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Cemurph

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Im new to the forum. Im a metal detectorist, but as you all probably know, we find glass all the time by chance. I do love antique bottles. I would like to post a few pics of bottles ive found, and get some insight on how to date these. Am I at the right place?
 

UnderMiner

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Welcome, I started with MD too. You will have fun! Feel free to ask any questions if you need help learning how to find the best bottles.
 

Cemurph

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Ok, this one for example. Has seams all the way up on both sides, and imperfections in the glass. I dont know anything about meaning of the markings. Any info, age etc....?
 

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Dogo

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Your bottle was made by the Owens-Illinois Glass Co, probably 1945 but no later than 1955 according to my book. ( BOTTLE MAKERS AND THEIR MARKS by Julian Toulouse) The 6 is the plant number, the 5 is the year and the 3 is the mold number. He says that mark was discontinued after 1954, but he may be off a year. Welcome to the forum. Your good pictures are a necessity for identification.
 

UnderMiner

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Ok, this one for example. Has seams all the way up on both sides, and imperfections in the glass. I dont know anything about meaning of the markings. Any info, age etc....?
The symbol of the diamond with the circle around it on the bottom is the logo of the Owens-Illinois Glass Company and dates your bottle between 1930 to about 1955. After 1955 that logo was no longer used by the company and didn't exist before 1930. The number 5 on the right of the diamond is the date code, being a singular number it corresponds to the last number of the year so either 1935 or 1945. In the 1950's they used two numbers (so if it was 1955 it would be marked 55 instead of just 5), so this can't be your bottle's date. Since production was larger in 1945 than in 1935 your bottle likely dates to 1945.

More info here: https://hobbylark.com/collecting/How-to-Date-Owens-Illinois-Glass
 

DavidW

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The symbol of the diamond with the circle around it on the bottom is the logo of the Owens-Illinois Glass Company and dates your bottle between 1930 to about 1955. After 1955 that logo was no longer used by the company and didn't exist before 1930. The number 5 on the right of the diamond is the date code, being a singular number it corresponds to the last number of the year so either 1935 or 1945. In the 1950's they used two numbers (so if it was 1955 it would be marked 55 instead of just 5), so this can't be your bottle's date. Since production was larger in 1945 than in 1935 your bottle likely dates to 1945.

More info here: https://hobbylark.com/collecting/How-to-Date-Owens-Illinois-Glass
Hi all,

I would almost bet (even though I am not a betting man) that the date code "5" in this case stands for 1935. Most Owens-Illinois bottles made from 1930 to 1939 bear a single-digit year code placed to the right of the "Diamond and oval with I inside" trademark (although there are exceptions). Another clue is that the brand name Duraglas (which was introduced in 1940) is not embossed on the bottom, and by 1945 most beverage bottles (except liquor bottles) would have Duraglas along with the date code. So I am pretty confident your bottle was made in 1935.

Another note: Although most bottles with the "diamond/oval/i" mark date before 1954, in actual practice it was several years time before ALL molds in use were re-tooled with their new trademark (I inside an O). The latest known bottle with the "old" Owens-Illinois trademark on the bottom (that has been confirmed) is from 1966!! 12 years after the "official" end of the Diamond/Oval/I trademark in 1954.
 

hemihampton

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My guess was going to be 1935, just a hunch with that GI82 number on lower edge? seems later bottles dropped these type of # &/or at that location. Just a hunch? LEON.
 

willong

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Im new to the forum. Im a metal detectorist, but as you all probably know, we find glass all the time by chance. I do love antique bottles. I would like to post a few pics of bottles ive found, and get some insight on how to date these. Am I at the right place?
Welcome to the forum!

You are in the right place to start. As you gain knowledge, you will be able refine your questions at times and then post them to more focused threads. For example: the bottle you recently posted would specifically fit into the What is it? Antique Bottles AFTER 1900 category and a little more broadly in the Digging and Finding forum.

Many people here are eager to help and most are polite. Unlike some online groups, I have not encountered many "thread cops" here who feel it their purpose to hold conversation "on topic."

I'd definitely recommend that you also peruse the information available at: https://sha.org/bottle/index.htm

Expect to be overwhelmed at first. However, I don't think you can find a better single source at your fingertips for authoritative information on antique bottles, especially for DIY identification purposes when your finds might well span many production era decades. That site's information was initially compiled and developed by a professional archeologist who worked for the Bureau of Land Management. It was specifically prepared to assist other working professionals date historical sites found on federal lands.

Good luck on your hunts!
 
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