# Literally! Barrels of Bottles



## barrelsofbottles

I believe I need some help.  It seems to me that you all are very knowledgeable when it comes to  bottles and I truly have enjoyed reading the posts on this forum.

 I came across this forum while searching antique bottles.  I purchased 22 barrels (55 gal) of bottles at an auction for our small bottle slumping (aka melting) business.  I don't want to ruin any bottle that may have any value.  I have SO many.  Half of the barrels are in my barn and the other half is in my partners barn.  Suffice it to say, the husbands are cringing! []

 We have soda, beer, medicine, perfume, bleach, liquor and canning bottles.  I also have a couple insulators.  We really don't know what we have yet.  We have just picked through and looked at the top of the barrels.  I will post a few pics.  I really would appreciate some help.  I would like to sell, but I am not sure how to go about that.  I thought of ebay and craig's list until I found this forum.  Thought I better do my homework first.  

 The first group is an old 12 oz Pepsi bottle, a Furst McNess Co from Freeport, IL, and an H.J. Heinz.  I just looked at the Heinz...maybe it is Heins.  It looks like a backwards Z.  There is the # 132 on the bottom also.  The lip is broken, as you can probably see in the picture.

 Thanks in advance for your help....

 Liz


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## AntiqueMeds

searching completed auctions on ebay would be a good start.


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## barrelsofbottles

Thanks!  I will take a look.

 I will be uploading some more groups throughout the day.

 This next group is a brown 32 oz clorox bottle, a 1/2 gal. Meister Brau (ew) and a plain brown bottle that is approximately 13 1/2" tall and about 18 1/2" round. There are no markings on the bottom that I can see.

 If there are any bottles any of you may be looking for, please ask me!  It may take a bit to look but I will do my best.


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## barrelsofbottles

I wish I could just upload the whole folder at once.  Sorry.

 This next group is a green 10 oz Mountain Dew, an 8 oz Breezy Beverage bottled by Warsaw Bottling Co, Warsaw, Ind., and a 32oz Julep bottled by Berlin Bottling Co., Inc, South Bend, Ind.


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## barrelsofbottles

Booster Beverages, East Chicago, IN,  a 2/5 pint Garrett and Co., Inc., Established 1835,  Pioneer American Wine Growers, New York, and an 8 oz Bostelmann, Chicago, IL.


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## barrelsofbottles

Kyle,
 These pics are for you..
 Thanks again.
 Liz


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## barrelsofbottles

sorry bout that...I forgot to embed the pic.


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## barrelsofbottles

Here is a picture of the bottom of that HJ Heinz bottle.  I've been looking around on Ebay and have not found one like this.  The "Z" is definitely backwards.  Has anyone seen this before?  There is also a 3 on the side of the bottle.  The pic makes the bottle look colored but it is clear.
 Thanks.


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## jays emporium

There is definitely some stuff in those barrels worth selling.  The Mountain Dew is the best one I see so far.  That one with Ed & Gene on it would sell for about $20. on ebay if it has no damage.  The Pepsi would bring about $10. depending on what town it is from.
 The embossed and painted label sodas will probably be your best bottles.  If you have a lot of beer and household bottles with no embossing on them other than mold numbers on the bottom, those will probably be worthless.  Canning jars may be worth something if they are not common clear glass Ball jars.  Embossed and painted milk bottle would be worth something.  
 Keep posting pictures and if anything good shows up someone will let you know.
 Where are you located?  I am in Texas but travel in the eastern and central US and I buy bottle collections.
 Jay


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## jays emporium

Oh, I forgot to mention, that Heinz bottle is worthless because of the chip.  If it wasn't damaged it still wouldn't be over a dollar or two.


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## barrelsofbottles

Thank you so much Jay.
 I'm surprised about the Heinz bottle just because of the backwards Z.  Oh well....
 I am in northern Indiana and like I said, I have barrels and barrels of bottles.  Just kind of sifting through.  You never know! []  I'm a firm believer that one man's junk is another man's treasure.  I have alot of other peoples junk! LOL
 I will keep posting pictures.


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## Bixel

That insulator has very little value. The only value it really has is for people who want it as a planter or something in their garden.


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## carobran

the meds and suck are pretty much worthless,....but some acls can be worth a nice chunk of change..............let me know if theres any Miss. bottles..[]


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## RIBottleguy

The soda bottles are worth keeping/selling.  The rest looks pretty recyclable.  I'd keep any milk bottles and fruit jars that don't say "Atlas EZ Seal" or "Ball Ideal".  Also look out for older "blown in mold" bottles where the mold seams on the sides fade out before they reach the lip.


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## madman

looks good so far! dont kill em!~


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## barrelsofbottles

Thank you all!

 This information is very helpful.  Maybe I should post pictures before we slump them.  Wouldn't want to kill a good one! []

 Thanks again.  I will post more pics soon.

 Liz


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## KBbottles

Hi There,

 Try to line lots of them up in rows and take big group shots and then we can tell you which ones stand out.  There are late labeled sodas and art deco sodas that sell for quite a bit sometimes on ebay.  I just watched an old labeled Barqs root beer reach almost $100 today.


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## surfaceone

> I will post more pics soon.


 
 Hello Liz,

 Welcome to the blue pages and thanks for showing us half a barrel. I wanna see'em by the barrel full, and in the format you've shown here, too.

 If you have a lot of soda bottles, I'd post those in the Sodas section. Those guys sometimes don't get this far north. You know how they can be.

 So what'ya do with your "slumped" glass? Does the ACL paint burn off or become a design element?


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## barrelsofbottles

Hi and thanks for the welcome!
 First off, the ACL labels stay on when we slump them even though we heat them to about 1600 degrees.  We sell them for cheese trays, spoon rests, wall art, etc.  The possibilities are absolutely endless.  We also have customized many with family photos, wedding pics, etc.  We even made one with a picture of a baby's ultrasound pic.  When our bottles break, we make jewelry.  All of our glass is upcycled.

 I will post a few pics of half of the barrels that we have because the other half is in my partners in crime barn.

 Again, thanks and I will post a pic in the soda forum.


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## barrelsofbottles

More Barrels!


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## barrelsofbottles

and more......


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## barrelsofbottles

This is what we do with them.  The picture doesn't do justice.


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## barrelsofbottles

Here is my first line-up.

 From left to right....
 7 oz. Johnnie Ryan - Newark, NJ
 7 oz. Copper Beer - Mishawaka, IN
 What is, I believe, is a vintage beer bottle
 1 Pint Like a Product of 7-Up
 10 oz. Mason's Root Beer - Chicago, IL
 16 oz Hill Billy Beverage - Richland Center, WI
 7 oz. Lifter - Chicago, IL
 Bob Top Pabst - Milwaukee, WI
 7 oz Kelley Jr - Mishawaka, IN


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## barrelsofbottles

And for the next line-up....left to right

 10 oz Coca-Cola
 12 oz (I think) Red Rock Cola - South Bend, IN
 7 oz Champay Non-Alcoholic - St. Louis, MO
 7 oz Lack's - Muskegon, MI
 7 oz Drewrys Alka-Pep - Detroit, MI
 7 oz Bubble Up - Bottled by Coca-Cola
 8 oz Clicquot Club - Millis, Mass
 7 oz Crown Beverages Property of Dr. Pepper Bottling Co - Spencer IA
 12 oz Cellu - Manufactured for the Chicago Dietetic Supply House, Inc - Chicago IL
 6 oz Cowboy - Chicago, IL

 If any of you have any thoughts on these last two posts, please let me know before I slump any.  They make cool spoon rests because the glass is so thick.

 Thanks again!


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## barrelsofbottles

I forgot the last bottle in the first line-up.
 It is a Miller bottle.  It has bubbles in it and the seam appears to fade away before the top.  The bottom has W F & S, the number 22 and MIL.  Maybe a  pontil, but I'm not sure.


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## KBbottles

A lot of those applied label bottles look VERY nice.  I don't collect them but there are some that do.  dont melt the blob Pabst or the applied crown Miller.  They are fairly collectible as well.  I have a nice cheese plate similar to the ones you make!  Love it!  You should market your melted stuff on this site.


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## Wheelah23

I'd be very happy to have dug that Pabst! That's a VERY good sign that you might have collectible bottles in there after all. Not saying ACL's aren't collectible, in fact I'm sure some people will come along in the Soda forum and tell you you have some valuable ones. But I, and many others, are more interested in older bottles like that Pabst. If you have any more blobs, please post those! If I had barrels of blobs, I'd be doing backflips... [8D][]


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## jays emporium

The Pabst blob top and Miller crown top are a completely different age from the rest of the bottles you have shown.  Not high value bottles but definitely old, over 100 years old.  I would gues the value of the Pabst to be about $25. and the Miller about $10. so please don't melt those.  Some of the ACL sodas may be good but I don't see anything over $5., of course I don't really specialize in those so might be missing something.
 Jay


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## blobbottlebob

Hey Barrels,
 (As opposed to hay barrels[]), Everyone is giving you great advice. Jay's guesses were a bit generous, though. The shoulder embossed Miller is very common. I would be ahppy with two bucks apiece for them. My guess is that the Pabst would actually sell somewhere between $3-10. However, sometimes you get lucky - like on that online auction site someone mentioned. Might be worth a try on some of the older bottles.


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## blobbottlebob

> Maybe a pontil, but I'm not sure.


 BTW - There are no pontils on anything this late. Pontilled bottles will be 1860s or older (unless it is just artistic glass).


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## jays emporium

What Bob said about the Miller being common is correct.  Also what he said about you sometimes get lucky on the auction site is correct.

 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Old-HAND-BLOWN-BLOB-TOP-antique-PABST-squat-BEER-BOTTLE-/370530171510?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item564551ba76

 This is the same Pabst blob top you have except this one is stained and yours looks better.  Sold for $99.99


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## barrelsofbottles

Wow!  Now I am truly overwhelmed!  Thanks to all of you.  I don't really care for that auction site but I may give it a try.  I'm not thrilled with their fees.

 I am still looking through the barrels and I believe I have more Pabst.  I won't be melting anything from these barrels for a bit.  I think I will try to sell.  []

 Again, thanks and I will keep posting pictures as I move through the barrels.


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## rockbot

> ORIGINAL:  barrelsofbottles
> 
> And for the next line-up....left to right
> 
> 10 oz Coca-Cola
> 12 oz (I think) Red Rock Cola - South Bend, IN
> 7 oz Champay Non-Alcoholic - St. Louis, MO
> 7 oz Lack's - Muskegon, MI
> 7 oz Drewrys Alka-Pep - Detroit, MI
> 7 oz Bubble Up - Bottled by Coca-Cola
> 8 oz Clicquot Club - Millis, Mass
> 7 oz Crown Beverages Property of Dr. Pepper Bottling Co - Spencer IA
> 12 oz Cellu - Manufactured for the Chicago Dietetic Supply House, Inc - Chicago IL
> 6 oz Cowboy - Chicago, IL
> 
> If any of you have any thoughts on these last two posts, please let me know before I slump any.  They make cool spoon rests because the glass is so thick.
> 
> Thanks again!


 
 We have a BUBBLE UP from my home town that is worth several bills in good condition.[]


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## Ace10Tex

Liz, everything else the others have posted is right on and glad that you came to this site before you "slumped" any of them first. 
 If you would have slumped some of the blobs or even good sodas you might have brought some grown men and women to tears here!! Myself included!!![]

 Like a couple of people said to and I have not checked yet as you might have already done it but to post some pics of the ACL or Painted labels bottles over on the soda section here! I collect them but most of the ones I collect are Texas ones so if you have any of those I might be in the market as the ones you have seem to be in good to near mint condition. I would be drooling if i had those buckets to look through especially after seeing that blob Pabst and early crown Miller!!! Good luck and thanks for sharing!! HH Ace


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## rocklandman

Hello,
 I being a NOOB here in the Forum, but I have past experience with Ebay, The mountain Dew, and Hillbilly will bring some $$$ on ebay, nothing earth shattering but a decent amount, research your bottles on Ebay & here before you do anything with them, you might be surprised!!!  I had a Coca Cola bottle that went over $250.00 on Ebay !!! It pays to do your homework!!!
 Just my 2 cents
 Good Luck
 Rock


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## PA Will

If you still have that Pabst bottle I'd be very interested in it.


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## itz3r1k

I am really likin that 7. oz slider from Chicago! []


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## itz3r1k

Could you post pictures of the neck near the lip? I have one of these at home That is exactly just like that but in amber. And possibly photo's of the bottom?


> ORIGINAL:  barrelsofbottles
> 
> I forgot the last bottle in the first line-up.
> It is a Miller bottle.Â  It has bubbles in it and the seam appears to fade away before the top.Â  The bottom has W F & S, the number 22 and MIL.Â  Maybe aÂ  pontil, but I'm not sure.


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## itz3r1k

> ORIGINAL:  barrelsofbottles
> 
> Here is my first line-up.
> 
> From left to right....
> 7 oz. Johnnie Ryan - Newark, NJ
> 7 oz. Copper Beer - Mishawaka, IN
> What is, I believe, is a vintage beer bottle
> 1 Pint Like a Product of 7-Up
> 10 oz. Mason's Root Beer - Chicago, IL
> 16 oz Hill Billy Beverage - Richland Center, WI
> 7 oz. Lifter - Chicago, IL
> Bob Top Pabst - Milwaukee, WI
> 7 oz Kelley Jr - Mishawaka, IN
> 
> 
> Got confused there. I am lovin the blob top [] Could you possibly post close up photo's of it?


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## barrelsofbottles

I will post some pics sometime this week.  Crazy busy!!  Also, I have misplaced my camera so I am on the hunt. [] Driving me crazy!!! LOL


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## barrelsofbottles

Thanks Rock!  I will keep it in mind.  We did slump a Hillbilly bottle earlier before we realized we should look around.


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