Possibly one of the earliest John Ryan bottles?

[sandchip]

The icepick bruise would tend to make the fake look more authentic. I checked when the Helvetica font was designed: 1957, about a century after the bottle was blown.

 

[baltbottles]

Tim,

I don't have a pic of any of the fakes but. If you are not sure go and send the bottle to one of the big bottle auction houses. And they will tell you the same thing I have. Pontiled sodas are my main collection and I have handled more good sodas then most people on this forum. All I can say is everything about the embossing is wrong.

Chris

 

[bottlekid76]

Well if that's what it is then it's a hard lesson learned. I doubt it would be returnable. I guess i'll have to just keep it on the shelf and admire it. Maybe one day i'll see an example of one of the enhanced bottles you have mentioned. Thanks guys

~Tim

 

[Road Dog]

Never even paid attention to that font , but once you mentioned it I can see it now. Sharp folks on here. Might be a good thing to put in the scam and fraud section?

 

[blobbottlebob]

I am so sorry Tim! It is a stunning bottle and an even more bzazen scam. Everything that I have used to authenticate a bottle is present. It looks old. The pontil seems real - it even has graphite in it. I have never seen anything like that faked. Everything about the lip says early. The whittle and the the pry marks - consitant with age. But to take an old bottle and modify it with new technology!!! Now that is taking fraud to a whole nother level. This guy is one heck of a scoundrel. I think you should contact him and tell him that experts have told you it is not authentic. Explain your findings and ask him if the police around there investigate fraud cases. Maybe that would make him consider a refund. (Unless you bought it for ten bucks - then just call it a lesson learned). But if you paid five hundred (or something), someone has GOT to stop this guy.

If it makes you feel any better, I would not have known. I have seen early bottles with that square plate and I would have thought that it was not only possible but entirely likely that it was original. Man, this gets my goat! That guy was either duped as bad as you (which seems unlikely because he was telling you he's had it for years and years) or he is a total slimebucket.

 

[KBbottles]

Dude id do everything i can to get my money back if that happened to me... And im surprised such a well-versed collector wouldn't have figured out this was a fake. Regardless, i would really try. I wouldnt want that thing on my shelf reminding me of my mistake... But thats just me lol

 

[bottlekid76]

The only thing I know for sure is that the guy I bought it from, moved here to this area in the mid 80's from Pennsylvania. Apparently there is a big or famous yard sale that many people go to somewhere there. Tons of people set up and it has anything and everything, not just antiques. Some of you from the area may know what it is? Anyhow, he bought it there at that time. That's really all I know. I do know the gentleman I bought it from definatly (like me) wouldn't have considered it a fake and sold it to me. He's a pretty good guy and honest. He was fooled also i'd say if it is the for sure the case. So if it is indeed what Chris is saying, I wouldn't blame him. I definatly wasn't expecting that response tho!

All the best,
~Tim

 

[RICKJJ59W]

ORIGINAL: baltbottles

Tim,

I hate to tell you but the bottle you bought is an outright fake. It was made with an industrial laser etching machine there were a few of these going around about 6 years ago. I believe they were traced back to a guy in Pa he also made a bunch of unique sodas from small Pa towns. That took a few collectors by surprise. I don't know if any legal action was ever taken against the guy.

I thought that embossing looked a little to neat and crisp.
It's a shame Kid.I would hunt that bum down.

 

[blobbottlebob]

mid 80's from Pennsylvania

Tim. I am no expert on technology but I'm guessing this thing was made well after the 80s. Maybe I'd believe six years ago - like Chris (Baltbottles) mentioned. If he says he bought this in the 80s, then he IS pulling something.

 

[rockbot]

the first thing I noticed was the font too. Way to modern. you would think that someone going through all that trouble of making a fake would take the time to research the letter style of the time. Thats what I like about old glass. Old font, oh and color and whittle oh hell, I just a bottle head!