Strange base on Ayer's

[cannibalfromhannibal]

[attachment=IMG_0553.JPG] [attachment=IMG_0553.JPG] [attachment=IMG_0553.JPG] Dug this Ayer's Sarsaparilla up today in a early 1860's pit, at least that is what I have dug thus far, not having hit the bottom or any real use layer yet. Found in the fill, pieces of a local soda dating no newer than 1862 and pieces of a very early unidentified glass lid to a fruit jar (I think),ring top to an early looking historical type flask, big bones and some yellow ware pieces. Mostly fill junk but starting at a few inches deep and nothing newer than the mentioned 60's stuff from a square stone liner bottoming out about the 10 foot level. That said, no bases yet to indicate pontil age but I think it safe to say early 60's. This Ayers is crude and applied and looks completely different in font size from my other ones and the s's are falling forward. The first thing I looked for was a pontil and was surprised to see this weird double 3 sided with a round edge made from the round side of the post mold. I have never seen this before and definitely looks to be a part of the mold and not some weird mold identifying marker. Certainly not news worthy, but just curious if anyone has seen such a thing before or any thoughts on what caused it? I was thinking it might have been some strange invention to replace the pontil rod that was not practical and abandoned early in its inception. Any thoughts appreciated. Jack

 

[Road Dog]

Pretty Kool ! Not seen anything like that.

 

[Plumbata]

Nice bottle! I would guess that the piece was made later in the day when the mold was quite hot. Perhaps the glass which contacted the post adhered slightly, and when the bottle was removed from the mold, the base-glass had not yet solidified and was deformed during extrication due to the slight adhesion to the post.

 

[cannibalfromhannibal]

Thanks you guys for the replies. Plumb, I would agree if it weren't so darned perfect in appearance. Since I haven't found the pit to be of pontil age, I have revised my thought on this one. My best guess is the base plate was shaped like this, for why I don't know but really looks intentional. After examining it closer, it is even more detailed that originally thought, with 2 more straight lines before meeting the post circle on both sides. Truly a strange one but again looks intentional in design. Jack

 

[RIBottleguy]

I believe I bought an Ayers like this off ebay a few years ago. I will post pictures of the base if I can find them.