Bay find 1860s bottle - Any value ???

[aussie1984]

Bay find 1860's bottle - Any value

Just wanted to find out if this is of any real value?..
Olive green applied lip- 1860's gin or lime bottle?
10cm across base Unable to match an ID

Please help me identify

 

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[sandchip]

Nice bottle to find, but of little monetary value in all honesty.

 

[aussie1984]

ok could you explain why please?, Just trying to find out what i'm looking at I have had people say not common but no one can ID...

 

[sandchip]

It would be difficult to say what came in it originally, but something tells me lime juice. The first strike against it is that it's unembossed. It's in a common color, smooth-based, and difficult to attribute to a famous glasshouse which might help its value. For example, an unembossed bottle that folks just feel may've been blown at Stoddard, Keene, Coventry, etc. would bring a bit more than just a bottle that could've been blown at most any glasshouse. Also, if your bottle was in an oddball color like cobalt blue or puce, the value would be a bit more, but still nothing to retire on. Either way, for a bottle to be worth a lot, there must be a high demand from at least two collectors that don't have the bottle they want, and have the money to go after it. Hey, I've never found a high-dollar bottle in 40 years of collecting, but I just gotta tell it like it is, good or bad. Hope that I've been of some help to you.

 

[aussie1984]

Thank you yes that was much help
Just 1 more question if you don't mind as you seem to know a lot on bottles...

Would you know how I would describe the pontil on this bottle?

 

[Gaspipe]

Thank you yes that was much help
Just 1 more question if you don't mind as you seem to know a lot on bottles...

Would you know how I would describe the pontil on this bottle?

Your bottle does not have a pontil.

 

[aussie1984]

Ok, what do I call that nipple looking thing in middle?

 

[pepperj]

Ok, what do I call that nipple looking thing in middle?

I've always called it a pontil, then again a purist might call it something else. It's been years since it was a huge passion in our lives and that was the only focus in our young minds. This site will date your bottle and it's a easy thing to do by just reading up on to date a bottle by its pontil, seam, lip, or all of them combined. Bottle Glossary Page

Just looking at your bottle in the picture the base is a smooth pontil, as there is some rippling around the pontil it self. The seam runs up the side to the shoulder were there is another seam that runs around the bottle, the bottle could be a tree pice mold, and finally the seam runs up the neck, I can't tell if goes all the way up to the lip, so it could be an applied neck or just a lip. Now being a 1860's? I'd date it as a later bottle 1880's.

 

[cooper1841]

I respectfully disagree with sandchip. I see a seam around the shoulder, in one picture, and in another picture I see a seam going up from there. This screams 3 piece mold, with an applied top, and would have some value for sure. The bottom I am not sure, def.. not open pontil,........ iron pontil, different for sure. I think closer to 1860 than 1880's. Black glass 3 piece molds, is what I collect

 

[masterjedi]

This is not a Pontil... A true Pontil mark is from the glass maker having to finish the bottles top by holding onto the bottle by the base of the bottle. A glass rod will make an open Pontil when it is broken from the base. A sand Pontil has bit of glass to help with making a clean break. A iron Pontil is larger and wider. Google pics for these examples. This bottle is cool but it post 1860. You can see by the seams that it was blown in a mold and looks like a 3 piece mold from the pics. The value is +/- $12.00 US....
A Pontil is not just a mark or center of a bottles base. It is on a bottle made by a punty rod by the glass blower. Bottles stopped having pontils in approx 1865 when the snap case came on the seen for bottle blowers.
Hope this helps...

 

[pepperj]

I respectfully disagree with sandchip. I see a seam around the shoulder, in one picture, and in another picture I see a seam going up from there. This screams 3 piece mold, with an applied top, and would have some value for sure. The bottom I am not sure, def.. not open pontil,........ iron pontil, different for sure. I think closer to 1860 than 1880's. Black glass 3 piece molds, is what I collect View attachment 1089042

The one reason that I dated it to the 1880's was done on personal digging in British Columbia railroad construction camps. The CPRail was linked in late 1885 the construction camps would date within a pre 5 year period and there would of been some dating after. In digging 5000+ bottles over the years that we did it as a family we only ran into couple of broken bottles that had a rough pontil mark.

The three piece mold is still my first guess also as you stated cooper. Though it's a different looking bottle from what we ever dug out west, not a whiskey. Still one of my best bottles would of been a honey amber, three piece whittle mold whiskey.

 

[cooper1841]

These old so called "utility bottles" are hard to date. Research says the three piece mold went out of favor for bottle making in the 1870's, but these sturdy bottles were used well after that, to store oils, sugar, and a lot of stuff, and are found mixed with much newer bottles, in privy digs. My guess for original contents would be bulk medicine, to be despenced into smaller doses, or chemical of some sort

 

[kenstein]

Interesting and educational thread. I know little about bottles, but a little more now. Thanks everyone.

 

[aussie1984]

Oh ok so ill call it "a blob of glass"?? Yes it is applied lip it has edge inside of neck all way around, Thanks for the help

 

[aussie1984]

Wow cool collection
I am really confused with how to describe this bottle because of the bottom no one can ID, I never thought a bottom would be so hard to describe

 

[cooper1841]

Wow cool collection
I am really confused with how to describe this bottle because of the bottom no one can ID, I never thought a bottom would be so hard to describe

Try this site aussie.....................bottleinfohistoricbottles.com/index.htm there is a tab for base identifacation

 

[Gaspipe]

Ok, what do I call that nipple looking thing in middle?

I would call it a nipple looking thing . But it is not any sort of pontil your bottle dates later as you have been informed. Not to be blunt but while a neat bottle it is in poor shape and common type unembossed medicine bottle dug in turn of the last century dumps here in the US. At a bottle show you'd be lucky to get 5 dollars. Enjoy it because you found it.