NUMBERS ON THE BOTTOMS OF GLASS BOTTLES. I frequently receive inquiries about the interpretation of various numbers seen on the bases of glass bottles. Collectors and others are interested in understanding what the number markings on the bottoms of glass containers mean. Unfortunately, there is no “one answer fits all” to this question!!
(NOTE: the article on this page is pertaining to GLASS containers, and does not apply to the subject of modern / recent PLASTIC containers, which is an entirely separate field of study, and is discussed on many other websites. The number (within a triangle with rounded corners) found on the bottom of plastic bottles is a code indicating the type of plastic the bottle is made from, and pertains to the subject of recycling) .
Always look very closely over the entire glass bottle or other container to see if there is a logo (emblem, trademark, initials, or just a letter) visible that might be a mark that identifies the actual glass manufacturer. Often, a trademark or other marking is embossed on the very bottom of the bottle, or along the lower “heel” of the bottle.
On many bottles, there is no such mark, with only a number or numbers to be seen. In these cases, the general style, shape, glass color and other characteristics may help narrow down the possible age range of a particular specimen.
A large percentage of bottles are marked with only a number, or numbers, on the base (or the heel), and the truth is that, in many cases, it is very difficult, if not impossible to assign a specific glass manufacturer to a bottle if there is no other information embossed in the glass.
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In the majority of cases, single or double-digit numbers are mold numbers, that served to identify a particular mold (or section/mold cavity in an automatic bottle manufacturing machine) that was used to form the bottle, jar or other glass item. If a number of identical bottle molds are being used simultaneously, each mold would be assigned a number. If problems occured with the finished product, it could easily be ascertained which mold or mold section is at fault.
Many, many types of commonly-seen glass products have been marked with these types of mold numbers on the base, including bottles, fruit jars, jugs, flasks, candle holders, candlesticks, ashtrays, canisters, dishes, mugs, sugar bowls, salt and pepper shakers, sugar shakers, syrup pitchers, tumblers, tea glasses, punch cups, etc.
Numbers also serve other purposes, depending on the exact item or container and/or company being discussed. Some numbers are “year/date of manufacture” codes. Some numbers (for instance, 3- or 4-digit numbers on the base of many British bottles) are catalog, inventory, style or design numbers assigned to a particular bottle shape. (Hazel Atlas Glass Company, Anchor Hocking Glass Corporation, Knox Glass Bottle Company and other bottle manufacturers made a wide variety of glass containers with those types of numbers on the base, sometimes a letter/number combination.)
Those numbers would serve to identify a particular bottle style in communications/orders between the glass manufacturer and their customers ……. that is, the companies that ordered the bottles to package its products. Some numbers were factory location codes. (See my page on Owens-Illinois Glass Company, that used, and uses, location codes on many of their bottles).
Many Ball fruit jars (and other brands) carry mold numbers on the base, such as the underlined “2” illustrated here. They identified the particular mold (or “mold cavity” on the jar-making machine). For more information, see my web page on the Ball Perfect Mason jars.
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.
Large numbers of American-made whiskey and other spirits bottles (dating between 1935 and the 1970s or later) carry a “Liquor Bottle Permit Number” on the base along with a glass manufacturer trademark and a date code. For more information please check out my page here with a list of those liquor bottle permit numbers: Glass Industry Liquor Bottle Permit Numbers .
Here’s my page about the “FEDERAL LAW FORBIDS SALE OR REUSE OF THIS BOTTLE” marking seen on liquor bottles.
Many liquor bottles are seen with “D-numbers” on the bottom which are distillery identification codes. Someone has put together a list of various distiller code numbers and R-numbers (Rectifier numbers) seen on a wide variety of liquor bottles, with some info on attribution. Here is a link to that page, which is a .pdf file: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/51379b83e4b02119d184b2a2/t/584a336ee4fcb59adb85c48b/1481257838281/User+Permit+numbers.pdf
Date codes are often seen, especially on soda bottles from the 1930s to date, and many of these codes are embossed on the base of the bottle, placed to the right of the glassmaker’s logo. This is true on the products of some manufacturers, but not all.
Most modern glass bottles carry date codes, which are often on the heel of the bottle. These date codes are not always obvious, or easy to distinguish from mold numbers. It also depends on exactly which glass company produced the container, as all firms did not / do not use the same system of markings.
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DOTS or BUMPS around the lower heel of bottles.
In many cases (especially within the last couple of decades), mold data information is now preserved through the use of small embossed “dots”, “bumps” or raised periods arranged horizontally around the lower heel of the container. More information on this invention (which is rather involved!) and how it works can be found by doing an internet search (Google, Bing, Yahoo or other search engine), using the keyword search terms “EP 0256804 B1 ” , “code reader”, and “Emhart”.
Here are a few photos showing typical bottle bases with numbers on the bottoms. There are numerous ways in which the base of a bottle might be marked, but here are some of the more commonly seen “layouts” of the modern era. I plan on adding more photos of typical bottle bases on this page as time allows. You can also see several relatively modern bottle bases on my pages about Owens-Illinois Glass Company and Brockway Glass Company.
NOTE: Please click here to go to the alphabetical list of Glass Bottle Marks , this link points to “page one”. If there is an identifiable mark on the bottom of a bottle, the mark might be listed there. These pages list many commonly seen glass makers’ marks such as “B inside a circle”, “Diamond and oval with an I”, “I inside a diamond”, “O in a square”, as well as initials such as “S B & G CO”, “R & CO”, “A B CO”, “F C G CO”, “I G CO” and many others.
Please click here to go to my website HOME (Welcome) page.
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Hello David – Thank you for this amazing resource. I found a bottle bottom yesterday while walking along the Delaware Bay Beach and I cant seem to identify it. It is clear glass, fairly well tumbled, and has a large (fills almost the entire bottom) “s” or stylized “5” (though I believe it to be the former given the identical top and bottom of the figure). The bottle bottom is about 3.5 inches in diameter. The “S” is an outlined S that recalls a varsity letter in style. Many thanks in advance for any insight.
Xenia, you are welcome to send me a clear photo of the bottle base although I can’t guarantee I can offer any insight. There were many different soda bottles from around the US, especially in the 1910s-1950s period, produced that were marked with just a letter (an initial) on the base that stood for a particular bottling company. My email address is listed at the bottom right hand corner of any page on this site.
David
Trying to find out info on a found bottle. Has the number 35 and York dairy Brooklyn on it. Can not find any info.
While seaglassing the other day, I found a gorgeous small cobalt bottle bottom with just a 3 on it. there is some small writing on side but cannot make it out. I seem to find a lot of bromo fragments, perhaps it’s one of those? love your site, it’s an invaluable resource for us seaglassers!
Hi Victoria,
It may be a Bromo-Seltzer base, as mold numbers (one or two digits) were marked on the bottoms of a lot of those bottles. I’m assuming it is round? If you wish, you can email me a pic of the bottom to my address which is listed at the bottom right of any page on this site. Some of the later machine-made Bromo bottles have “BROMO-SELTZER – EMERSON DRUG CO.”embossed in capital letters, placed around the “heel” of the bottle immediately above the base.
Best regards,
David
I have been collecting sea glass for a while and finding a piece with writing is great, but finding a piece with enough writing to try to locate is even better. I found a rectangle clear bottle bottom that has the markings “R-105 A (with a circle around it) then 12” across the center of the bottle bottom. underneath all that is a “69” It appears from your site this belongs to Armstrong Corp Company in Pittsburgh (Found in southern CT/LI sound) is there a way to narrow it down further with age? I browsed info on Armstrong which has been made into loft apartments in 2007 from what I can see.
Hi Dawn,
The marking “R-105” is known as a “Rectifier Number” and shows the bottle was a liquor bottle of some sort. For a long period of time glass manufacturers who made liquor bottles were required to mark their bottle bottoms with “Distiller numbers” (starting with a D) or Rectifier numbers (starting with an R). The “A in a circle” does identify the bottle to be a product of Armstrong Cork Company, but this was long after they had moved their headquarters out of Pittsburgh in 1929. They moved their business offices to Lancaster, PA, and in 1938 Armstrong expanded their product line to include glass containers by purchasing the Whitall-Tatum Company (Millville, NJ) and the Hart Glass Manufacturing Company (Dunkirk, Indiana). (Their glass was not actually made at Lancaster, PA).
Your bottle base has a “69” which is almost certainly a date code for 1969, which is the year that Kerr Glass Company bought the glass plants owned by Armstrong. I would assume your bottle was made at the Millville, NJ plant location. “12” is probably a mold number.
Please check out my page on Whitall-Tatum. Also, please check out this webpage on the sha.org site about Armstrong, which covers a lot of details on that company:
https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/ArmstrongCork.pdf
Hope this helps!
David
My husband found a small brown bottle while excavating in Black Hawk, Colorado. It had a sideways diamond with the number 5 underneath it. Any idea of a background in it? Thank you!
Alyssa, please check out my page on the Illinois Glass Company (they used the “I in a diamond” mark).
Best regards, David
I have a clear mason jar says Atlas E-Z Seal on the front and on the bottom it has a 6 with a line above it an H over an A mark and a single A but beside the a there is a dot with a minus sign below it any information would be appreciated of age or what it was used for thanks
Hi Justin,
The ATLAS E-Z SEAL jars were made in very large quantities for a long period of time by Atlas Glass Company and Hazel-Atlas Glass Company (see my page on the latter firm). They were possibly produced as early as the late 1890s, in shades of aqua, light green, light blue, cornflower blue and other colors. The clear versions came later, perhaps after the mid-1930s. Any ATLAS EZ-SEAL jar with the “H over an A” mark (that stands for Hazel-Atlas) on the bottom were made after 1923. There is probably no way to be sure what year your jar was made, but I would guess it was made sometime between around 1935 and 1964.
David
We purchased a farm where the home was built in 1853. A little over 20 years ago, I discovered a dump with a lot of bottles in it. I found a round green bottle about 1-1/4 inch diameter, 2-3 inches tall and the markings on the bottom are (the best way I can describe them) set in a North, East, South and West pattern. There is no mark at North. 6 is at East; 5 is South, and 3 is West. In the center, not touching any numerals, is an O with an elongated ring around it, sort of like a planet with a ring. Do you have any ideas who made this and its age? Thank you for your help. I also found a cobalt blue bottle saying Bromo Seltzer Emerson Drug Co Baltimore, MD which appears to be machine blown. Again, thank you.
Susan, the “O with elongated ring” is one of the marks used by Owens-Illinois Glass Company. Please see my page on that firm, as well as my page on the Bromo Seltzer bottles which were made for several decades, in a good number of variations.
Best regards,
David
Thank you, David.
For many years I’ve had this old glass water bottle that was my Grandfather’s. Have never been able to trace back when and where it originated from? It looks exactly like the plastic water jugs we put on a water dispenser in your kitchens, but this one is glass, and weighs a ton. Only markings are on the bottom, it has: 623 4-5. It’s a clear bluish?? in color. Would appreciate knowing the history to pass on. Thanks Sherry
Hi Sherry,
It sounds like an old 5-gallon water bottle. Some of those types of glass bottles were used to contain liquid chemicals (such as acids), wine, as well as water or other liquids. Very large bottles were/are called “carboys” or “demijohns” by the factories. The glass color is probably what most bottle collectors would call “aqua” (light blueish-green) or blue-aqua. If there is not a glass maker’s logo or initials on the bottom, it is very difficult to be sure who made it or how old it is. The numbers are probably inventory/mold numbers assigned by the glass maker to that bottle style.
Best regards,
David
Hi there! I am new to learning about bottle identifying and I have weird one here. I am a supervisor for a general contracting company and while digging a foundation we unearthed plenty of older bottles. I have an old lighter green bottle with what looks like a Roman numerical 2 (II) on it. The bottom of the glass looks very uneven. Found with the bottle was a “Full Measure Levinson’s ‘our name our guarantee’ Seattle Wash” brown bulged neck bottle, a “Chas H Fletcher’s ‘castoria'” medicine bottle and a small 2-3 ounce cylindrical bottle with the paper label almost completely worn off. Any help would be great fun. Thank you!
Andrew, thanks for your post. Please check out my page on the Chas H Fletcher bottles. Huge numbers of them were made over many years; in fact the Fletcher’s Castoria bottles are one of the most common types of bottles (especially from the circa 1890-1930 period) found in trash dumps, privy holes, and construction sites by antique bottle diggers. Concerning the other bottles, you might try searching google with keywords such as “Full Measure” Levinson’s, bottle, and other keywords. Bottles with only numbers on the base will be difficult to identify.
Best regards,
David
Hi. Partially buried next to a tree in a cemetery, I found a short wide-mouthed jar with text on bottom “NO 62 PAT IN US DEC 22 1903” and “U 3” on heel. Any insight much appreciated.
Mike, I think it is PROBABLY an early jelly glass. The design was patented Dec 22 1903. You might try searching GOOGLE PATENTS with the patent date and the word “jar”.
David
It’s actually a catch glass for an Arcade 1902 wall mount coffee grinder
Hi Deanna, could you please give some references for this? I’m an archaeologist at Stanford University, and I’m working on fragments of glass from an excavation. I have the bottom of a glass object with these patent dates, No. 71, and M 15 on it. I’d really like more information!
I have a square qt. fruit jar that has a diamond pattern all around, front side has a clear circular space, probably for the label. Bottom has the numbers 1631, and single number 5.. Also a small embossed symbol of a jar, shaped wider at the top. Is it possible to estimate the age of this jar and the maker? Another qt. jar has square embossed pattern, no other marks. Maker & age? Thanks.
Agnes,
Search the internet with the terms “Diamond mesh”, “crosshatch pattern”, “hoosier jar”, and “waffle pattern”. Those types of fruit jars were made, for the most part, during the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s, by many glass companies. I have more info buried somewhere on my site about these jars (answering other questions of the same nature) but I don’t know exactly what page it is on.
David
Thanks for your suggestions.
Hi David, I have a bottle that is just short of 6 inches. I found it in the woods among other bottles…it has 7 circles around the number 37 which is in the middle. Any idea?
Ben, it sounds like a non-returnable soda bottle from the 1970s-1990s. Many of them have concentric circles on the bottom with a mold number in the center. The mold number just identified the exact mold the bottle was made in. Many of those bottles also have date codes or manufacturing plant logos on the “heel” , but in very faint lettering.
David
Can you please tell me what “C900” would signify on the heel of an EO Brody vase? I have several from this company, and all I have determined is that after 1995 the EO was dropped so I’m sure these are prior to that year.
Lana,
The “C900” is probably the catalog or stock number assigned to that particular vase style. I would assume it was made sometime in the 1960s-1980s, but it is hard to say with certainty. Please check my webpage on E.O. Brody.
Best regards,
David
I have a glass bottle that has “central bottling & distribution co.” along the bottom lip of the bottle.
It also has “conts. 6 1/2 ozs.” under what looks like a cursive capital G inside of a outlined shield.
The same cursive capital G is also on the bottom of the bottle.
the bottle measures 8 1/2 ” tall.
Please help
Thanks
Hello I found a small amber/brown bottle with two circle humps on the back, and the markings on the bottom say 8 to the left and flag symbol with a capital P in the middle of the triangular flag, and also U.S.A
Christy, I’ve seen this “P in a flag” before but don’t have info on the maker. I’m guessing it may stand for a pharmaceutical company, but I may be mistaken. Perhaps a reader will know.
David
I have a glass decanter and wine glasses set that I bought. It’s a smokey white glass with drop color art. There are three types of stamps on this set. On the bottle there is a 4 and Italy and on the cups there are France stamps. I’ve tried several times over the years to find something about this set. Any help you be greatly appreciated.
Hi Danielle, I’m sorry, but I don’t know anything about your set.
Best regards,
David
I have a bottle from Bosch Houghton, Michigan that looks like a wine bottle with c5 xxx I think and the circle with the diamond in the middle with an I in it, 6 on one side and 6 on the other and a 1 below it. Found it buried and really wanna know what year it’s from.
Hi Melissa,
All I can pass along is that your bottle was made by Owens-Illinois Glass Company, at their Charleston, WV plant (plant code number “6” to the left of the logo), and the year date code “6” (to the right of the logo) stands for either 1936 or 1946. I would guess 1936, but I can’t guarantee that to be correct. Please see my page on Owens-Illinois.
~David
Hi! I’m from Philippines. Just this morning my father found a brown bottle about 18cm in height. I’m not sure about its base logo, it reads like SAA. And above that logo there is a code (713 s). I tried to google the code but i can’t find any answers. Can you help me identify the bottle and where it is made? Thank you
Hi Neptali,
I’m sorry but I don’t know anything about your bottle. I’m guessing it may be from a glassmaker from somewhere in Asia, but that “covers a lot of ground”, as there are many glass bottle manufacturers in China and elsewhere. I haven’t searched through the Emhart punt mark database. Perhaps you could try that. That webpage lists a lot of bottle marks from around the world. However, there are MANY obscure bottle-making firms throughout Asia that are not listed on that site.
David
Hey David I found a clear liquor bottle date on bottom 1876 . it has a gold cap with the letters ND. And in the middle of bottle on the bottom with DAT it has a letter B with circle and few more letters. On side of bottle it says federal law forbids sale or re- use of this bottle. Its a squad long neck bottle. Can u tell me anything about this bottle. If so email me at jeffnandrea15@gmail.com thank u
Jeffrey, all I can be sure of is that the bottle was made by Brockway Glass Company (B in a circle). the “1876” is probably a number assigned to that particular style of bottle, i.e. an inventory, stock or catalog number. (Definitely not a date).
David
Hi my name is brandan. I found twenty six small glass bottles within 4 sq feet in the woods near my house. They are all the same shape and size. They all have an f on the bottom and a 3 digit code. could you tell me anything you might now about them.
Brandan, they were probably made by Fairmount Glass Company, at their factory site located in Indianapolis. See my page on that company.
~David
Hello, I just found a small (3 to 4 inches tall) amber or brown bottle. It has what appears to be a metal lid with red rubber center. On the bottom is this: a #7 – then a diamond and oval – then the #8. Beneath that is the number 1845. The base is covered with a circular pattern of bumps. Can you help me with this ? – Elizabeth
Thanks
Elizabeth, I’ve discussed this elsewhere on my site, in reply to other comments/queries about the “1845” bottles, but, sorry, I don’t know what page(s) it appears on. The “1845” is an inventory/design number assigned to that particular style bottle (a “generic” amber cylindrical type, made in several sizes, usually used for liquid chemical products or medicines). They seem to be found quite often so I assume huge quantities were made over several years. I think all these bottles are products of Owens-Illinois Glass Company. In your case, the “7” is a plant code for O-I’s glass factory at Alton, Illinois, and the “8” is a date code for 1938 or 1948. You can find similar “1845” amber bottles by searching ebay with the keywords “amber”, “1845” and “bottle”. Hope this helps,
David
Hello!! Your page is so awesome! Almost anything is on here. I’m very curious to know if there are bottles you are still in search of or must have? I live in Washington Pa, and literally with in walking distance of the Hazel Atlas Co Plant 2. It’s been abandoned now forever. My twin and I have been combing the area and finding all kinds of bottles. We’ve also found huge chunks of colored glass, which had to be their dumping place, from the Hazel Plant. I can keep an eye out for any bottles on your collection. I’m just a fan of this page! You Rock!! Thanks Christy
Hi Christy,
Thank you very much for the nice words about my site. Sounds like you are lucky to live so close to an old glassmaking plant. Although I have tried to write articles about many kinds of glass and glassware for posting on the site, my main interest is the history behind the factories and I usually don’t actively search for most of the bottles and other glass that is discussed……..I have too much already and am strapped for room! Currently my main interests in glass collecting are 1880s-era mugs made by Atterbury (see my webpage on Atterbury Glass) and bottles actually made in Louisville KY by several factories there in the late 1800s. Thanks a lot!
~David
David and bottle owner, we found amber bottles maybe pint size in the dunes on New Jersey Shore years ago that were supposedly cod-liver oil. Without a picture that’s the only lead. The site was near a late 19th c seahore “Reeds Hotel” on what’s now Island Beach State Park
There have been many kinds of cod liver oil bottles made over the years. Many of them are of amber glass and often they have some type of fish graphic (raised embossing) on the sides. Of course many bottles that once contained Cod liver oil just had a paper label, and in those cases if the label is missing there is no way to be sure what was originally in the bottle.
David
David, I have two amber colored bottles in the shape of a fish that I believe were manufactured by Canton Glass in Marion, Indiana. The number on the bottom is 233. Any ideas?
Gaile, I’m not sure. But why do you think they were made by Canton?
David
hI Dave, I have an old brown or amber colored bottle about 10 to 12 ” tall. it has the letters and numbers on bottom all seprated by 3 lines A -L-79-25, I said it was an old syarpe bottle madein 1979, my son-in law says no made in the 1800’s or early 1900. any help would be helpful andwina bet!!
Thanks
Cissy
Cissy, I can (almost) guarantee from your description that the bottle was made sometime in the 1950s-1970s. You don’t mention a glass manufacturer logo which might give better info on date range. If you wish, email me a photo of the bottle (and the base markings) to the address on lower bottom right of any page on this site. No bottles from the late 1800s or early 1900s have numbering or lettering on the bottom like you describe. It certainly sounds like it is a modern, machine-made product.
David
I pulled what looks like the bottom of an bottle out of the Chesapeake, just wanted to know what it was and my Google searches have come up with nothing. has the numbers 39008 and a box across the top then to the right a 55 in a box to the left at 3 in a box and then an m in a Hexagon- all I could gather from the Internet is that the bottle was made in Maryland due to the m. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Jen it sounds like a container made by Metro Glass in 1955. I think the “55” is a date code and the “3” is a mold number. The “39008” is a catalog number assigned to that bottle style. Those are my guesses…….no guarantee that is accurate! 🙂
David
I picked up the bottom of a bottle on a beach near Marco Island, FL. It has Liquor Bottle and the numbers 69 and 23 either side of a logo which I can’t quite make out. Then underneath it has 1807 (I’d love to know if this was the year). Its about 3 inches wide and clear glass. Would love to know anything about it.
[Instagram URL originally posted here no longer works – link to photo removed 11/18/2022]
Hi Rob,
Thank you for the link. The base is from a bottle manufactured by Foster-Forbes. The weird logo is supposed to be an “FF in a circle” and please check out my entry for that mark in my alphabetical lists of glass marks. The “69”, in this case is a Liquor Bottle Permit Number assigned to Foster-Forbes Glass Company. (Search on google with “liquor bottle permit numbers” to see a page with a list of numbers associated with various glass bottle companies).
The “23” doesn’t seem to make sense, but it may have been intended as a “73” (date code for 1973). Often the markings on bottle bases are not clearly embossed, especially when the mold engraver was in a hurry or did not carefully engrave the number into the bottle mold. Since Foster-Forbes wasn’t in business in 1923 it could not stand for 1923.
The “1807” is a number assigned to that particular bottle style or design. No, the 1807 doesn’t have anything to do with a date. Btw, just for some trivia, relatively few glass bottles have survived intact from that early time period (most are now in museums or “upscale” antique bottle collections) but in any case utilitarian bottles made in the early 1800s were hand-blown, and tend to be crudely made and most of them are found in shades of dark olive green, olive amber, blackglass or aqua. Virtually none of that era are known in clear glass (except for some upscale flint glass decanters or “steamboat glass” which is another category entirely). Hope this helps,
David
Hi David, Thank you so much for your extensive, comprehensive and very informative reply. So interesting to know the history and I like what I’ve found purely for it’s look. You certainly know your stuff and I know where to come back to for any future finds. Thanks for taking your time to respond.
Rob
Thank you Rob!
~David
HI I found a glass bottle in upstate NY that appears to have the words “Jo-CUY” inside of a pine tree embossed on the front. On the bottom it reads made in the USA and a B and a 6 on opposite sides. I was thinking it can’t be that old because it is clear and is labeled made in the USA, which I don’t think that label was too important until we started to outsource our goods to China.
Hi, I have found a few old bottles and can’t seem to find any info. Maybe you can help. All of them have numbers on the bottom.One is a brown bottle, about 6 inches tall, with 28 on the bottom over a W that’s inside a circle….. One is smaller, around 4 inches, with a W inside a circle over 92…. And the last one is a clear bottle, about 6-8 inches tall, with 12. A 1 inside a circle, and and 82 over the number 15. Thanks for any info!!
Hi “WalkbyFaith79”,
The bottles with “W in a circle” were made by T.C. Wheaton Company, Millville, NJ, as I have explained in my alphabetical mark listings on this site. They are probably medicinal vials or “serum bottles”. Not sure about the clear bottle although it might be from Armstrong Cork Company of Millville, NJ. The “82” might be a date code for 1982 but honestly I am not sure about that.
David
Hello there, my wife found a brown bottle in the ground while camping in the Sawtooth Mountains near Stanley, Idaho. It is approximately 6 inches tall. The markings on the bottom are as follows : all marking are on the bottom of the bottle.
NW on top (connected together)
523 on the left
56 on the right
12 on the bottom.
Again, all of those numbers are on the bottom of the bottle. I have matched the symbol to the Northwestern Glass Co. out of Seattle. It would be interesting to know the year and what was in it. I tried to research but had no luck.
Hank, I don’t have specific information on Northwestern Glass Company bottle mold codes / configurations, but I would assume the “56” is almost certainly a date code for the year 1956. “523” is probably a style number assigned to that mold.
~David
I have an 8″ high brown bottle with rounded edges at the top. It has raised grapes on the front of the bottle. On the back at the top it says 4/5 (some grapes) then PINT. On the bottom it says WINE then under that there is a 72 on the left an N in a square then a 7 on the right. Under the N in the square there is a 4. Can you tell me anything about this bottle?
Toni,
From your information, evidently the bottle is a pint-size wine bottle made in 1972 by Obear-Nester Glass Company of East St. Louis, IL. Please check out my webpage on that glass company. The “72” is almost certainly a date code. The “4” is probably a mold identifier number.
Best regards,
David
I’ve got a bottle with a few imperfections and very little labeling I’m trying to figure what kind of bottle it is the only markings on it are i. P. C. Co .125 3 it’s got a thick bottom with a little more glass to one side and a few air bubbles halfway up the bottle it’s clear glass can anyone help
Stormy, please check out my entry for I.P.G.Co in the alphabetical-arranged glass mark listings.
David
Hey, i have found a triangular norwich bottle, it has norwich embossed on all 3 sides of the bottle, its is a see through clear glass, the lid is also a screw on. Naturally i assumed it is a old pepto-bismol bottle, but everyone says that those have a P mark on the bottom. On the bottom of mine there is a circled B in the center, above that is the number 1037 and under the B it has a 4 with a dot after it. I cant seem to find anything on it, any ideas? Thanks.
Grace, You can be sure that your bottle was made by Brockway Glass Company (B in a circle logo). The “1037” would be a style number assigned to that bottle design. I would not agree with the statement that “All” Pepto-Bismol bottles would be made by one glass manufacturer, such as Pierce. I haven’t researched those bottles and don’t know who all made them, but it was (and is) very common for popular products to be sold in bottles made by a number of different glass companies if the product was sold for any length of time. Pierce was only one among many bottle manufacturers, and it would stand to reason that other Norwich / Pepto-Bismol bottles with other glass company logos will be found sooner or later.
Hope this helps,
David
Hi there, David! First off, thank you for maintaining and being awesome with this website!
Second, I found this today…. the bottom of a bottle. It is about 4 or 4.5 inches in diameter …. and it has a large number 4 on it. Here is a photo of it:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGKQeRgxNdU/
Any idea as to who, what, when or where it is from?!
I live on the Jersey Shore, which might help (or not)
Thank you!
Hi Erin,
Thanks for the kind words about my site, and for the link to your photo. I am not familiar with that particular marking. Sorry I have no info!
~David
Hello, I have a small jars from nutella and another from honey producer company. On nutella jar there is no code at all. And in the other honey jar written ’30’ (underlined), a symbol of jar/like an inverted omega, and ’27.’ . My question is, can I reuse the jar to make “cake in a jar”, so that I will put the jar into the oven to make the cake. What is the maximum temperature allowed for both if jars? Thank you
Mayra,
You should NEVER use any ordinary glass jars such as the ones you describe to bake or heat products in an oven. Usually they are made of ordinary soda-lime glass (“bottle glass”) that can easily be shattered by very intense heat or sudden temperature changes. We should only use glass approved for oven use, such as the “Pyrex” or similar “heat resistant” or “ovenware” brands which have a stronger glass formula made specifically for that application. Hope this helps!
~David
I found a bottle like the second one from the left in your cover picture I can tell it has 1/2 and the number 51 on the bottom and some other markings I cant make out what is it.
Hi Michell,
I wrote to you twice by email with no response. (My emails probably landed in your “spam” or “trash” folders.) Since I have several different pictures that rotate and appear at random along the top of the website, I assume you are speaking of the small squarish emerald green medicine bottle. That is a common type of “generic” medicine bottle made by Owens-Illinois Glass Company. I don’t know the exact time period but it seems it was made in quantity over many years, probably 1930s-1960s and maybe later. They are typical containers for medicinal products such as iodine or merthiolate (for minor burns, cuts and bruises). It may have been used for other types of liquid medicines as well; not really sure on that! Hope this helps!
David
I am having some challenges locating the manufacturer of a bottle, that has the numbers/letters reading: “ZSM 10 33 DD” on the heel.
If anyone has any sense or knows the origin that would be super appreciated!
Many thanks!!
I have a decanter that I have been able to identify from a near duplicate offered on Ebay. It is an Old Mr. Boston whiskey decanter, and the heel markings read “Old Mr. Boston Fine Liquours” in a circle; then inside the circular text it reads: BRAND PAT. APP FOR I D 1 12 A 51 (with a circle around the A). The decanter offered on Ebay reads the same except the number after the encircled A is 50 rather than 51. Does this mean my bottle was manufactured in 1951?
Hi Nina,
Yes, your decanter was made in 1951, by Armstrong Cork Company (their Glass Division). They used the “A in a circle” mark for many years…..circa 1938-1969. This shows the decanter mold was re-tooled slightly for the year 1951 and so was used for at least that period of time (1950-1951), and possibly much longer. (The “0” engraving in the metal bottle mold was filled in, and then a new digit was engraved in the same spot). Ebay can be a great tool for researching bottles, merely by studying other pieces put up for sale by sellers. Even though oftentimes the sellers are not sure what they have, comparing posted photos of the markings on various glass bottles and other items can be a very useful learning tool. Best regards,
David
Thank you!
I have a bottle of green liquid. It has a white, rusty cap and has two lowercase cursive ‘f’s in a circle on the bottom. To the left of the two ‘f’s is ‘3’, and to the right is ‘186’. It was found on a property that was first built on in 1947, but has remained uninhabited since 1980. Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks.
Hi Drew,
The only information I can give you offhand is that the bottle was made by Foster-Forbes Glass Company. The “186” would be a number assigned to the particular bottle mold, or the bottle design or catalog/style number. Please see my “FF” entry in the alphabetical listings of glass manufacturer markings on this site.
~David
I found a brown, hour glass shaped bottle with a rusty metal screw on cap. The only markings are on the bottom. S at the top 15 below and to the left of the S, 69 below and to the right of the S. Straight across from the S is the number 4. Between the S and 4 is an arc of letters and numbers, PAT.DES.187 302. There are concentric raised rings from the center to the outer double ring of raised dots. No labels. Two seams are on opposite sides and run the length of the bottle. Any idea what was sold in the bottle or how old is the bottle? Thanks, Bobby
Bobby, Searching “Google Patents” page, using D187302, we find it is an early Windex bottle, patented by the US Patent & Trademark Office, in 1960 (design submitted in 1958). Term of Design Patent was for 14 years, so that particular bottle was presumably made sometime between 1960 and 1974.
http://www.google.com/patents/USD187302
Most bottles found with a marking such as “DES PAT” (plus number) can be researched by going to google and typing in “D” (for design) immediately followed by the full multi-digit number. Hope this helps,
David
Thanks David. An old glass Windex bottle. WOW.
I did more research and discovered that it is an old CRISCO cooking oil bottle.
I recently found a small rectangular bottle with a metal lid, it has bumps/dots on the bottom, in the center of the bottom is has a 9, an encircled 1, and a 7. Above these numbers is says 1 1/2 OZ, and below the numbers it has a 6. It also has a circle around the previously stated characters, but the circle is indented and may have been added later. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Claire
Claire, I think the “1 in a circle” is actually supposed to be a I inside an oval (one of the glass manufacturer marks used by Owens-Illinois Glass Company). Please see my webpage on that company for some pics of their marks. The “9” is a plant code number for their Streator, Illinois glass plant, the “7” is a year date code (uncertain year, possibly standing for 1957 or 1967), and the ‘6″ is a mold number. Sorry I have no other information.
David
I have an old ten gallon glass jug, with a slight cobalt blue hue to it. The only markings on it are a capital ‘i’ in a circle on the bottom. Beside that is the number 73. And there is also the number 11 off towards the edge. The bottom of the jug also has a veiny, or mosaic look about it. I’ve look all over and can’t find a thing. Any ideas? I could mail you pictures.
Has anyone heard of larvatox? I found about ten crates filled with these bottles never opened and sealed by a cork. Its made by dean manufacturing co chicago. It says it is a moth proofing chemical. I’m just trying to figure out if it is worth anything or just any information on it as I can get. The bottem has a diamond with a upper case I in the center and a number 4 underneath it so any help will be much appreciated.
I have found a bunch of wooden crates filled with bottles of larvatox 1 gallon jugs. I have looked all over Google and other websites trying to figure anything out about them and can find nothing. It was made by dean manufacturing co chicago and is a moth proofing chemical. They are all full of a clear liquid and have never been opened. There is a symbol of a diamond with a upper case I in thecenter and the number 4 under that. Can anyone tell me what this is a little about it if it’s worth anything. Thank you.
Hi Joe,
From a quick google search, Larvatox was evidently a very short-lived product, presumably one of countless numbers of U.S. products of every description that saw poor sales, or failed to “catch on” for some reason or other. (I searched Google along with other keywords such as “bottle”, “jug”, “moth” etc, to help weed out unrelated hits).
Apparently Larvatox was first sold in the mid-1920s and the sales office was in Pittsburgh, although I’m not certain how accurate that information is. You might be interested to know that the diamond/oval/I mark is the earliest logo used by Owens-Illinois Glass Company, (used from 1929 through the mid-1950s and sometimes later) and you can find more info on that company on my webpage here: Owens Illinois Glass Company.
Owens-Illinois has made containers for a tremendous number of businesses since 1929. I have no info on value, but in my opinion there is not much collector demand for chemical/cleaning agents/pesticide and similar product bottles/jars/jugs by antique bottle collectors at the present time. But since it was a very obscure product and evidently was not sold for very long, the containers might have a little value just as a “curiosity” or to someone who is interested in the local history of particular businesses. I am assuming that the bottles are of a “generic” type with the glassmaker symbol on the bottom, and the only identification of the company name and brand name is from labels on the side. (Correct?)
In any case, concerning value, I can only suggest you might try selling a jug online (auction site) and see what happens.
Hope this helps,
David
Thank You David
Hello I have a large mason jar. I am trying to get some info on if you can help me. It stands 19 inches high , 28 inches around.It says mason then a star under that then patent nov,30th 1858. The other side has an eagle with it’s wings spread The bottom there is a 2 thank you
Hi Autumn,
I don’t know much about those huge jars, but I understand that some were made as “conversation pieces” or gift items, and some of the same (or very similar) design jars were made to serve as large-size (institutional size, restaurant size) pickle jars. I think they are usually 4 or 5 gallon in capacity. I understand that some were made during the same period of time that the original smaller ones were made, but nearly all of these jars now encountered are much, much more recent……. not sure on exact age, but I thought they were made over a considerable period of time, perhaps 1960s, 1970s into the 1980s or later.
They are often saved and used to hold coins or other items.
They are basically imitating the “look” of the older normal-size quart and half-gallon glass “MASON’S PATENT NOV 30TH 1858” jars which were made for a very long time in huge numbers by many, many glass companies……from c.1858 up to the 1910s.
Hope this helps, sorry I don’t have more info.
Best regards, David
HI David I was woundering if you new anything about my jar ?Its a pint jar BallPerfectMason and Number 2 at bottom little air bubbles all around jar lines incraved all around jar they swirl .A glass cover with ball written on it with a number5 rite below The B and a silver lid with ahole shaped like a bow no dates
Hi Rhonda,
You have a “mix” or “marriage” of items that didn’t quite go together originally. The earliest BALL PERFECT MASON jars had metal (zinc-coated steel) lids that are lettered “BALL” in cursive lettering on the top. Some types of Ball jars (including some of the later variants of the Ball Perfect Mason) but also the “Ball Improved” and the “Ball Special” jars, have a separate glass lid used along with the metal screw band. But the metal band on your jar is from a different brand of lid used with some of the old PRESTO fruit jars (search Google Images with “presto lid”) as it has that bow or bannerstone-shaped slot or “cut out’ hole in the center. The PRESTO jars were made by Owens-Illinois Glass Company.
~David
I have a small pink or rose colored bowl, (possibly a fruit bowl?) with a unique design I haven’t been able to find online yet. it has plain leaf pattern with a line in the center of each leaf and frosted oval shapes with flat bottoms around the circumference. It does not have a star pattern on the bottom like most I’ve seen. It has the only the word France and the number 14 stamped on the bottom. Does anyone know the maker of this bowl and if it’s valuable?
I need help! I have an Arcorac Lance tumbler. Along the bottom is says Arcorac France 33. Can someone tell me what the 33 means? I’m assuming the France means that it was made in their French factory, not the American one? I’ve tried EVERYWHERE. I even e-mailed the company, to no avail. Thank you!
Hi Whitney,
I am happy to tell you I was able to contact a representative at Arc International. Vanessa Thompson in the marketing department has kindly replied to my query and she wrote “The 33 on the bottom of the glass is the mold number. Arcoroc is the glass line and it is made in France.”
Searching sites such as ebay, and reading some of the auction listing descriptions, it is apparent that many different numbers (mold numbers) can and do appear on the bases of various types of glassware made by Arc International.
I hope this helps! Take care, David
i have a MARTELL MEDAILLON COGNAC, green bottle it has:BG.SG S, with 4 dots around botom of the S
I found a very small glass bottle maybe an inch and half tall. It has 3-2 on the bottom along with an H and a small H symbol inside of that one. It has a clear liquid and Ann orangish liquid which separate in the bottle. Anyone know what this is?
Brittany, your bottle was made by Hazel Atlas Glass Company. That “H” over a smaller “a” was their trademark, seen on the bottom of a lot of their containers. From your description it might be an ink bottle. Best regards,
David
Hello, please could someone help me out , because i have spent my whole day trying to find out what this dating code means, a friend of mine brought me an empty bottle of coca cola from Morocco 24,5 cm tall with the red colour included on the label ( label includes Arabic and the word marques et modele desposes) now on the lower heel there is embroidery with 35,5 cl ( the cl very calligraphic) and then on the other side it starts with the number 16 after smal space there is the S in circle and small space again and there is number 9 with 7 code script ( or dots if you like ) in the shape of C covering the right side of number 9.. i tried but i didnt found something similar article .. pls help me
Hi Zack,
Your bottle has the maker’s mark of a “S inside a circle” which, according to Emhart’s punt mark database, is the mark used by a glass company in Morocco, the exact name of which (in the French language) is “Societe D’ Exploitation De Verreries Au Maroc S.A”, located in Casablanca, Morocco. I do not have any info on the code markings. The 9 with dots is probably the date code, but I cannot be sure since I am not familiar with that glass company or the way they code-date their bottles. The “16” is probably a mold number. Perhaps a reader can supply more info (not very likely, to be honest with you) or you can try contacting them directly through their website. Incidentally, I should mention that the mark “S in a circle” has been used by various companies in the United States as well as in several other countries around the world, but in this case we can be absolutely certain on the identity of the glass manufacturer since it is a bottle from Morocco. Just guessing, I would imagine your bottle was made sometime within the last 20 to 30 years or less, but I really don’t know.
Hope this helps a bit,
David
Would anyone know what an old glass jar (about 3 inches tall) would be used for? When right side up, you see markings on side noting 1, 2, 3 ounces…. but the ounces start with one on the top and go down to 3 at the bottom, seems backwards if you filled it up with something… and words are upright with the jar…. Only other marking is a number 17 with an roof (<17)
Pictures would help but maybe a baby bottle of some sort are what I have come across with this description.
My guess would be an old medicine bottle. Measurements make sense. You would take one ounce at a time.
Can anyone tell me about a Nov 30th embossed 1858 Mason Jar that has a base marking of a triangle and the numbers 3 and what appears to be a 9 or a Z? Thanks so much.
I strongly doubt that anyone can be sure what glass company made any particular NOV 30TH 1858 variant (That is, assuming there are no recognizable glass manufacturers’ marks or logos on the jar). Gobs of different molds were used by hundreds of glassmakers in the US that made that style jar, and many of them were marked on the bottom with various numbers, letters, as well as geometric shapes and other marks. It would be wonderful to find out for sure if a certain mold was used by a certain glass company, but it would be very, VERY difficult to prove. One very slim possibility……….it might be possible, for instance, if someone was able to excavate where an an old glass company used to stand, and IF they were to find considerable quantities of a particular jar base with a unique appearance (for instance, an unusually shaped number or letter) it might be possible to assign an origin to that mold……………but don’t hold your breath! (And sometimes molds were sold to other glass companies, after shutdowns /buyouts of failing companies). ~David
recently bought a decanter-type bottle from a local flea market store. the bottom is marked
55(either an i or a 1, inside of a 0 or O)69
0-369
3
any ideas?
The “I inside an O” is one of the trademarks used by OWENS ILLINOIS GLASS COMPANY, the largest, “longest-lived” glass company in the United States, and one of their glass bottle marks I get tons of questions about. Please see my page on Owens-Illinois for more info. The ’55” in this case is a liquor permit number assigned to the Owens-Illinois Glass Company and their Huntington, West Virginia glass plant in particular.
http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/LiquorBottlePermits.pdf The “69” is a date code for 1969. The “0-369” is probably a code number for that style bottle.( Or is it a “D-369”?) The “3” might be a mold identifier number. Hope this helps.
Hello. I believe I have a owens bottle Co tiny glass bottle with a brass lid. It has an O or 0 Inside of a square. What I can’t figure out is on either side of this mark there is a number 4
So we have (4 O inside square 4)
What do these numbers mean?
Hi Justin,
The bottle was made by Owens Bottle Company (“O in a Square” mark). One of the “4” digits is a mold number, but I’m not sure about the other “4”. Best regards, David
PS. I answered your query several days ago via direct email with no reply from you, please check your SPAM / TRASH / JUNK folders.
I have a Diet Rite which was an RC brand, with the number 73 on the bottom. According to Collections (collections@drpeppermuseum.com) my bottle was made in 1973. Maybe the web site mentioned would be able to help you.
I have an vintage rc bottle with the marks lg 67 below that it has 928 15. Can you tell me who made it please?
Tara, the Royal Crown bottle was evidently made by Liberty Glass Company, Sapulpa, Oklahoma. See my entries concerning the “L G” listings on the “Glass Bottle Marks” series of pages (links pointing to the articles are located in alphabetical order along the right-hand side of any page on this site). The “67” is a date code for 1967.
Hope this helps,
~David
Hello,
I have a clear floral vase 10 inches in height with an E.O. Brody marked on the bottom of the vase. It has C 928 mark. What can you tell me about this vase? When it was made? Rarity and the possible value it .
Hello Aneesa, The only info I have on Brody is what is already written on my webpage concerning E. O. Brody.
Sorry about that. Take care,
David
E.O. Brody company makes floral vases today and the C928 is the model number.
Hi Brad,
Although I am sure you are right (the “C928” is a style or model number assigned to a particular design), there is conflicting information on E. O. Brody and what they are producing presently (if anything), and where it is being made. Can you provide specific background sources for your statement (i.e. they are making floral vases “today”). Most of the information on Brody that has been posted online dates from 2007 or 2008 and before. Anchor Glass acquired the Brody Company in 2007. (Please see my webpage on Brody here). Brody apparently didn’t make the glass themselves, but distributed glass and ceramic products (the glass being made by Indiana Glass Company) for the floral industry.
Best regards,
David
hi i was wondering if someone could help me i live in a small remote community and iv found a brown bottle that has matilday bay australia on it and at the bottom it reads( a not to refilled) underneth the bottle the number are15530 what kind of beer is this and how old could it be?
hello david ,,,i have a old rawleigh’s bottle it is rectangle it says trademark under rawleighs and bottle made in the usa and on the bottom is a circle with a P and a 2 underlined ,,,the bottle is greenish tint and has quite a few air bubbles in the glass there is also three rings around the neck of the bottle what are you thoughts ?
Hello Dana,
I’m sorry but the only “solid” info I can provide is that the bottle was actually made by Pierce Glass Company (the ‘P in a circle’ was their makers’ mark). Most of the bottles with the “P in a circle” on the bottom seem to date from the 1920s-1950s (in general) but I’m afraid I can’t be more specific than that very general range of years.
David
I found a old small bottle that is brown and says W. T. CO D USA on the bottom. It is sealed with a cork, and it has a very fine white powder in it. Any ideas what it could be or how old it is?
Hi Rachel, it’s probably a medicine, druggist or chemical bottle. (Don’t know what the white powder could be, any of a number of different substances. DON’T TASTE IT! 🙂 The bottle was made by Whitall Tatum Company (see my webpage on that company) and dates to sometime between 1901 up to the early 1930s. Whitall Tatum made gobs of different style of bottles……that type could have been used to hold any of many different products. There would have originally been a contents label pasted on the side which is now gone.
~David
Hi David, recently in the eastern goldfields of western australia I found a small jar embossed with the trade mark – Vaseline – chesebrough – new york and on the bottom was the number 38. This old minesite operated from 1896 to 1910. Eric.
Hi Eric,
Please check out my webpage on the Vaseline jars. There are a few pics there showing various types. They are very plentiful, and were made for many years, with many slightly different lettering variations found. The “38” on your jar would be a mold identifier number.
Best regards,
David
David,
Here in Jacksonville FL today 6/9/15 I found a small glass jar, out near the road where they happen to be digging it up to do some repairs. I am sure this is an old Vaseline bottle as well from the information I found on your page, but on my clear glass bottle it does not say Vaseline. And like Eric Morey it is only written on the bottom but unlike Eric I could not see a number. Mine reads
” Chesebrough
MFG
CO.CD
NEW YORK”
The glass bottle or jar is small, it is clear in color, it does have a rainbow looking effect to the glass but I am guessing that it is either something it was made with or because it has been buried for years. The sides of the bottle are all intact but the top has a couple of pieces broken on it. But you can tell that it looks like it had a screw on top. And I can see little lines that look like it was not as old as I hoped it was it looks like it was made from a mold and put together. But since I love bottles I will keep it no matter what but I did find your page very interesting and I look forward to learning more. Thanks,
Dalla Roberts
Hi Dalla,
Thanks for your post! Yes, there were many slight variations in the embossed wording on the Vaseline jars. Some carry mold numbers on the bottom, and others don’t. Since the glass Vaseline jars were made over such a long period of time, by a number of different glass companies, there were no doubt many different molds used for their manufacture. Some glassmakers would have used several molds at once, and each mold might have carried a number to identify it if any problems arose with the finished product.
The “rainbow” look you see is a result of long burial in the ground. The jar would have been an ordinary colorless / clear glass when brand new. The lines you see are vertical mold seams. There is a lot of misunderstanding of the process by which most typical jars and bottles are made, but to describe it in a VERY VERY simplified manner, basically the molten glass is blown into a hollow metal mold which is typically made of two halves (sometimes more). Those two halves are shut (somewhat like closing up a book momentarily), the glass (hot syrup) is blown into the mold, and after a very short time (seconds), the glass hardens sufficiently and then the parts of the mold are opened back up and the finished glass bottle or jar is removed from the mold. This was done by hand until the first fully automatic bottle machine was put into production in 1904. The mold seams you see along the sides are where the two halves of the mold came together, and the molten glass was “pushed against” (by compressed air) the crevice to create a visible raised line. Your jar would be a later type made by machine, as I believe all of the “threaded closure” Vaseline jars were.
Here is a webpage that has more info on various bottle bases and mold types: http://www.sha.org/bottle/bases.htm
Hope this helps, and take care,
David
I have an old glass bottle with DuBouchett Many Blanc written on it. At the bottom of the front it says federal law forbids sale of re-use of this bottle. Underneath the bottle the numbers read R-798. Do you have any idea or information you can provide me. Thanks
I have a glass bottle that has a serial number etched in it just above the dots at bottom of glass, this glass bottle has a cobblestone body and what looks like a seem , it also has the number 43 in center as well as other numbers around base of bottle. I can’t seem to find anything on serialized bottles, can anyone help ?
Go to sha.org. They have a lot of good information on glass.
Hello, we have 2 one-gallon glass jugs. One says Duraglas and has what looks like E-1841 on the heel. The other only has the numbers 120 and 30 on the bottom. Any thoughts on the years of these?
Thanks.
Hello Mary,
Well, we can be sure the jug marked “DURAGLAS” was made after 1940, the year of introduction of that brand name by Owens-Illinois. However, I really can’t offer info on a specific year it was made. The “E-1841” would probably be a catalog number or style number assigned by Owens-Illinois Glass Company to that particular type jug. I don’t have information on when that was used. It is theoretically possible, if you could find an older Owens-Illinois catalog, to estimate the date range IF this style container was listed in a catalog of, perhaps, the 1940s, ’50s or ’60s, but I don’t know if any are available. Concerning the other jug with just “120” and “30” on the base, I’m afraid I really have no info to pass along. In general, I think both of your jugs probably date from sometime in the 1940-1970 period, (and, sorry, I realize that is a wide year date range), but pinning down an exact year may be close to impossible.
Best regards, David
I found a beer bottle with 3 sets of numbers. The first set is on the bottom around the outside which is 01 95 ws-4. The next is near that and is simply 22. The last number is on the underside of the bottle and is an underlined 71. They beer is still inside with a rusted cap so I don’t know what it is.
Hello Eva,
This bottle was made in 1995. The “95” (along the lower heel of the bottle) is a date code. I believe this may be a product of Owens-Illinois, Inc.
Best regards,
David
Thank you very much. They are very nice but I’m getting the notion they may be foreign made.
I have some Cobalt Blue bowls that have only numbers on the bottom. One is 34, another 23, etc..; there is a different number on each bowl. These numbers are about 1/8 of an inch tall. I was wondering if a manufacturer could be located with these numbers?
Hello Dennis, I am sorry but they are merely mold numbers. The mold numbers CANNOT help identify the name of the company that produced the glass. Most glass companies have used mold numbers at some time or other on their products.
Best regards,
David
I can think of one instance where the mold number can identify the glass manufacturer. On the mason’s patent 1858 fruit jars the ones produced by hemingray have a very distinctive mold number style.
Hi Justin,
Yes, you are absolutely right. As with any general rule, there is usually an exception here or there. In an attempt to be concise, and not “muddy the waters” more than necessary, I didn’t mention that exception in my article.
So, to expound a bit on that here: on early handmade ground-lip “MASON’S PATENT NOV 30th 1858” fruit jars with a mold number on the center of the base, if the number is VERY, VERY LARGE, BOLD and “Ornate”, the jar can generally be attributed to Hemingray Glass Company. Most were probably made at their earlier Covington, KY factory, and perhaps some were made at Muncie also– presumably dating in the 1870s-1880s.
Thanks Justin,
~David
I’m sorry yes the are on the bottom of the bottle.
I have a tonic bitters medicinal wine bottle that has a star with a 2 in the middle..what does that mean?
Tam, I suppose you mean the markings are on the bottom, or is this on the front / side? The 2 is probably a mold number. The star could be a trademark used by the wine company, or a decorative design motif / emblem with no specific meaning.
~David
Hi David,
We moved into a house in Stinson Beach last year that is on a double parcel and is built over the footprint of a cabin that was torn down in the late seventies. As far as we can tell the occupants of the cabin (the last of whom were notorious partiers including Janis Joplin) would toss their bottles from the house into the bushes in the lower parcel – there is about a 30 sq ft. patch that is literally coughing up glass. Today I found the 2″ wide oval base of a bottle inscribed with the Owens-Illinois logo, and the Duraglas logo. To the left of the Owens circle/diamond/i logo is the number 23, to the right is the numeral 4. Below the Duraglas logo is the num/alpha 536-B, and to the left of everything is inscribed 4 A. I assume it was made in LA, but am not sure what date the numeral 4 refers to or the other numbers. Thanks!
Hello Jeb,
As you realized, the “23” on the left of the logo indicates the bottle was made at Owens-Illinois’ Los Angeles glass plant. The “4” on the right is a year date code (last digit of a year) and stands for 1954 (since their Duraglas trademark was issued c. 1940, the year 1934 can safely be excluded as a possibility, and the Los Angeles plant (#23) was started circa 1948, eliminating 1944 as a possibility). “536-B” is almost certainly a code number for that style of bottle (i.e. a catalog, inventory or design number assigned to that shape). “4 A” is a mold identifier. Since the bottle is machine-made, (Automatic Bottle Machine or “ABM”) and there would have been several molds (or “mold cavities”) arranged in a circular configuration on the assembly, with many identical bottles being produced each minute. Each individual mold was numbered (engraved), and “4 A” is the designation for the particular mold that specific bottle was made from.
I hope this makes sense. Thanks for writing!
David
I have 3 bottles, one is a clear cylinder threaded on top, circle on bottom with A inside, a line under the circle and a 3 under that. Second is I believe a Heinz ketchup bottle but would like to date it if possible- has anH-257 with a B in a circle under that. The 3rd has numerous markings,maybe a soda bottle. Looks like lattice on the bottom 2/3 of the bottle, with a capital I on the bottom along with 250z above it, an S to the left and 48 to the right.also has symbol below that looks like T with a 4 on left side and odd shaped c on the right. Anyone have anything?
My boyfriend found varies types of bottle bottoms with writing or numbers. First is cobalt blue with a 5 and m with a 3/4 circle around the m. Second is brown with S G . Third is brown with 75 with 3 slashes on bottom. Fourth is brown has 649 NW. Fifth is white with symbol of an arrow with flat bottom and J L on each side. Sixth is white with 4869. Seventh is brown with TIREG. I guess you already know this is authentic beach glass. I understand your statement on tumbling but as a beginner I can already tell the difference,especially when you have seen some aging on pieces or another.
Hi Valerie,
Yes, I totally understand. Btw, the only piece I can positively identify as to glassmaker source is your cobalt blue piece, which has the “M in a circle” used by Maryland Glass Corporation.
Thanks for writing and have a great weekend!
David
Thanks David for your prompt response. My boyfriend has been combing the beach in Moss Landing for a few years, taking the dog for a walk. I think he has over 10,000 pieces from white, blue, amber, aquamarine, pink, purple, green. I can go on but is this profitable? We have so much glass (not including rocks and shells) but I did see some sites that have festival’s. What is your opinion?
I have a tall, rectangular bottle (possibly a decanter) with a square stopper. On one side, there are 4 embossed, vertical circles, each with a different picture. The top one appears to be a crest or shield of some sort; the second one is a man and a woman; the third is a silhouette of a woman’s face (like on a coin); and the fourth is a man. On the other side, there’s a large circle with nothing in it. The bottom of the bottle reads (clockwise): D-9, 65, 8, 67. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Meagan
Hi Meagan,
I can’t tell you much in particular about your specific bottle, but it is typical of tons of decorative glass decanters made from the 1930s into the 1970s and even later. They were made as containers for whiskies and other alcoholic beverages, and were made in many, many different artistic, attractive designs to help sell the product. They were often saved and re-used as decanters, vases, etc, so lots of them are still around. In your particular case, I am assuming that the date code is either “65” or “67” (made in 1965 or 1967). Sorry, not sure which year would be correct. Although I am not an appraiser, people often do ask about their value. In general these types of decanters are, at the present time, not high in value….perhaps a typical one will sell for anywhere from 50 cents to 5 dollars, depending on exact style. They often show up at yard sales and thrift stores. A good percentage of the were made by Owens-Illinois Glass Company. They are ususally in ordinary clear glass (shows off the golden/amber color of whiskey), which does limit their appeal to collectors of colored glass bottles. I’m sure there are collectors out there that specialize in studying and collecting these decanters. Perhaps as time goes on, they will gain in value and interest to a wider group of glass collectors. Hope this helps a bit.
David
I have a 2oz bottle with numbers where there should be a makers mark. The number 3 is in the center with X721 above. Any comments?
Hi Sue,
The “3” is a mold number, and the “X721” is probably a bottle style number or inventory/catalog number assigned to that particular bottle type by the glass manufacturer. Other than that, there isn’t really much else I can pass along. If there is no maker’s mark, it is difficult or impossible to know who made the bottle.
~David
I have just found a similar bottle. Did you ever get yours identified?
Thanks Lucy
I’ve found similar! Except, mine has an additional “4” beneath the “3”. So, X721 at the top (bottom of bottle) with a 3 in center, and a 4 directly below. I found mine while hunting arrowheads, I came across this among other “settler” trash. Definitely has age, and is not a screw top. It’s been decades since a road was even close to this place. Oh, and mine is about 4-5 inches tall.
Hm, I followed the advice given. However, I could not fiind out, HOW to decipher these “dot codes”. E.g. what “form” does a code *****__*_*_** refer to? (The stars are the dots and the underlines are the empty spaces on the bottle)?
Hello Jörg! Ok, you got me. I honestly don’t know. Unless this is something “top secret” (not accessible by mere mortals who don’t have the proper “glass-industry security clearances” ;-o) perhaps someone can chime in and reveal exactly how these dot codes are interpreted.
Readers?
Hi, all I can tell you is that your bottle was made by Consumers Glass Company, Montreal, Canada, later in Toronto, as shown by the “C inside a triangle”. I would guess the bottle was made by Consumers FOR Heinz and contained some type of sauce or condiment. The “233” is probably a code number for that particular bottle style, or a mold identification number.
David