Understanding/identifying what a pontil scar is.

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sandchip

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"The word seam refers to the joining of two like pieces of material. like sewing cloth or welding steel, which never occurs when a bottle is blown, because the gather of glass is always in one piece. The mold lines or "seams" are only the impression left in the glass of where the mold halves or sections meet."

A semantical nicety, indeed. A bottle can be described as a cast made inside a mold. The impressions on the bottle are of the joins (seams) of the mold parts. Those impressions then might be called "casts of the mold seams." But, I think "seams" will survive in our shorthand vernacular. :)

No doubt, the term is here to stay, sort of like sunrise. But I do want to be on record in opposition to its incorrect use! ;)
 

Manuel Rodriguez

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Excellent addition to this thread, I would say/add any bottle that has embossed writing on the base would not have a genuine pontil scar.
I have some 1969 Coca-Cola bottles don’t know much about it from Woodstock and have the yellow box too 12 bottles they look green
 

American

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There seems to be a lot of new collectors who are confused what a pontil scar looks like or is. They seem to know its on the base of the bottle but after that they get a bit confused sometimes.
Lets start with the open pontil which is probably the most common of pontil marks. The still in making bottle is put on the pontil rod with a blob of glass to hold it while the top is being made/tooled by the glassmaker, when done this rod is broken away leaving a sharp edged scar that would likely cut you if you ran your finger across it. Most dates point to 1845-1860 and some earlier for the use of this type, it is even still used today on blown art glass but some polishing often takes place on these newer vessels.
The iron or graphite pontil is the easiest to distinguish because it looks like an imprint of a black or rusty doughnut, these were in use 1850's-1860's.
There are other pontil marks but these are the ones most will see.
Machine made bottles-those with the mold lines all the way to the top made after 1905 do not use or have pontil marks. You may see scars of excess glass on the bases of machine made bottles but it isn't a pontil mark and neither is a kick up base you see on wine bottles.
Well that's a start but I'm sure others could add to this topic to help out a new collector's understanding of the pontil mark.
No need to get in to solid or hollow rod pontil marks at this stage. This could be one very long essay
 

American

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Harry, That Pic confuses me, if it was blown in a mold & had mold lines then wouldn't there have to be a empty blank space in the mold for the blow pipe? wouldn't that empty blank space in mold be in the middle of bottom? if not how does the glass get into the mold?
That's the mouth of the bottle that is attached to the blow pipe. It is whetted off after the punty is applied to the base, then the mouth is finished or left plain. Plain would still require a trip back to the glory hole to smooth it over. Otherwise more glass is applied to form a lip or collar with the use of "the tool".
 

Harry Pristis

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That's the mouth of the bottle that is attached to the blow pipe. It is whetted off after the punty is applied to the base, then the mouth is finished or left plain. Plain would still require a trip back to the glory hole to smooth it over. Otherwise more glass is applied to form a lip or collar with the use of "the tool".

I think the term is "wetted off," not "whetted off." I believe the term derives from the dipping of the shears in water to chill them before touching them to the neck of the nascent bottle. Thermal shock is what separates the bottle from the pontil rod.
 

Bottle 2 Rocks

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I think the term is "wetted off," not "whetted off." I believe the term derives from the dipping of the shears in water to chill them before touching them to the neck of the nascent bottle. Thermal shock is what separates the bottle from the pontil rod.
Arrogance is such a wonderful partner. Don't you agree Hairy, oh by the way its a blow pipe not a rod.
 

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