Contents
How do I identify old bottles?
Identify the Type of Markings
- Embossed labels or product names often appear on the sides of bottles.
- Maker’s marks often appear on the bottom of the bottle.
- Pontil marks are circular shapes on the bottom of the bottle that indicate that the bottle is made of free-blown glass.
How do you date old glass bottles?
There are three keys to help with dating most bottles: Side seams: None: bottle may be free blown, in which case it has a very uneven shape and dates before 1860. Or the bottle may have a nice even shape, but was spun in the mold to smooth out the seams; a practice common around 1900-1920.
What do numbers on the bottom of glass bottles mean?
Base of the Bottle Markings In most cases, one- or two-digit numbers are actually mold numbers that indicate the specific bottle mold or section in an automatic bottle machine. Base numbers also indicate bottle styles or shapes, manufacturing dates, or factory location codes.
How do I know if my old bottles are valuable?
While not all old bottles are valuable, an older bottle is more likely to be worth more than a newer one. Seams and pontil marks are two of the ways you can determine a bottle’s age. The pontil mark is the mark at the bottom of the bottle where it was attached to the glass blower’s pontil rod.
How can you tell if glass is antique?
Other markings on antique glass pieces that offer clues to its age are: Pontil mark of a blown glass piece and whether it is highly polished or not. Mold marks. Any marks within the glass itself such as bubbles….Antique Glass Markings
- Trademark.
- Logo.
- Symbol.
- Signature.
What is the most valuable Coke bottle?
Recently, a rare Coca-Cola glass bottle from around 1915 was put up for auction with a minimum bid of $50,000. However, the Las Vegas-based auction house Morphy Auctions currently has the bottle valued between $100,000 to $150,000.
How can you tell if a glass bottle is antique?
Check the bottom of the bottle for what is known as a pontil mark. This will be a ring or area of rough glass from where a supporting rod held the bottle during glass blowing and definitively dates the glass as being vintage.
What old bottles are worth the most?
CHECK OUT: 5 Most Valuable Baseball Cards From The 1980s.
- Weiss Beer Blob Top Bottles -$180. Photo: morphyauctions.com.
- Conrad Budweiser Beer Bottles – $300. Photo: morphyauctions.com.
- Lemp’s Large Labeled Beer Bottles – $300. Photo: morphyauctions.com.
- Dr. J.
- National Bridge White Beer Brewery Bottles – $2,700.
What are the most valuable bottles?
Top 10 most expensive empty bottles
- Stag’s Leap Artemis Cabernet Sauvignon 6L – US$280 (£164)
- Michelob Test Foil Beer Can – US$325 (£190)
- Möet et Chandon Champagne 9L – US$400 (£235)
- Patron Silver Tequila 15L – US$425 (£250)
- Courvoisier Cognac 1 Gallon – US$500 (£293)
- Johnnie Walker Red Scotch 4.5L – US$550 (£322)
What are the marks on the bottom of a bottle?
Maker’s marks often appear on the bottom of the bottle. These take the form of numbers, letters, symbols, or names. Pontil marks are circular shapes on the bottom of the bottle that indicate that the bottle is made of free-blown glass. This mark occurs when the pontil or blowing tube is broken off the bottom of the bottle.
What are the numbers on the bottom of a soda bottle?
Many Owens-Illinois Glass Company soda bottles, for a period of time, used “G-numbers” on the bottom (numerals before or after a G), which were codes for a specific bottle shape (design), irrespective of the soda brand name or glass color of the bottle.
How can you tell the age of an antique bottle?
In some cases, antique bottles only contain a numeric sequence. If you can’t find anything except the numbers, it will be very difficult to determine the bottle’s manufacturer and complete the old bottle identification. Bottles that display letters and numbers on their bases were likely made anywhere from the late 19th century to the modern era.
What do the numbers mean on a whiskey bottle?
Sometimes you’ll find two different 2-digit numbers on the same bottle, often separated by a space or a dash. Generally the first two digits refer to the “liquor bottle permit number” and will denote the company and factory that manufactured the bottle; in these cases the latter two digits will usually the year the bottle was made.