

 

[gxray]

what is "sick" glass?...please explain.

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

It's very decent of you gxray to be considering the idea of finding another use for these jars. I used to collect early preserve jars years ago. The round ones are typically older then the square sided ones. Mason usually dated his on the bottom and often on the glass sealer lid as well. If the metal lids and the glass sealer are in good shape, it would be a shame to see them go to a land fill.

If I were you, I'd collect as many of the most complete ones and the ones in the best condition. Then maybe rent a space and a folding table at a local Sunday Flea Market for $50 bucks and sell each for $5 - $10 a piece. These look nice as a vase to hold flowers on a table, holding buttons, coins, nails, screws or just about anything else that you need storage for.

I just think that these jars are a part of our past, they're still functional and we certainly can find other creative uses for them. I believe in the motto Reduse, Reuse and Recycle.

Good luck gxray and let us all know what you decide to do.
Dave

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

what is "sick" glass?...please explain.

"Sick glass" is a cloudy film that makes a glass bottle or jar look like it's dirty or stained inside. No amount of washing or using CLR will get rid of this. You often see this in bottles that have been excavated, the bottles are simply starting to "breakdown". Please see definition below.

Sick Glass or Glass Disease

Glass disease is caused by an inherent fault in the chemical composition of the original glass formula. Usually, inadequate calcium oxide causes the alkalis in the glass to remain water soluble at a low level. Exposure to higher levels of relative humidity during storage or display causes these salts to hydrate and leach out of the glass. Upon a reduction of relative humidity, these hydrated salts can then form a crust on the surface. This process causes a complex disintegration of the glass which can be identified through a variety of symptoms. One such sign is the aforementioned crusty deposits which can form a visible hard alkaline coating on the surface. Another symptom is a distinctive network of fine cracking, also called crizzling, which can reduce the transparency of the glass or even threaten the integrity of the structure.

 

[treasurehound]

YES. Some fruit jars are worth several hundred dollars. Some of the green and clear ones are not worth much unless they are the older ones.

 

[mlayers]

Yes get all you can that is not broken, chipped or cracked. Well worth your time....Matt

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Recently , in an old barn , I found hundreds and hundreds of mason jars and fruit jars in boxes , crates and barrels and scattered about all over the place. Also an old French style woodstove ( very ornate) with a crack in it. Do y'all think these are worth salvaging?...your opinions are appreciated.

Theyre really not worth much...But i wouldnt Mind getting rid of them for ya ..Haha.. EBAY THEM!!!

 

[Tank69]

if you found dollar bills laying there instead of all the jars would you pick em up ?.............theres your answer

 

[Argentium]

Yes , you should clean these with warm soapy water and recover and clean any lids - take
them to your local flea and see if you get any takers at 50 cents or a buck each . Argentium.

 

[poppy in pa.]

I say go for it. There could be some older ones worth a few bucks and also craft people sometimes look for them to use. I've seen them filled with colored beans and set around the kitchen. As for the stove I used an old pot belly stove and made a lamp with it. Sell them!

 

[diggummup]

From the photo you show it looks like most of these date from the 40's-60's. Here is some info for you to read that will help you date the jars-
http://home.earthlink.net/~raclay/DatingBalljars.HTML

http://www.balljars.net/ball_jar_progression.htm

 

[BttleDiggerDrew]

Yes , you should clean these with warm soapy water and recover and clean any lids - take
them to your local flea and see if you get any takers at 50 cents or a buck each . Argentium.

He shouldnt shortchange himself, I would gladly dispose of those for a 50/50 split, 60/40 on the ball jars, especially if they are colored...after all....ya never know..

 

[up north]

Even the zinc lids have some value. Amber preserve jars are especially desireable.

 

[creeper71]

there is a book called the redbook for fruit jars.. it is a price guide with over 10,000 fruit jar varities in it...you'll want to buy one of them... you'll want number 10 that is the newiest..DON'T GET RID OF ANY JAR THAT IS ANY OTHER COLOR THEN THE USUAL AQUA BLUE..til you know what you have... colored jars can be 12.00 to 1200.00 sometimes even more....

 

[BttleDiggerDrew]

Even the zinc lids have some value. Amber preserve jars are especially desireable.

As well as citron colored bottles..

 

[creeper71]

Can you post some pics of some on those jars cleaned? the ones best to post are any that are not the normal aqua blue an the square ones... check the top of the rims of your jars..the super old jars will have there lips grounded..so they will be rough newer ones the lips are smooth...

 

[pigeonman]

not worth much,25 cents apiece if your lucky,stove for scrap metal price

 

[creeper71]

not worth much,25 cents apiece if your lucky,stove for scrap metal price

I disagree with your pricing of the Jars