Mason's Patent Nov. 30th 1858 reproduction or not? C

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MountainMan304

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So, I've had this jar for probably ten-something years. I've never been big on jars so I've been trying to get rid of it, but I have no idea if it's real or not (I don't want to rip somebody off), as I read that a lot of reproductions were made in China in the 2010s. I can't find this exact style of embossing on eBay sold listings besides this one. Except, on closer inspection, the one listed has much thinner, threadier embossing. Mine is a thicker text--almost bubbly.

But what has me stumped is that the glass itself is fairly crude. It's not light and cheap, there are tons of bubbles, and the sides are deformed inwards a bit at the seams. The inside of the lip is rough, with vertical lines (I'm assuming stress from blowing it?). There are some tiny, tiny scratches with very minor wear on the bottom. Please see the attached pics; it's a half gallon I believe.
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nhpharm

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No question it's real/about 110-120 years old. Value isn't all that much though...$5-10. It is machine made.
 

east texas terry

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So, I've had this jar for probably ten-something years. I've never been big on jars so I've been trying to get rid of it, but I have no idea if it's real or not (I don't want to rip somebody off), as I read that a lot of reproductions were made in China in the 2010s. I can't find this exact style of embossing on eBay sold listings besides this one. Except, on closer inspection, the one listed has much thinner, threadier embossing. Mine is a thicker text--almost bubbly.

But what has me stumped is that the glass itself is fairly crude. It's not light and cheap, there are tons of bubbles, and the sides are deformed inwards a bit at the seams. The inside of the lip is rough, with vertical lines (I'm assuming stress from blowing it?). There are some tiny, tiny scratches with very minor wear on the bottom. Please see the attached pics; it's a half gallon I believe.
View attachment 238804View attachment 238805View attachment 238806
I have dug one out a civil war hut in Va. & a 1850 dump site
 

MountainMan304

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It looks legit to me, but not super old - I don't think the lip is ground is it?
How do I determine if the lip is ground? Around the lip (on the inside) the glass is rough and sticks inwards some. I wasn't sure if that was from the lid or manufacturing.
 

DavidW

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Your jar looks to be one of the semi-automatic machine-made types by Ball Bros Glass Manufacturing Co, probably dating from the 1895-1915 period. The lip is classed as a "smooth lip" even with some mild roughness. That perfect round circle on the bottom was caused by the machinery process of making that jar. It's called a "valve mark" or "ejection mark". see the paragraph farther down on this page about Ejection marks: https://sha.org/bottle/bases.htm

The 'ground lips" have a rough, but flat, ground down appearance, as soon as you see a true ground lip in person you will know! The surface of the lip has a more "frosty" look since it was ground down flat on a grinding wheel (or as if ground down with large grit sandpaper). You can probably search ebay for some auctions of older jars and look closely at the pics of the lip area (if they include some closeups) .
 

MountainMan304

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Your jar looks to be one of the semi-automatic machine-made types by Ball Bros Glass Manufacturing Co, probably dating from the 1895-1915 period. The lip is classed as a "smooth lip" even with some mild roughness. That perfect round circle on the bottom was caused by the machinery process of making that jar. It's called a "valve mark" or "ejection mark". see the paragraph farther down on this page about Ejection marks: https://sha.org/bottle/bases.htm

The 'ground lips" have a rough, but flat, ground down appearance, as soon as you see a true ground lip in person you will know! The surface of the lip has a more "frosty" look since it was ground down flat on a grinding wheel (or as if ground down with large grit sandpaper). You can probably search ebay for some auctions of older jars and look closely at the pics of the lip area (if they include some closeups) .
Thank you! That's all great information. This is the only jar I've owned so this is super helpful.
 

hemihampton

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Considering it's a big half Gallon & has cap I would guess it might be worth more then $10? LEON.
 
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