Mystery 517 Massachusetts Milk Bottle

Welcome to our Antique Bottle community

Be a part of something great, join today!

treasurekidd

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2005
Messages
772
Reaction score
85
Points
28
Location
Warwick, RI
Hello, I picked up a mystery half pint Massachusetts milk bottle today, embossed only with the number 517 in the slug plate. I've never seen a milk bottle embossed with just a number like this, and my attempts to research this bottle have turned up nothing, so I was hoping someone else could shed some light on this one. Anyone ever seen a milk like this one? Thanks in advance!

IMG_3938.jpg
 

treasurekidd

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2005
Messages
772
Reaction score
85
Points
28
Location
Warwick, RI
Thanks, CanadianBottles, I hadn't thought of that. Perhaps some sort of laboratory bottle, with 517 being a lot or control number? Very possible. Thanks!
 

treasurekidd

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2005
Messages
772
Reaction score
85
Points
28
Location
Warwick, RI
Yes, interesting indeed. It’s a little out of territory for my collection, but it was unique enough that I bought it just to try to figure out what is was. No luck so far though :(
 

nhpharm

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2007
Messages
2,966
Reaction score
1,628
Points
113
My guess is a phone number. You should look for milk companies in the 1920's that had 517 as a phone number...their phone numbers are usually pretty prominent in their advertisements.
 

buildzit

New Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2024
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I know this an old thread but while doing excavation work in downtown Raleigh NC I came across a very similar bottle. Did the original poster ever find any information?
IMG_3709.jpeg
IMG_3710.jpeg
 

HunterTheFox59

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2021
Messages
140
Reaction score
186
Points
43
Location
Western Massachusetts
It could be a milk dealer licensing number. I got this milk bottle from eBay a couple of months ago with a licensing number embossed on it.
1708952662844.png
 

Members online

Latest threads

Forum statistics

Threads
83,218
Messages
742,910
Members
24,231
Latest member
rrenzi
Top