Antique Soda And Beer Bottles

Antique Soda & Beer Bottles

Your Information Source For Pre-crown Sodas & Beers

Bottle Bases:

The base of a bottle has a lot to say about a bottle's age. The main feature on a base is the presence or absence of markings. These markings can be a pontil mark, machine scar, or lettering.

Pontil marks are distinctive and are found on the earliest of soda bottles. A pontil was an iron rod attached to the bottom of a bottle after it was blown. After the pontil was attached, the blown bottle was severed from the blowpipe and the lip was applied. The bottle was then snapped from the pontil leaving its distinctive scar. A pontil mark usually indicates the bottle was made before 1860. However, different regions of the country abandoned the use of pontils at different times. For the most part, the transition period was 1855 to 1860. The pontil was first abandoned in New England, then in the Mid-Atlantic, and finally in the Mid-West over this period.

A machine scar is a light circular ridge of glass that was left on the bottom of a bottle as the result of the bottle being manufactured by an automatic bottle machine (ABM). These scars are often mistaken for pontils by novices. However, they are only found on bottles that were manufactured after 1900 and on some earlier bottles manufactured on semi-automatic machines. The first semi-automatic machines appeared about 1895, but were primarily used to manufacture fruit jars.

Lettering on the base of a bottle was usually reserved for mold or manufacturer's marks. Most of the embossing, such as "205A," were marks used by manufacturers to identify the specific mold a bottle was blown into. Many times bottlers would pick this number out of a catalogue and relay it as part of the order. Glass makers and some glass brokers, such as Karl Hutter, also used this area to add marking as to who produced this bottle. Manufacturer's markings can also be found on the reverse or heels of bottles. On earlier bottles, the embossing was around the rim of the base so that the pontil scar would not deface it. When the pontil was eliminated, the whole base was available. Many times the bottlers initials or logo is on the base of the bottle. This is particularly true for Hutchinson and other bottles that were to be shipped base up. These letters allowed the bottler to claim his bottles without having to pick up each one from the shipping case. Often the lettering on the base is ghosted or double struck. This occurred when the gather of glass touched the base of the mold more than once.

Below are listed the major base types.

	Open pontil base (OP), circ: 1825-1845 This base type is distinguished by a tubular scar. This pontil is also known as a blowpipe pontil. After the blowpipe was severed from the blown bottle it was attached to the bottle's base . Thus the scar is the diameter of the neck. This type of pontil was used until 1860, but was not a production technique.
	Scar pontil base (SP), circ: 1750-1845 This base type is distinguished by chunks of glass scarring the bottle's base. This is also known as a sand or re-fired pontil and is common on early black glass bottles. In the evolution of soda bottles, the scar pontil followed the use of the open pontil.
	Improved pontil base (IP), circ: 1845-1860 This base type is distinguished by a gray metallic residue on the base of the bottle. This is also known as an iron pontil or graphite pontil due to the coloration of the residue. The example shown is the more common gray coloration. The amount of residue can very greatly and is many times worn off. However, scarring will usually remain on the base, which can be felt as a sharp indentation into the base.
	Improved pontil base (IP), circ: 1845-1860 This is another example of an improved pontil with a red coloration. These are more common of bottles manufactured in the Mid-West. However, examples of Eastern manufacture can be located.
	Snap case base (SC), circ: 1855-1865 This base type is distinguished by smooth markings left by snaps or clamps, which were the replacements for pontils. They are often mistaken for pontils by novice and advanced collectors. With a pontil being a premium, this is often wishful thinking. The best way to identify this base is to feel it. Snap case bases are distorted but smooth to the touch.
	Smooth base (SB), circ: 1857-1920 This base type is distinguished by a smooth well formed base. Often there are letters or numbers present. These can be mold identifiers, manufacturer's markings, or the proprietor's initials or logo. Many times the markings are double struck or ghosted.
	Automatic bottle machine base (ABM), circ: 1895-1920 This base type is distinguished by a small ridge of glass that can travel up onto the sides of the bottle. The size of the ring can very from half an inch to the width of the bottle. Look for a seam line over the lip of the bottle to positively identify a machine made bottle. Semi-automatic bottles also have these base scars and predate fully machine made bottles by nearly a decade.