The “MASON’S / PATENT / NOV 30TH / 1858” phrase was originally embossed on countless “screw top” glass fruit jars (canning jars), most ranging in age from circa 1858 to the mid-1910s.
Note: many reproductions of these jars have been made (from the 1970s all the way up to the present time), which are discussed later in this article.
NOTE OF CAUTION: It has come to my attention that some oddly colored Nov 30th 1858-type jars (shades of red and yellow, probably other colors exist) have recently surfaced for sale on auction sites. They have the base mold number: H385. We can be assured that ALL jars with this mold number are reproductions (modern fakes or ‘fantasy’ jars). They were likely recent imports from Asia !!! If anyone has further info on this type of jar, or knows of other mold numbers that ID fakes, please contact me! [This paragraph added November 26, 2013].
Also……..as of August 4, 2014, unusually colored midget (Consolidated Fruit Jar Company logo) NOV 30TH 1858 jars have been reported with a mold number on the base: H39s (the “9” is backwards and the “S” looks somewhat like a backward “Z”). These are also recently-made imports from Asia.
NOTE: Other Patent Nov 30th 1858 reproduction jars are reported with a mold number “H430” on the base (thank you Chris!).
Brief History of the 1858 jars
John Landis Mason was awarded patent #22186, issued on November 30, 1858 by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Actually, the patent was termed an “Improvement in screw-neck bottles” for his invention concerning the process of creating a threaded screw-type closure on bottles and jars. Similar screw-threading had been done before on some bottles, but the process of forming the upper lip area of the container (so that it was smooth, even, and sturdy enough for a lid of standard size to be screwed thereon) was difficult and expensive to do properly, often with unsatisfactory results. His improvement revolutionized home canning in the United States.
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The very first jars with the Nov 30 1858 patent date embossing are believed by researchers to have been made at the “Crowleytown” Glass Works (more accurately the Atlantic Glass Works), located in Washington Township, New Jersey. There is no absolute proof of that, however. The “Crowleytown” jars have a more pronounced square shoulder, differing in appearance from the typical later types.
For a very good in-depth discussion of the Crowleytown and nearby glass works, check out this thread posted on the antique-bottles.net discussion site:
What Really Happened at Crowleytown
Another firm which was producing the jars fairly early was the Consolidated Fruit Jar Company (C F J Co monogram), although those jars would have to date after 1871, or possibly not until the late 1870s.
Questions remain on exactly which companies made these jars during the early years, since the 1858 patent evidently lasted 13 years (or 20 years, counting a patent reissue), and ostensibly during that time period no one was allowed to produce the jars because of patent infringement issues unless they were granted permission by Mason, or the licensed holder of the patent.
In any case, throughout the next 60-odd years, production of jars with the Nov. 30, 1858 embossing continued at a high rate, with untold tens of millions (or more) produced. The phrase was soon considered an important marketing device, adding to the perception of quality and reliability of the container to the average consumer, and, at least by 1879 (21 years after the patent was issued), it is very likely that nearly every glass bottle factory in the US was producing their own version. The 1880s and 1890s saw the peak of popularity of these jars. A considerable percentage of these kinds of jars have a mold number or letter on the base (or a combination of both) which was their means of identifying a particular mold in use at the factory.
Most jars fall under one of three sizes (capacities): Pint, Quart, and Half Gallon. Any other sizes are much scarcer. Some examples were quite crudely made, with lots of embedded bubbles, mold irregularities, and a “hammered”, “rippled”, “whittled”, or “washboard” appearance to the surface of the glass. The “whittled” look might be compared to the appearance of heavy rain beating against a glass windowpane, and is caused by the molten glass having been blown into a mold that was not properly pre-heated — that is, the glass had begun to solidify too quickly. Contrary to a popular misconception, these jars were not made in wooden molds, but in metal molds, usually made of cast iron or steel.
Some examples also have identifying initials on the base or reverse, or a monogram on the front or back, which can serve to identify what company made them. (For instance, jars with the lettering “W.C.D.” on the base are products of the W. C. Depauw Glass Company, located in New Albany, Indiana. The jar pictured here is an example.)
However, vast quantities were produced by well over 100 different glass factories, and many of those have NO identification marks whatsoever, or only a mold number, letter, or emblem on the base. There are MANY, MANY different mold numbers seen, having one, two, or three digits. In those cases it is difficult, if not virtually impossible, to positively identify the actual glassmaker. They are found in a multitude of color shades, with light aqua being the most commonly seen. Many shades of aqua, as well as ambers, greens, blues, amethyst, clear, and rarely, white milkglass, and blackglass examples are found. The black glass units are attributed to the Hemingray Glass Company, well-known for their electrical insulators.
Jars marked “PAT NOV 26 67” on the base.
Some MASON’S PATENT NOV 30th 1858-type jars are marked with a “Maltese Cross” symbol (which indicates the Hero Glass Works / Hero Fruit Jar Company, of Philadelphia, PA) either above or below the word MASON’S. On most examples, the letters “H”, “F”, “J” and “Co” can be faintly seen within each “arm” of the cross. On others, no letters are visible. This style with the cross underneath the word MASON’S is listed as jar#1939 in the “RED BOOK” of antique and collectible fruit jars often consulted by collectors. There are other slightly different variants of that jar (this is just one example)! Some have the standard “MASON’S PATENT NOV 30TH 1858” marking but do NOT have a Maltese cross. Those would be classified as Red Book jar #1890.
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Typically, the base of these jars are marked with “PAT NOV 26 67” (Patented November 26, 1867). Some jars may be blank on the bottom. In general, any jar with the PAT NOV 26 67 marking on the base can be attributed to the Hero Glass Works (later known as the Hero Fruit Jar Company). The “Hero” jars were made over a long time (typically most appear to date from the 1870s to 1890s) and many, many molds were used. There is typically a 2 or 3-digit mold number in the center of the base. Hero had several other glass companies help fill their orders, (such as Marion Fruit Jar & Bottle Company of Marion, IN and Cumberland Glass Manufacturing Company of Bridgeton, NJ) for these jars (which were extremely popular), so it is difficult to be 100% sure exactly where any particular H F J Co jar was made, although assumedly the majority were produced at their factory in Philadelphia.
NOTE: There are a number of other fruit jars made by (or for) Hero including certain jars marked on the front with the words “THE GEM”, or “GEM”. Others include jars marked “ALL RIGHT”, “CRYSTAL”, “THE HERO” , “HERO”, “HERO IMPROVED”, and “THE HEROINE”. These jars, in many cases, are marked with the PAT NOV 26 67 patent date on the bottom.
For much more detailed information on those and other jars connected with the Hero company, I would suggest you check out Bill Lockhart et al’s article (this is a .pdf file) on the Hero Glass Works / Hero Fruit Jar Company at this URL: Hero Glass Works – Sha.org
Anyone interested in learning more about the many, many variants of the 1858 patent jars that have been catalogued so far would be served well to obtain a recent copy of the “Red Book” price guide, used by most advanced collectors of fruit jars.
The earlier variants of the 1858 jars typically have a ground lip, (that is, having the appearance of being smoothed off on a grinding wheel, leaving a somewhat rough surface), and later variations made, in general, in 1900-1915 period, are machine-made and have a smooth lip.
Ball Bros. Glass Manufacturing Company made most of the very latest machine-made types. Many other variations of this basic jar (with changes in the exact raised embossed wording) were made in ensuing years, for example, the “Mason’s Improved” jar. The “Mason Jar” is now a generic term, meaning any jar used for canning which has a screw-type lid. A notable successor of this type of jar, the Ball Perfect Mason (with dozens of minor variations in size, shape and color; please see the “Ball Perfect Mason” page), would easily become the most popular and commonly produced fruit jar of the 20th century in the US, and is seen in proliferation at antique stores and flea markets around the United States.
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REPRODUCTION JARS
There are many reproductions of the “MASON’S PATENT NOV 30TH 1858” jars in circulation, especially examples produced in the last 40 years or so! These are typically (but not always) made in unusual, bright, garish, “striking” colors that are very rare or unknown in the originals, and often they are of a smaller size which tends to be in higher demand. Beware! They typically “look new” with a “slickness” to the glass, little or no base wear, and usually have no damage of any kind. Some of the mold numbers that may be seen on the bottoms which usually indicate a fake jar include: 1171 , 851 and 971.
Reproduction jars are known in many colors, including ruby red glass, cobalt blue, black glass, bright greens, ambers, purple, olive green, yellow, citron, and other colors.
[Adding this paragraph August 3, 2019] If the mold number on the bottom is H395 (with a backward 9), this is a recently imported quart size jar from India or China. They have been seen in cobalt and a rich ruby red color. The red might show a faint lean toward cranberry or puce. Other colors are almost certainly out there. (If you have seen one of the jars with this mold number in another color, please let me know and I will add it to this article). I think most of these have been made since around 1990, even some in very recent years. There are probably other mold numbers on these colored jars, and some are completely unmarked on the bottom. They sometimes have stickers on the base that reads “MADE IN INDIA” but the sticker may have been removed.
Anyone seriously interested in collecting the authentic early jars has to be aware that the reproductions are out there, sometimes mixed in with the real ones, at antique shops & malls, general antique shows, flea markets and even antique fruit jar and bottle shows. They are collected and appreciated as beautiful pieces of glassware in their own right, but increasingly, many of these are being sold as “authentic antiques”, with or without actual intention to deceive.
Many of these reproduction jars have been imported from Asia, especially China, India & Taiwan. In general (with exceptions!!) most AQUA examples are authentic, since the color was so typical of old glass, and is considered “ordinary”, “common” or “unremarkable” by collectors searching for the rare colored jars.
I have seen, however, fairly recently (2013) even rather ordinary-looking aqua or greenish-aqua 1858 jars for sale at flea markets that are, in fact, new, and were probably imported from China! They have a hard-to-define appearance which can best be appreciated by actual handling of the glass. There is usually no base wear at all, no very fine scratches (almost always, a few scratches will be evident under close scrutiny on older authentic jars) or even a hint of damage of any kind. The surface of the glass is smooth and slick with a somewhat lighter-weight construction than authentic older jars. Some of these jars are now being sold at flea markets or on online auction sites along with spray pump style lids, sold as lotion or liquid soap dispensers. Others might be sold to use as decorative “rustic” or “retro” canisters, to hold dry pasta or beans, or to use when making homemade candles or other craft projects.
MILK GLASS BOYD LINERS
Many of the old 1858-type fruit jars are purchased along with a metal zinc lid still in place. In most cases, the lid is not “original” to the jar, since over many decades a number of different lids would have been in use while the jars were utilized for canning, and the very first lid that was used on any particular jar is probably long gone, having been discarded many years ago. But, some of the older ones have survived. Many of the lids presently found on these jars are much newer “Ball” or “Atlas” marked lids.
The zinc lids typically come with a circular milk glass “cap”, “liner”, “insert” or “disc” fitted tightly inside. For more information on those tiny “saucers”, please check out my webpage on the “Boyd” Milk Glass jar liners.
For an extensive list of glass manufacturers’ marks and logos seen on bottles, fruit jars, insulators and tableware please click here to go to the alphabetical Glass Bottle Marks pages (starting here on page one).
Click here for my article on Numbers on the bases of bottles and jars.
Click here to see my site HOME PAGE.
NOTE: Here is a very good basic, yet rather comprehensive “Question and Answers” article with lots of general information about collectible fruit jars, written by jar collector and researcher Dave Hinson. This covers info on many brands of fruit jars including Kerr, Ball, Lightning types, etc (This article is no longer “live” on the internet but this link will take you to an archived “snapshot” on the “Wayback Machine” web archive website) :
Fruit Jars – Questions and Answers – Dave Hinson
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Hi David
I have a Mason’s jar “Mason’s Patent Nov 30th 1858.” and on the bottom “XVIII”.
I see bubbles in the glass too.
Do you have any information about this jar with this numbers on the bottom?
Thanks in advance
Monica,
I’m sorry but I don’t have any info on that particular jar. Lots of the “Mason’s Patent Nov 30th 1858” jars were made, by a large number of glass factories, and often they were marked on the bottom with a mold number (one, two or three digits) or a geometric design of some sort. I suspect in your case the Roman numeral embossing sufficed as their equivalent of mold number 18. I can’t give you an age, but I’d assume it dates from sometime in the 1870s into the 1890s. Perhaps someone will eventually land on this site who is familiar with Nov 30th 1858 type jars with that type of base marking, and can give us better information on them.
Best regards,
David
David, I enjoyed this history on the Patent Jars. I am still left with questions however. I have a Mason’s Eagle Star 5 gallon pickle jar. I have found photos but no history. I cannot find any logo stamp or mold mark. Bottom is blank. This has made researching this beauty difficult. Anything you can tell me would be wonderful. Thank you in advance.
Hi Jim,
I have received several queries about that jar over the years, and have referred to them on the site, but I’m sorry I don’t know exactly what pages the conversations about that jar are on (I have over 100 different pages on this site) and my site is rather difficult to search easily when there are thousands of comments posted across many pages. Anyway, it has been generally established that those jars were made as Bicentennial souvenir / memento pieces.
They were evidently produced by Libbey Glass Company in the 1975 – 1976 period for the United States Bicentennial celebration of 1976. They were made in 4-gallon and 2 & 1/2 gallon sizes. Sometimes people put coins in them, or turned them into terrariums!
They are a modern-day version of a type of large pickle jar that was made in the mid or late 1800s. The original extra large “PATENT NOV 30th 1858” pickle jars are extremely rare and very hard to find.
Here is an example of a Libbey jar that (I assume) is like your jar:
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/masons-pickle-jar-eagle-star-patent-2017777581
The show up occasionally on ebay and the sellers often know nothing about them (I don’t blame them for that).
They are listed in the official “RED BOOK of Fruit Jars” price guide, and the jar number assigned to the 4-gallon size is #1982 (The 2 and 1/2 gallon size has been assigned the number 1982-1).
You can probably find more examples and background info by searching with the number “1982”.
Hope this helps!!
Best regards,
David
I have an aqua green half gallon jar. It only has MASON, in an arch shape and under it Patent under that 1858. All of that is very faint. On opposite side has Port which is barely legible. Also one seam visibly stands out from the bottle probably 1/32nd to 1/16th of an inch. Has numerous bubbles and swirls within bottle body. I’d never seen bottle with just the patent year until ran across this one. Do you know anything about it. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Jill
Hi Jill,
I am assuming your jar is marked “MASON’S” (not MASON), correct? In any case, that is a type of jar that was manufactured by Port Glass Company of Muncie, Indiana. They also had a factory at Belleville, Illinois. The Port Glass Company was purchased by Ball Bros Glass Manufacturing Company and Ball operated it for a few years afterward. The “PORT” lettered jars were re-tooled by Ball (changing the “PORT” embossing on some jars to “BALL”) , so I assume it was made by Port, although there is a slight chance it was made by Ball Bros. It dates from sometime in the 1890-1910 period.
Hope this helps!
David
David, Thank you. I appreciate it. I wasn’t able to find anything out. The only jars I found online were clear. None were aqua and not any half gallon. Thanks again. Jill
Wow what happened to the days of simply answering the question with a yes or no? I’ve probably got more questions about the jar than when I started looking into it and still not sure but not going to read through mountains of Stuff that keeps repeating the same thing vaguely but not definitely.
Hi Cathy!
I’m so sorry that you found my webpage to be vague, overlong, or confusing. Unfortunately, that can be a result and a problem when researching and trying to uncover accurate information about any subject, especially in the realm of antiques.
There are a lot of questions with answers that are NOT KNOWN WITH CERTAINTY, and so we are forced to make educated guesses or just put forth opinions. The “1858 type” jars were made by over 100 glass companies for more than 60 years, so there are no easy “simple” answers to some questions people have about them.
Clear, concise, 100% factual statements are not as easy to make when talking about antique glassware, especially fruit jars. Many questions cannot be answered with a simple “Yes” or “No”. The “devil is in the details”, as the old saying goes. When anyone tries to over-simplify some aspects of glass history, glassware manufacturing, or glass collecting, in many cases they will not be telling the exact truth. If things are “dumbed down” too much, they can end up being wildly inaccurate.
Much of the information we glean can only be found by examining actual pieces in hand, and reading early printed material which is often riddled with mistakes.
Having said that, I will be more than happy to try and answer ANY specific questions you have!! Please post again and let me know what you would like to know. I will try to answer those questions with a simple yes or no, but if I can’t do that, I will be honest with you and tell you why I can’t. And if I don’t know the answer, I will tell you that also!
Thanks and take care!
David
Hello, I have a Mason’s Patent Nov 30th 1858 aqua green jar. Above all that is a horizontal key that has R E B over the length of it. Have you seen these before? Thank you for sharing your expertise and time!
Hi Marta,
That’s one of the fruit jar types that were made by the Redkey Glass Company of Redkey, Indiana. Originally known as Giles-Clough Glass Company, it became Redkey in 1897. (Some sources list the plant and/or the town as “Red Key” but it is actually supposed to be spelled as one word). Redkey Glass lasted until April of 1902 when the factory was destroyed by a major fire. The letters inside the representation of a key are actually supposed to be “R E D”.
Hope this helps,
David
Thank you so much! That makes the “Redkey” jar a keeper!
Hi, I’m looking for info on a jar marked on one side with “401” between Mason’s and Patent, and the letters “HGW” on top of each other on the other side. So, the letters could be GHW, WHG, etc. Any info would be helpful. I found one that sold in 2012 for $170.00. I don’t always trust what I find on the Internet, who knows what this was about: http://www.gregspurgeon.com/auction/detail.asp?id=4285 .
Hi Tony,
That is one of the “NOV 30TH 1858” type jars made by Hero Glass Works, based in Philadelphia, PA. Yes, that is intended to be a HGW monogram on the reverse of the jar. Those jars are found with an array of different mold numbers placed on the front of the jar between the words MASON’S and PATENT. I believe all of those jars are pretty scarce since quite a number of different molds were used and any one particular number can be rather difficult to find. That particular variant is listed as jar #2124 in the “Red Book” price guide. Greg Spurgeon’s auction site is well known and respected and many very scarce and valuable jars have been sold there over the years. That is likely one of the earlier HGW jars from the 1870s.
Hope this helps!
David
Thanks.
Hi! My dad recently gave me a 5 gallon Mason Jar . Patent Nov 30th 1858 on one side and the Eagle and stars on other side. The bottom has nothing on it but what looks like etching on bottom. It is the blue color with lid. How do I find out if it is an original or not. I saw most saying they had numbers or letters on bottom. Mine does not.
Thank you!
Julie
Hi Julie,
Your post gives me an opportunity to discuss these jars. Although there definitely were a number of similar, very large “MASON’S PATENT NOV 30TH 1858” marked jars (holding 3 gallons or 4 gallons, and often used to hold pickles) made in the 1870s, 1880s and 1890s period by such glass companies as Hero Glass Works/ Hero Fruit Jar Company, Philadelphia, PA; Whitney Glass Works, Glassboro, New Jersey; and the Consolidated Fruit Jar Company based in New Brunswick, New Jersey (C F J CO. in a monogram on jars), your item is a more recent production made by Libbey Glass Company. These were made in clear, light aqua, cornflower blue and amber glass. They have an embossed eagle on the reverse. They hold 4 gallons, and there is also a 2 and 1/2 gallon size. The jars were manufactured in 1975 for the 1976 United States Bicentennial. Many people have saved them for use as decor or conversation pieces, or as storage jars or terrariums. Here are two examples as archived at the Worthopedia site. (Hopefully these URLs will stay “live” for a long time to come!) Also, just a note that they are listed in the “Red Book” of fruit jars price guide that most serious fruit jar collectors use. The 4-gallon size is catalogued as Jar #1982. The 2 and 1/2 gallon size is listed as Jar #1982-1.
Four gallon size:
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-gallon-mason-jar-patent-nov-506375092
2 and 1/2 gallon size:
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-libbey-mason-pickle-jar-1-1858990396
Thanks for your post, and I hope this information helps!
David
These jars were made by Libbey. Some were made later than 1976 era and used for commercial purposes (counter jars with pickles, etc.). These jars had a smaller mouth. The earlier jars had a larger mouth and were made for home decoration.
Hi David, I have been collecting for some time, Bottles and jars but bottles most of the time. Just now I am getting into jars. I worked construction my whole life, I would dig up about 75% of what I have – around 500 bottles and about 140 Mason jars. At 75 years old I am putting some kind of price on what I have so the kids don’t throw them out. I have a Red Book but I can not find what I have here. It’s a Mason’s Patent Nov 30th 1858, Ground top, #4 on base. The 3 is backward.
Hi Robert,
I looked through my copy of the Red Book (the No. 11 edition) and I don’t believe that variation is listed. They do list dozens of “error molds” but yours may be a jar that has not been reported. Or perhaps it is listed and I missed it(?) In any case, keep in mind that many, many molds were produced for the MASON’S PATENT NOV 30TH 1858 jars by hundreds of glass factories, over a period of around 60 years, and there are no doubt errors that have not been listed as of yet. Perhaps a reader who lands on this site will have more information on that error. You might also try posting a query on the antique-bottles.net site, in the “Fruit Jars” sub-forum in case a reader there would have more input on the jar. Certainly an unusual variant! Good luck with your collection! Please make sure that your children understand that old glassware has value on more than one level, including the mere fact they are artifacts of an earlier time here in the United States. Thanks for writing!
David
Thanks David.
I have a quart size MASON’S PATENT NOV 30TH 1858 jar. It is light aqua and seems to have a rough edge around the lip. The TH is very light and hard to see and has a line under it. There are bubbles in the glass. The markings on the bottom are hard to decipher. It looks like for sure there are two 1’s and the other looks like either a capital A or V, depending on which way you look at it (very hard to make out). The ring that goes around the bottom is kind of bumpy. It looks like it might be an old one, but can you give me your opinion. Thanks!
Hi Janet,
I don’t have any info on that particular variant but I am sure it is old.
David
Hello!
I inherited some glass bottles of all sorts and have not found any description for a mason jar simply says “the mason” no numbers or letters for identifying the year. It has the Boyd’s porcelain with cross lid.
I’m hoping you could help me with circa date….
Thanks,
Carolann Duree
Hi Carolann,
There are a couple types of jars known with that marking. If possible, please scroll through and check out my responses to two previous posts/enquiries in the COMMENTS sections of this site, including one posted under the WELCOME PAGE, by Heather S. on June 16, 2016, and another one on the MASON’S PATENT NOV 30TH 1858 Jars page, posted by Hannah on June 10, 2018. Hope this helps!
David
I have an aqua pint perfect mason jar with either a backwards number “9” or a small letter “d”. Can you verify which it is or if it even something else? Thanks so much, Pam
Pamela, Many of the Ball Perfect Mason jars are marked with the mold number “9” on the bottom, although the number is often VERY crudely drawn, and there are many minor variations seen in it’s exact shape, as the number appears on different jars. Keep in mind that the number was actually engraved backward into the inside of the mold or mold cavity, with a small hammer and chisel, and the mold engraver often worked in hot, uncomfortable circumstances, and in a hurry, being under pressure to get the job done as quickly as possible. So there are many jars in which the “9” or the “6” is very sloppily done, and does look something like a crude ‘b” or “c” or “d” or even sometimes resembling a bass clef or half note in printed music. Hope this helps!
David
Hi.
I was just wondering if you know if the ‘Ball’ logo has had it’s copyright expired? I just do simple crafts but do sell some and would like to use that logo.
Thanks very much for your time.
Ruth
Hello Ruth,
Currently, the “BALL” and “KERR” trademarks are owned by Newell Brands, a corporation that owns and/or controls a wide variety of brands and types of products. You might try to contact someone there. https://www.newellbrands.com/our-brands/ball Hope this helps!
David
I have a patent Nov. 30th 1858 mason jar but am having a hard time finding the manufacturers letters (symbols). It looks like BKS Company.
Jolene, I don’t know about any such marking. I tried sending you an email so you could send me a pic, but got a “mailer daemon” notice that your address was invalid.
David
This jars sounds like Kearns Gorsuch.
Hi David. I have a Mason’s jar without any additional text or marking besides “Mason’s Patent Nov 30th 1858.” the bottom has “9.” on it, which i know is just a mold number and doesn’t mean much. I have the original lid and seal. My main question relates to the print: it is very faintly raised, and I can’t find any similar examples. The font seems to be a bit bolder than most I find on ebay and other sites. Is there any significance to this, or is that just typical variance from all the different producers?
Hi Dan,
There is quite a lot of variation in the strength of the “strike”, meaning some jars will have very bold, sharply defined lettering, but on others the embossed lettering is weak, having very “low relief”. There may be more than one reason for this. Sometimes the molten glass, at the time it is blown into the mold, was not quite at the optimum temperature (a little bit cooler than it should have been) and that can result in a poor strike. Sometimes the engraving in the mold was shallow, weak or poorly done, so the resulting embossing will be weak as well. In some cases (from what I understand) a mold that has been very heavily used over considerable periods of time can eventually build up accumulations of “mold paste” in the crevices/engravings (causing them to become more shallow) which causes the resulting embossing to be weak, another type of “poor strike”. Hope this helps. (To any jar collectors or others that are knowledgeable about this subject, you are more than welcome to chime in!)
David
What’s Xvi mean on the bottom?
Ryan, I would assume it just serves as a mold number (the Roman equivalent of the number 16). If you jar happens to hold 16 ounces, it could mean that (?)
Take care,
David
I have a blue pint perfect mason but perfect is misspelled “pfrfect” with what looks like a #7 on bottom. Any significance or history to this one?
Hi Jesse,
There are quite a number of error versions of the BALL PERFECT MASON jars, including several misspellings of the word “PERFECT”. They seem to be fairly commonly found, but I don’t know which ones are the scarcest. You can find these variants listed in the “RED BOOK OF FRUIT JARS” price guide used by most advanced fruit jar collectors. I am not trying to “sidestep” your question or promote a book (I have no connection with the Red Book), but honestly the best way to find out about these many variants is to consult a recent edition of that book. Some libraries have them available in their collections for loan, although many do not.
Best regards,
David
I have one of these jars with the ‘3’ on the Nov 30 date being printed backwards. It’s one that I dug up out of an old farmhouse dump from the early 1900s. Anyone ever see that?
Hello-
Going thru old jars from my mother n laws estate.
Found your website helpful regarding Hero Glass/ Maltese Cross and dating of this jar.
I found a jar that has the word Ball underlined with words Mason’s Patent 1858 but no month and date. It has #328 on bottom. Would you happen to know a timeframe or date.
I also found two jars that have Masons Patent November 30th 1858 and looks to be square shoulder. One has one dot on bottom. The other has three dots in bottom.
Thanks for any help you can give me.
Best-
Shari Lippe