Historic Bottle Website - Homepage (2023)

FAQs

How do I identify old bottle markings? ›

Embossed Markings

Typical embossed marks include a maker's mark or letters on the bottle's side or base. You may also see mold lines or machine marks. Missing letters, uneven spacing, or other embossing errors provide clues to a bottle's age.

Most bottle manufacturers molded the year into the glass at the bottom of the bottle in 2-digit format. You'll often find it in the lower right portion when looking at the bottom (some dates are much easier to distinguish than others).

Pontil Marks or Scars

The bases of early (first half of the 19th century) mouth-blown bottles usually have some type of pontil mark or scar. The presence (or absence) of pontil marks or scars and the specific type of mark, can be very useful in the dating of 19th century bottles.

The first glass bottles were produced in Mesopotamia around 1500 B.C., and in the Roman Empire around 1 AD. America's glass bottle and glass jar industry was born in the early 1600s, when settlers in Jamestown built the first glass-melting furnace.

Markings on glassware can help affect their value! Typically, glassware with pontil marks is considered more valuable because they are older and handmade. Scarcity is another factor that will affect the value of your antique glass. Bottles that are rare are going to yield a higher profit due to their low availability.

A pontil mark is a variable size and type of scar or roughage left on the base of a bottle by a pontil rod. A typical pontil rod (aka ponty, punty or punte) was a long (4-6 feet) rod which was securely attached to the base of the just blown hot bottle (Trowbridge 1870).

To Determine Manufacture Date Based on Serial Number: The 1st three numbers of your serial number will always provide your manufacture date. The 1st number is the YEAR of manufacture; the 2nd & 3rd numbers indicate the MONTH of manufacture.

The shape of a milk bottle can tell you about the time period when the bottle was made. For instance, round bottomed bottles with tall sides were made prior to 1930 and most square bottomed bottles with short sides were made after 1940.

First introduced in the 1950s, they were developed to combat the quality-related struggles of the traditional cork. In using aluminum with a polyethylene or tin coating, the screw cap is able to create an extremely tight seal, which prevents unwanted oxidization.

Some of the items that can make a bottle more valuable include original labels, wrappings, boxes or even the original contents of the bottle. Once you have assessed your bottle based on its color, age and accessories, you must consider its condition.

What kind of old bottles are worth money? ›

2 High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)

Widely recyclable.

Solarization of Glass

It is a photochemical phenomenon that is not yet perfectly understood. It is generally accepted that the ultra-violet light initiates an electron exchange between the manganese and iron ions. This changes the manganese compound into a form that causes the glass to turn purple.

Most bottles are found in places that are associated with finding old glass. This includes former trash dumps, old privies (or outhouses), construction sites, and waterfront areas. Any area that served as a dump site for a long period of time is a bottle digger's paradise.

But a century is nothing to the Speyer wine bottle, also known as the Römerwein aus Speyer. Its murky contents have sat undisturbed inside clear glass for 1,693 years. The 1.5 liter bottle has handles shaped like dolphins and was buried in the tomb of a Roman nobleman and noblewoman near today's city of Speyer.

Some of the most collectible types & styles of antique and vintage glassware include Depression Glass, Carnival Glass, Milk Glass, Moonstone, Hobnail Glass, and Jadeite. One of the most popular styles of antique glass was a Hen on Nest, also known as Animal Dishes because of the variety of animals they come in.

Look for pink, blue and green glassware

Pink tends to be the most valuable because it is more rare. Yellow and amber colored depression glass is more common and therefore less valuable.

Hutchinson soda bottles are a unique type of antique bottle that had a wire stopper inside the neck and blob of the bottle. We collectors often refer to them simply as "Hutches". The wire piece that makes up the stopper on the bottle is slightly hourglass shaped.

What do the dots on the bottom of glass bottles mean? ›

What are the small dots on the bottom of a bottle for? The sequence of space and dots represents a mold code number and allow electronic control of the production process and of that particular mold.

Have it Back incorporates nearly all freely available serial numbers. Utilizing this database, you can verify before or after purchasing an item if said object has been marked as missing or stolen.

Generally, the more unique the serial number on your dollar bill, the more likely it is to be worth more than face value. Some examples of uniqueness include repeating numbers, numbers with a star after them and sequences (such as 12345678).

Notes that have serial numbers with digits that ascend or descend are also pretty prized. Called "ladder bills," the most sought-after examples are bills that feature the so-called "perfect" ladder serial numbers: 12345678 and 87654321.

Before you buy or sell a milk bottle, it helps to know how much it's worth. These bottles can range from about $10 to $200 or more, depending on a number of factors.

As you can see, the bases are round, and that's not a manufacturing limitation, but a design decision. These bottles were purposely designed to not be able to stand. The reason is because at the time, bottles were all sealed with corks.

The straight-sided bottles can vary in value from $25 up to around $400, depending on the condition and the uniqueness. Amber-colored bottles, sold widely in the South and Midwest, tend to be more valuable than the clear or light green or flint straight-sided bottles that were more common in other parts of the country.

Dating Summary/Notes: The blob-top style soda/mineral water bottles appear to have originated in the early 1840s and were quite popular by 1850 (Markota 1994).

It was the industry standard until 1955, when it was replaced by the plastic stopper. In 1956, 20 bottles of vintage 1789 wine were found with corks in them, most notably the corks were in fine condition and the wine well-preserved.

A 150-year-old blue Cassin's Grape Brandy Bitters bottle, so rare that for years many doubted its existence, has sold for a staggering $155,000.

What does the 10 cents mean on bottles? ›

That symbol means the container is eligible to be recycled for cash. What you get: 5¢ for most glass bottles, plastic bottles, and aluminum cans less than 24 ounces. 10¢ for equal to 24 ounces and larger.

Rinse the bottle with room temperature water. Use a bottle brush to clean the inside. For many old bottles this will remove the dirt and grime that has built up over the years.

Methuselahs are 6 Litres of Champagne and are equal to 8 Standard Champagne Bottles. Large bottles of Champagne are named after Biblical figures and the Methuselah is named after the celebrated biblical patriarch said to have lived to the age of 969 (Genesis 5.27).

Methuselah: 6 Liters (8 bottles)

Similar to Imperials, Methuselah also contains 6 liters or 8 equivalent bottles of wine. The difference between the two is the liquid they contain. The Methuselah is usually reserved for champagne or sparkling wine and comes in a sloped shoulder bottle.

The answer is no.

#7 – Other (BPA, Polycarbonate and LEXAN)

Number 7 plastics are used to make baby bottles, sippy cups, water cooler bottles and car parts. BPA is found in polycarbonate plastic food containers often marked on the bottom with the letters “PC” by the recycling label #7.

Most of the bottles with the “AB-connected” or “conjoined AB” mark embossed on the bottom are handmade (mouth-blown) and were made to contain beer. They date from the circa 1905-1917 time period, and (possibly) primarily from an earlier stretch within those years: c.

Miscellaneous Plastics

Any plastic that does not fall under one of those six types has a 7 inside the triangle. These plastics include nylon and polycarbonate and are found in certain food containers, signs and displays, computers and electronic devices, DVDs, sunglasses, and bulletproof materials.

NOTE: Glass containing enough manganese may NATURALLY turn some shade of very light to medium purple after several years of exposure to the rays of the sun. This was frequently termed “SCA” (sun colored amethyst) or “desert glass” by bottle collectors especially in the 1960s and 1970s.

All you need to do is pour a generous amount of salt into your bottle and then add a bit of warm water until it creates a good consistency. Next, cover the opening of the bottle and shake it well! The salt acts as an abrasive to help scrape off dirt and debris!

Why do you keep hydrogen peroxide in dark brown bottles? ›

Hydrogen peroxide is highly reactive that can react with light or heat to produce water. To prevent it's reaction with light and heat to make water it is stored in coloured bottles so that light doesn't pass through it.

ANTIQUE bottle digging is something of a tricky issue to deal with because it is, well, kind of illegal. A secretive community of bottle diggers can create huge trenches to recover an array of glass bottles as well as other household items dating back to the Victorian period.

The Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors (FOHBC) is a nonprofit organization that supports people who collect antique bottles and items related to them, such as flasks and jars. The Antique Bottle Depot buys and sells antique bottles.

The best wines can be stored for more than 100 years, but most great wines will reach their peak before they turn 50 years old.

But the clock is ticking: in as little as two days, oxidation can spoil a wine and, soon enough, this process will turn it to vinegar. First, the fruity aromas disappear, then its flavors turn dull and flat, with a sharp or bitter edge, and the color changes.

How Long Does Wine Typically Last? When stored properly and kept unopened, white wines can often outlive their recommended drinking window by 1-2 years, red wines by 2-3 years, and cooking wines by 3-5 years. Fine wine — as you may have guessed — can typically be consumed for decades.

The shape of a milk bottle can tell you about the time period when the bottle was made. For instance, round bottomed bottles with tall sides were made prior to 1930 and most square bottomed bottles with short sides were made after 1940.

Look out for the year the wine was produced on the wine label – this is called the 'vintage'. If it's not immediately clear on the front label, take a look on the neck of the bottle or on the reverse side. This year indicates the year in which the grapes were harvested. Vintages vary from year to year.

First introduced in the 1950s, they were developed to combat the quality-related struggles of the traditional cork. In using aluminum with a polyethylene or tin coating, the screw cap is able to create an extremely tight seal, which prevents unwanted oxidization.

In this format, the first number is the glassmaker's permit to make liquor bottles, and the second number is the year the bottle was made.

What is the 75 85 95 wine rule? ›

The 75-85-95% Rule for Wine Labels

To place a particular varietal (ex: Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay) on a label, 75% of the grapes must be that varietal. To place a particular AVA (American Viticultural Area) on the label (ex: Coombsville or Russian River Valley), 85% of the grapes must be grown in that region.

It is as it says, a 'non-vintage' so not made from a singular year (vintage champagne) but instead is a blend several years of reserve wines (either in tank or barrel, some use a Solera system) to create a consistency that the consumer can identify with a certain style of the house.

The world's oldest wine label belongs to Cyprus. Commandaria, also known as Commanderia and Coumadarka, is a sweet tasting wine usually served with desserts. It is made in the Commandaria region of Cyprus close to Trodos mountains. The ingredients of Commandaria is the varieties of Xynisteri and Mavro grapes.

As you can see, the bases are round, and that's not a manufacturing limitation, but a design decision. These bottles were purposely designed to not be able to stand. The reason is because at the time, bottles were all sealed with corks.

- The dimple allows the bottle to stand upright. Glassblowers used to create dimples to push the seam of a bottle up, allowing the bottle to stand upright while preventing glass at the bottom of the bottle from sticking out and cutting people.

The "1" inside a triangle indicates PETE or PET, which is Polyethylene Terephthalate. This material is commonly used in soft drinks, beer, and water bottles. It's also found in ovenable food trays, salad dressing and vegetable oil containers, and mouthwash bottles.

1: PET or PETE (Polyethylene terephthalate)

There's a good chance you've held something made of this plastic type today. PET or PETE is what's used to make bottles for soda, water and other drinks. It's also used to make cooking oil containers, plastic peanut butter jars and containers for other popular food items.