Unusual Ball Mason

[poorjodie]

As I am new to collection jars I hope you all will be easy on me. I
have a question about a quart jar I saw last weekend at a flea market.
The jar was a common dropped-A shoulder seal Ball Mason except it
didn't say Ball. The A had no top loop and formed a perfect U. All the
embossing was strong and there was no ghosting where the top of the A
should have been. Both sides of the U went straight up without any
curve to them. It looked like the engraver never made the top of the A
on the mold. The problem with the jar was a fairly large 3/8" chip on
the lip and the price $8.00. Is "Bull MASON" a known variant? And
would this jar have been worth buying?

 

[jarsnstuff]

Hi Jodie, I was waiting for Bob Clay to give you an answer 'cuz he's pretty much the Ball authority here. It's my understanding that the old Ball molds were hand cut and sometimes came out very crude. I've heard of "Bull" and "Bill" jars, I don't know how much more than any other Ball jar they might be worth, but if you like it - it's worth the 8 bucks. You could do worse. Plus, the chip would only come into play when you might decide to sell it since you can display with the lid on & no one would ever notice. Maybe Bob will fill you in a bit more, but that's at least a start. -Tammy