# Avan Hoboken Bottle



## inavb (Apr 5, 2012)

Found this bottle in North Queensland - Australia. Avan Hoboken, pontil mark AVH on top, number 4 on the bottom. Would like to know approximate age and value? Cheers, ina


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## epackage (Apr 5, 2012)

About $100 is common when they sell, there are alot of them put there, probably the most common embossed case gin...nice example...Jim


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## inavb (Apr 5, 2012)

Thank you! Would you have any idea what the number 4 on the bottom stands for and how old it would be? cheers, ina


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## epackage (Apr 5, 2012)

1840-1880...The 4 may be a mold number


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## epackage (Apr 5, 2012)

1840-1860, my first age was wrong...The 4 may be a mold number


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## surfaceone (Apr 5, 2012)

Hello Ina,

 Welcome, and thanks for bringing this nice example of an A van Hoboken. Please show us the shoulder seal and the bottom, which was most likely a cup mould. 

 How'd you come upon it?






 "The large (well over a quart) case gin bottle pictured to the right was produced in the late 19th century (i.e., probably between 1880 and 1900), although virtually identical bottles were also produced earlier and later than that date range.  This example is embossed A VAN HOBOKEN & CO. / ROTTERDAM on opposite sides and is - as the embossing indicates - of foreign origin (Wilson & Wilson 1968).  (The pictured example was found by the authors brother in Malaysia.)  However, Hoboken bottles are not uncommonly found on historic sites in the U. S.  This particular bottle is of typical shape and proportions for a case gin, was produced in a two-piece cup-bottom mold, has a crudely applied "blob" finish, no evidence of air venting, and has a blob seal on the shoulder.  This bottle is an example of how American manufacturing based dating ranges can not be reliably used for foreign made bottles.  If American made, a bottle with these diagnostic features (except maybe for the cup-bottom mold feature) would likely date from between the mid-1860s and mid-1880s.  Click on the following links for more images of this bottle:  base view; side view; close-up of the shoulder, neck, finish, and blob seal.  One-part blob or oil finishes on mouth-blown case gin bottles are typical of items made from the 1880s to about National Prohibition in the late 1910s." From.

 You can view some previous discussions HERE.


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## tigue710 (Apr 5, 2012)

the pontil mark your referring to is actually an applied seal, not a pontil.  A pontil is a mark on the base of the bottle where they held it while disconnecting the blow pipe and finishing the lip.  Nice bottle!


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## inavb (Apr 6, 2012)

hi all, 
 very grateful for all the comments, thank you. Shane found it in a creek in north queensland, it is in perfect condition, although not nice and shiny as the one above. i attach the top of the bottle... cheers, ina


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## inavb (Apr 6, 2012)

bottom picture...


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## beendiggin (Apr 7, 2012)

That's a great find, I'd go looking around a bit more in that area, you might find some more good stuff.  Nice job!


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