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.
Most commonly, single or double-digit numbers embossed on the bottom of a glass item are mold numbers – those numbers served to identify a particular mold (or mold section/mold cavity in use on an automatic bottle-manufacturing machine).
If several identical glass molds were being used simultaneously, each mold would have been assigned a number (a number between 1 and 10, or 1 and 12, etc). If problems occurred with the finished product, it could be easily ascertained which mold 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 may be marked, but here are some of the more commonly seen “layouts” of the modern era. 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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WELL DARN. I ALWAYS THOUGHT THOSE JAR “BUMPS” WERE BRAILLE SO THE BLIND DONT HAVE TO BE SURPRISED BY WHAT’S IN THE JAR.
I have a small brown bottle with the letter A surrounded by a line to the left, top, and right. Almost like a flat top A- frame surrounding the A. It also has PAT. 4K4741. Anyone have any info on this?
Brad, the “large H over small a” is the mark used by Hazel-Atlas Glass Company. Please see my webpage on that glassmaker at this link. That company made HUGE numbers of bottles and jars of every description for several decades. The number you see on the bottom of the bottle is a patent design number, and it would have consisted of all numbers, so what appears to be a “K” is actually a number. You can find many of these patents listed on the “GOOGLE PATENTS” webpages.
Hope this helps,
David
Hi, I found an AGM (stilts) 1934 U457 mark on the bottom of a NSW Bottle Company bottle. Does this therefore mean it was a 1934 issue, therefore helping me to date the building of my house?
No. 2 on very small old bottle – what’s it mean?
Lisa, that’s a mold number. Basically, there were most likely a number of identical molds being used to produce that style of bottle, and each mold was engraved with a number (such as from 1 to 12) to identify it. Mold numbers have been used for a very long time, on both handmade and machine-made bottles and jars, and even on modern glass and plastic bottles. BTW, mold numbers don’t give us any information on maker or age of a container. Hope this helps.
David
I have a greenish tint mason jar i think quart size. It has word Mason in a slight Arch and that has four dots or bumps on the bottom. Is this a real or fake mason jar? Because I cannot find it anywhere.
Michael, it’s a real jar. Not sure about the dots or bumps on the bottom, but they might be just mold identifying marks.
David
Hi Lisa,
I have a very small bottle as well with one digit, the number 2. It’s dark olive colored and machine made. But it takes a cork due to no threads. I’ve had luck identifying many of the old bottles I have but not this one. Don’t bottle makers know the hell they put people through eons later trying to identify their creations! Cheers
The bottom of this bottle says “Minnehaha Brand” reg no 726384. It’s painted with lots of Native American symbols. Any ideas? What came it? Age of it?
Hello! I have 2 bottles that appear to be for syrup. The number 5113 is on both bottles. One has the number 2, the other 15. Both appear to have the letter V on them. Could this be Victor Glass?
Thank you!
Hello I found a small glass pot with RG NO 4 687205 on the base anyone no wot this is please
Pepsi-cola bottles 16oz c1677 54 with I in a circle
Brooks, sounds like a bottle made by Owens-Illinois Glass Company in 1954.
~David
I found a glass brown Clorox jug – curious of age.
Hi Jessie,
I think you should have success by carefully studying this webpage article all about dating Clorox glass bottles. The page is very informative and I encourage anyone with older Clorox bottles to see if they can pin down the age from the information there. Here’s the link: https://www.thecloroxcompany.com/who-we-are/our-heritage/bottle-guide/
I hope this helps! Take care,
David
Hi there. I found an exact same one in a stream this weekend! Would love to know what it is
I have a clear glass 4” bottle from the T.C.W.Co. It has a # 37 on the bottom does that indicate what it was?
Grachia,
I think that is probably just a mold number, and doesn’t tell us anything about the contents, or age of the bottle.
David
Just a quickie from a novice. The ounce number on the bottom of poisons – is this the CAPACITY of the bottle or the weight of the bottle? I’ve noticed the weight of the bottle often matches the ounce figure on the base, which is why I’m asking.
Hi Merlinslady,
I don’t know much about poison bottles, but I strongly doubt that the number on the base would have anything to do with the weight of the bottle itself. The number MIGHT be a mold ID number. I would vote for the CAPACITY of the bottle, not the weight of the bottle. In general, when the earlier, older bottles were being manufactured, it was quite common for them to vary somewhat in exact weight from one to the next. For instance, one example might have a little too much glass (with a thicker layer of solidified glass having “settled” to the bottom), and the next one would have less, and/or perhaps have thinner walls. This, of course, was much more common on handmade bottles. Since the machine-made era began, there has been much better standardizing of bottle weights.
Hopefully, a collector with a wider and deeper knowledge of antique poison bottles can comment on this subject further.
Take care, David
I recently purchased a 10″ microthin fluted crystal goblet with what appears to be the number 36 in a square embossed on the bottom of the stem. Any idea what manufacturer?
Stephanie, I’m sorry but I have no idea.
David
I recently unearthed a bottle in my yard I believe to be an old prescription bottle. It is 5” high, 4-sided, clear with a diamond on the bottom with a barely noticeable I (Illinois glass I guess) with the number “16” to one side. Nothing else. The glass has a seam on an edge and has bubbles in the glass. It is slightly rounded in the front and slightly recessed in the back. Any idea of age?
Hello Chris, if you haven’t already, please see my page on the “Diamond I” mark used by Illinois Glass Company. Illinois Glass made huge quantities of clear glass prescription bottles in the 1910s and 1920s. The “16” is probably a mold identification number. I am not sure about dating any of them to a precise year. There are a lot of questions and much uncertainty on these bottles. For a lot more detailed background information on Illinois Glass Company, their products and markings, you might try checking out this exhaustive .pdf article written by Bill Lockhart, at this link: Illinois Glass Company
Hope this will be of help!
David
I have a very small brown bottle with a white plastic lid. Markings on the bottom are “B in a circle” in the center with the number 17 under it.
Hi Rachel,
Brockway made thousands of different bottles over the years, so I can’t say for sure, but I would guess it’s some type of medicine bottle. The “B in a circle” stands for Brockway Glass Company. The “17” is probably a mold number. Please check my webpage on Brockway for a brief, very basic overview on that company.
~David
I have found a bottle base on the beach with the number 43
My son works with a gas company and they recently worked on a house to redo the gas lines that were last done in 1902. He found 2 glass jars 8 feet underground where they dug out the old lines. One bottle is tall about 5 inches , skinny with numbers 33 8. And the other is short wide mouth small bottom numbers 781-4. No clue what and how old. Any idea?
Brown “not to be taken” bottle with rows of raised dots on one side. On bottom: A717 at top of circle, then C 8 in middle and U G B in bottom of circle.
Brenda, the bottle is British, and made by United Glass Bottle Manufacturers, Limited. I don’t know the interpretation of the other markings.
David
Brown (amber), with raised dots on one side, and “Not to be taken” was standard for British Lysol bottles. Some had hobnail bumps, some had crosshatch patterns to indicate toxic contents; some said “Lysol” but not always…
DAZEY CHURN
NO 40
PATENED FEB 14 22
DAZEY CHURN and MFG
StLouis MO
Made in USA
Has hand crank, with wooden handle, gears and assembly attached to lid, attached to shaft that goes inside square glass jar with paddle attached to shaft. Is in excellent condition.
Passed down thru family.
Paul Gates
705 Meadowlark Pl
Derby, KS .67037
3162498681
gatespaul58@gmail.com
Can send pictures, would like to find out more about this item.
Hmm well this is interesting. I have twin set 2pc amber candlestick holders that are about 20″ tall and the top covers are about 4-5″ wide. I cant find any markings at all. Just a bubble or two lol Why do you suppose there isnt any markings?
Hi Samantha, many glass items do not have markings. I can’t say exactly why, as reasons may vary depending on age or type of item, but sometimes the glass manufacturer did not want to make it obvious who the maker of an item was. Sometimes it was considered too expensive to engrave the molds with marks (information) that would help identify the maker. On many “upscale” glass items, depending on glass company, it was not considered necessary or desirable to mark glassware. Especially in the case of EAPG and Depression Glass tableware, most of it is not marked, and the companies that made the glass were, in many cases, apparently not that interested in making sure their ware was easily identifiable in later years. But, in some cases, identifying a pattern in catalogs of the period can help show who made a particular pattern.
Also, MANY very old glass bottles (for instance) of various types, especially those made before the 1890s, do not have any markings on them at all.
I know this does not really answer your question, but I can’t say for sure why your candleholders are not marked in any way.
Best regards, David
One ounce cobalt blue bottle with 1574 embossed on bottom. No other marks except 1oz on top of ribbed body?
Thanks for this site – we were doing some planting in our yard and found a pretty good condition amber/brown bottle and through searches here on this site, I found it was likely manufactured by Maywood Glass Company in 1946! The marks are in very good shape. I’m pleased by our find!
Hi Kathleen,
Thank you for your post!
~David
I found a small glass brown bottle with imprints that looks like 16 CORMICK. 660 PAT+D on the bottom of it how old and what kind is it
I have a clear glass qt. Jar reg. Mouth plain sides except for the word MASON raised on one side can anyone identify this please???? Thank you for your help!!!
I know you wrote this more than two years ago, but if you are still trying to date a Mason jar, Google “Dating Mason Jars.” They can be dated by the type of embossed letters, and the site shows clearly the different embossments with their dates. Lots of fun – turns out the one I found was from the 1920’s. Good luck!
Cindy
Hi Cindy (and Wes),
I believe the chart you are referring to appears on several websites, and is the one which lists some of the major embossing variants of the BALL brand name on their fruit jars, especially as seen on their BALL MASON and the BALL PERFECT MASON. I have that chart copied onto my webpage about the Ball Perfect Mason, which is here at this link: Ball Perfect Mason. Although that chart is useful and more or less accurate, please keep in mind that it only covers the name as seen on jars made by just one glass company, that is, Ball Bros. Glass Manufacturing Company.
Mason jars (fruit jars or canning jars) were also made by hundreds of other glass manufacturers over the past 160 years, although Ball is indeed the most famous jar maker, and that company did produce the most frequently encountered vintage and antique types of jars. Take care,
David
I found a grayish blue bottle marked bottle made in France hp7. Please help with any knowledge thanks.
I have a bottle that is clear glass, I can’t see any kind of logo but in this order it has 7-D-41 and then 69-58 I’m trying to figure out if it’s Foster-Forbes or Owen-Illinois and what liquor it held, please help. Oh yeah it does say the whole “Federal Law Forbids resale and reuse…” saying
Hi Jennifer,
The bottle is indeed a liquor bottle, and I can say with certainty it was made by Foster-Forbes Glass Company (even if you cannot make out a glass manufacturers’ mark). That is because the number “69” is a Liquor bottle permit number which was assigned to Foster-Forbes Glass Co. (A list of “liquor bottle permit numbers” can be easily found on the internet by using those four words in a keyword search). The “58” is a date code for the year 1958, when the bottle was manufactured. On many liquor bottles a pair of numbers, separated by a dash, was required and consisted of the official liquor bottle permit number followed by the date code. I believe the “D-41” is a distiller code number.
Best regards,
David
There are numbers on the bottom of a clear glass bottle I found
2U120
Also a symbol that kind of looks like 3ii but it isn’t a 3. It says 40cc on the side
Hi Christopher,
The “weird 3” is a symbol for “ounce”. So your medicine / pharmacy bottle held 2 ounces. I don’t know about the “2U120” but that may be a factory code for the style of bottle, or a mold identifier. Without a glass manufacturer’s mark, it may be hard to know when or by whom the bottle was made. Many of those types of ‘generic’ medicine bottles were made by many glass companies, in a large range of sizes over many decades.
~David
I am a peruvian archaeologist and our team found a green bottle in a subacuatic surface next to an island in the central coast of Perú. As far as I did research on the manufacture and style, it seems that the bottle looks similar to the one produced at the end of the XIX, for ginger ale or soda. It is a rounded bottom bottle with a flat area at the center, similar to the ones produced by Illinois Glass Co (from 1890, though the lip is different) or the Cochrane & Co (Belfast). It does not have a brand embossed but just a number “4” on the heel. I read that the number may correspond to the Mold number. When I checked at the Illinois Glass Catalogue (1906), this type is of rounded bottom pieces were made with Mold 26.
I will appreciate any information about this type of bottle, or if someone can share more information about this type of bottles (manufacturer, use, dates).
Thanks for your help.
Julio Rucabado
I have two bottles, both of which are liquor bottles from the Owens-Illinois company. The first has 64 D-1 46 arranged in a column on the heel. I believe that means it is from the Alton, Illinois plant, distiller number one, and was manufactured in 1946. Please correct me if I’m wrong, Im new to the bottle-dating game, and therefore am not sure I’m interpreting correctly. The second has R575 5757, also arranged in a column. The R number I believe is the rectifier’s number, the first 57 is the permit number for the Bridgeton, Illinois plant, and the last 57 is the year of manufacture. Now, my main question with the two of them is whether I can find a list of rectifier or distiller numbers, so that I can find out what these bottles may have contained? I want to know as much about them as possible, but it seems almost impossible to find information on distillers, and there seems to be even less information out there on rectifiers. Thank you for any info you can give!
I have a brown bottle proabably 6″-7″ tall with markings below the neck saying “NOT TO BE REFILLED” and “NO DEPOSITE* NO RETURN” On the bottom brid it has “V AHK”
Tyler, it sounds like an amber beer bottle from the 1970s or ’80s, made by Alexander H. Kerr Glass Company. See my page on Kerr, and the AHK listing in the alphabetical marks listings pages.
Best regards, David
Hello David I have found what i believe to be an old whiskey bottle. The bottle is brown in color and has what appears to be raised diamonds surrounding the bottle.There is a flat surface in the shape of a diamond on the front of the bottle which looks to be where a label may have been.On the back of the bottle is a flat square for another possible label.Above that is what looks to be a chest armor with a ball above it.On the bottom it has D 18 then a triangle (point facing downward) with a dot on each side and what looks to be a W above a T inside the triangle then a 12 – 9.On the back of the bottle in raised letters it reads FEDERAL LAW FORBIDS SALE OR REUSE OF THIS BOTTLE. Hoping you can help me with this.I am 62 yrs. old and don’t remember seeing this type of writing on a bottle.Would love to know the approximate age and use for the bottle.And also on the bottom it reads “CONT. DIST. CORP. PHILA. PA. Thanks for any help you can give me.
Kevin
Kevin, concerning the reuse of liquor bottles – bottles used for distilled spirits “other than those contained in that bottle at the time of closing” – this phrase may be indicated on the bottle due to the provisions of 26 U.S.C. 5301(c), Refilling of liquor bottles, and 27 CFR 31.201-203, concerning the refilling and possession of used or refilled liquor bottles. These are federal laws you can look up at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2016-title26/html/USCODE-2016-title26-subtitleE-chap51-subchapE.htm and https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=913d93a15750f21937422e73724d2b47&mc=true&node=pt27.1.31&rgn=div5#se27.1.31_1201 . Simply put, it is illegal to refill or reuse liquor bottles and some states have laws that mirror the federal law.
Mark, thanks for your post,
Although those laws are still in effect, the “Federal Law forbids” phrase is seldom actually marked on bottles anymore, and was not required after about 1964.
I might also add that a close reading of those laws indicate that the main, overriding purpose is simply to prevent anyone from using an empty or previously-used liquor bottle for refilling and selling another alcoholic product of any sort in it. So, needless to say, simply possessing empty liquor bottles for other, benign purposes would not be illegal, such as using for a terrarium; a craft project; cutting the top off for a unique drinking glass; to save screws, tacks, marbles or something like that in it; for room decor; adding it to a liquor bottle collection, or saving it for taking to a recycling center, etc.
Best regards,
~David
Hi Kevin,
Your bottle was made by Whitall Tatum Company, Millville, NJ, who used the WT inside a triangle for several years in the 1920s and 1930s. (See my page on that company). The “Federal Law forbids….” phrase was required on liquor bottles between 1933 and 1964, and was also marked on some liquor bottles for several years afterward. The “12” is a liquor bottle permit number assigned to Whitall Tatum, and “9” is a date code, evidently for the year 1939. The “Cont. Dist. Corp” was presumably the distiller or distributor of the liquor, but I am not familiar with that company, or what actual brand name of liquor was in the bottle,evidently represented by the design you see on the front of the bottle. Best regards,
David
Hi David~ I have an small glass what I believe perfume bottle that is clear and is marked 990 with the number 2 below it. It is smooth on two sides, the other two sides have a clear vertical rectangle with a raised rounded vertical shape going down the side of the bottle . It has a stopper with a clear triangle that apears to be flat on top with a diamond shape as well as the edges of the stopper have a diamond shape. Can you tell me anything about the bottle?
Bell, without a glass manufacturer’s mark on it, I can’t say where, when, or by whom it was made.
Best regards, David
Hi Dave I have a amber bottle with 2 dots and under them is 6667
I have a half gallon a trademark Lightining jar with the initials “HWP 268” ON THE BOTTON. I can’t seem to ding out what this means. Can you help?
Suzanne, the initials stand for “Henry W. Putnam”. Many “lightning” style fruit jars were made over many years, by a number of glass manufacturers, and they may bear the name PUTMAN or HWP with or without a mold number.
David
Hello David,
I recently acquired a vintage mercury (silvered) glass bottle hand warmer with a metal coiled heat element on the top of the metal cap. It is filled with cotton and a wick that leads from the cotton up through the center of the cap to the coil. I have not been able to attain any information on this item or even find a picture online that even resembles it. All i have to go off of is the raised number 7 on one side of the bottom of the bottle, and a raised letter F on the other side of the bottom of the bottle. The bottle is approximately 2.5 ” tall and 1.5″ wide and 1″ thick. The coil is 2″ tall. Does the F or the 7 mean anything to you or could that give me any direction to search as to find the general time or company that produced this rare item?
Thank you,
Ty
Ty, I have no info on your bottle. Perhaps someone will see your post and comment on it.
~David
I am trying to date a bottle I found and cannot find information on the specific bottle, so I am hoping the stamp on the bottom will help. The Bottle has a raised number “69” and “13/16 pint” on the bottom. Running around the base of the neck it says “The Louis Bergdoll Brewing Co. Phila. Pa.” and on the base it says “registered” “Established 1849.” I’ve seen the name stamped on the front of the bottle, but not around the neck like it is on this bottle.
Laurie
I have a clear glass bottle; the outside is kind of spiraled but not super spiral. The numbers on the bottom are “7 0 70” and “.3” spaced as such. The “.3” is located opposite of the other numbers, I guess if the “7 0 70” numbers are north, the “.3” would be South. Please let me know if you can figure out where this bottle came from!
Kaydee, without seeing the bottle, it sounds like it may be an Owens-Illinois Glass Co. bottle. Please check out my webpage on that company. The “70” may be a date code for 1970. The “7” (if it is a plant location code) would stand for their Alton, Illinois glass factory. The “3” is a mold identifying number.
David
We found a bottle at our farm with S5 10 on the bottom
Hello. I have a bottle that I determined was made by the Chattanooga Glass company (there is a C with a circle around it on the bottom of the bottle). It also has the number 6 on the bottom. On the front of the bottle is an embossed sailing ship. It has a wide screw top. What can you tell me about this bottle. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Jason,
I’m not familiar with the bottle, but it might have held a brand of liquor of some sort.
David
David – Would like some info (if you have any) on a bottle I found. It’s a clear glass olive oil type dispenser bottle with a black screw-top cap and what looks like a maple leaf on the side. On the bottom there are numbers “15” and “9” and what looks to be a bird with outstretched wings in the middle. The bird is kind of odd looking and in between the “15” and the “9” there is a character that (for lack of better demonstration) has the shape of one of those orange Goldfish crackers that kids eat. I wish I could better describe it but maybe this will help figure out what the marks mean. Thanks so much. 🙂
Dawn, (readers, we communicated by email concerning this mark) and Dawn gave me permission to post her pic of the mark, under “Bird….” in the alphabetical mark listings pages. If anyone recognizes it, please let us know!
David
Could the “bird with outstretched wings” possibly be the Bacardi bat symbol?
Michele, I don’t think there would be any connection, since that logo appears on an olive oil bottle.
David
Hello,
I have found a little jar not much larger than 1 inch square by 1 1/2 inch tall. The metal top still on and some dry blue substance inside. I found it at an old farm in Roanoke Virginia. I believe it may be an ink jar. It has on the bottom the markings “KK PAID” on it.
Can you tell me anything about it or were to Look?
Thanks
John
John, I don’t have any info on your bottle. It doesn’t sound familiar to me. Any possibility it might be a small model paint jar, such as Testors?
Best regards,
David
David – I really enjoyed your site. I looked for the symbols found on my small green bottle, but can’t find anything. It’s a “3” then what appears to be an eye shape, with an oversize “O” covering the eye, then a “5” with a “2” below. I am sure the numbers are date/mold codes, but what is the eye symbol?? It is sort of like this (with the parenthesis symbols actually being more like an O and enclosed). Is is possible to find out what this means? Am I overthinking it?? LOL Thanks!!
Shannon, please check out my webpage on Owens-Illinois Glass Company, the user of the logo that looks somewhat like an “eye”.
Best regards,
David
Hi, I have recently started looking up bottles from my collection. I have a small corked bottle with 2 raised bumps and a leaf on the base of bottle. I can’t find it anywhere while researching~ any ideas?
Judy, I don’t know about your bottle or the leaf logo on the base. Perhaps a reader will know.
David
Hello! My son has been digging up all sorts of (unfortunately) broken old jars on our property. He most recently found the bottom of a jar that reads: PAT NOV 26 67 with the numbers 753 and a sword in the center. Being broken, I’m sure its not worth anything, but we are curious as to what it may have been. Thank you kindly in advance for your help!
Hi Sherrie,
Please check out my article on the “MASON’S PATENT NOV 30TH 1858” fruit jars. That is the base of one of the many “Hero Fruit Jar Company” examples, which usually were marked on the bottom with the November 26, 1867 patent date, along with a mold number.
Best regards,
David
I will. Thank you kindly, David!
I found a old bottle with N SS 47 on the bottom of it. Can you tell me how old the bottle is?
I found a glass Mrs Buttersworth. Bottle at a yard sale that I’m trying top date. The seller said the number 75 on the bottom is the year it was made. There is also an I in a circle as well as a single number 7. I’m not a bottle collector. I just like things from my birth year (1975). Thanks..
Shawn, the “75” does stand for the year 1975. The “I in an oval” is the mark used by Owens-Illinois Glass Company. You might check out the article on that company here on my website. The “7” may be either a plant code (for Alton, IL) or a mold number, depending on it’s position on the base of the bottle.
Hope this helps,
David
I have a weird shaped bottle found in a cave on Guam. The numbers on the bottle read:
66-35
MG 7
**. (Two dots)
Does anyone know what that means?
Which cave did you locate it in? I have several bottles from Guam and may be able to assist