# Protector Fruit Jar...



## Staunton Dan (Jun 23, 2009)

This is the earliest jar that I have found to date and I was surprised to find it in perfect condition except for a few ground stains. I have found a lot of glass lids while digging for bottles but I don't think that I have found this one. The book I have lists it as $40-$50 but I know that is a low price. Does anyone know what the current price is and what lid goes with it?


----------



## photolitherland (Jun 23, 2009)

That price sounds about right, and its probably only worth about 20 without the lid sorry to say. Its still a really nice jar though.


----------



## ajohn (Jun 23, 2009)

Very nice jar.Like every thing else jar values are down.But I would value that jar at $60.00 to $80.00 with the orig. closure,which looks like a tid wax sealer lid with a couple of flat clips that would engage the threaded neck


----------



## Staunton Dan (Jun 23, 2009)

Thanks for the info. The important thing is that my wife likes it and no matter what it's worth, it will stay in our humble collection.


----------



## downeastdigger (Jun 23, 2009)

HI Dan

 I dug the 6 sided version of this jar, with the vertical embossing, about 10 years ago.  It's on my window sill at home.  When I dug it, I thought I had dug the jar of a life time!  I was shocked at the low value when I looked mine up too.  I still consider it the most undervalued or under rated bottle in my collection ( whatever the heck that means! ).
 I have to be honest and say that if it was "valued" at $1000,  I'd "value" it more than I do, sad to say, but thats the way it is.  I won't sell mine because I think it is one of the coolest looking jars, and the word Protector is such a cool word to have as the only word on a bottle.  The top screw thingy is wild.  
 I have kept my eye open on Ebay for an amber one, they obviously are more valuable, but they must look great as well.  In all the years to follow, I have only found one other shard of one up here in Maine.  They must be common somewhere in the country to command such a low dollar price.

 You'll just have to value it for being a great old jar I guess  
 Bram


----------



## Staunton Dan (Jun 23, 2009)

> ORIGINAL:  downeastdigger
> 
> 
> You'll just have to value it for being a great old jar I guess
> Bram


 
 Thanks Bram, I will...I will !!!


----------



## Staunton Dan (Jun 23, 2009)

> ORIGINAL:  lobeycat
> 
> That's the way to look at it dan! It isn't about how much the things we collect are worth, it's how much we appreciate them. Now you go and find a lid for that beauty and make the wife even happier!


 
 Thanks Lobey, I may have already found the lid as I have found a lot of tops but just a few whole jars. Do you know what  the lid looks like?


----------



## cyberdigger (Jun 23, 2009)

I gotta go with them who ..at least try.. to not pay attention too much to cash value, and just love your finds because you found 'em! For me, that's easy.. I never dug anything worth ...you know what![]


----------



## capsoda (Jun 23, 2009)

Only the pints are really worth any money. I have seen ground lip Balls and Masons sell for more than Protectors with the closure. The closure is a little metal disk that is slightly concaved in the middle with a wire soldered to the top. The wire facilitated sealing by twisting the cap. 

 There are a lot of fruit jars out there that I have never seen that are supposed to be common and some that are supposed to be rare, that seem to me to be common, that draw big bucks. Who knows why.

 Fruit jars are some of my most prized collectibles. I hope to have it grow some more in the future.


----------



## ajohn (Jun 23, 2009)

Dan,
 It would be really cool if you could post a pic of your lids[].There's a lot of naked jars floating around over here[]oops I mean out there!


----------



## Staunton Dan (Jun 24, 2009)

> ORIGINAL:  ajohn
> 
> Dan,
> It would be really cool if you could post a pic of your lids[].There's a lot of naked jars floating around over here[]oops I mean out there!


 
 I'll work on it. Right now I'm digging while it's relatively cool, building a bottle tumbler thanks to Charlie (Cyberdigger) and Gary (Justadddirt), and taking care of my 4 year old boy when my wife has got one of her projects going. I keep waiting for a real hot spell when I can get to cleaning and photographing  some of the bottles I have dug but so far that hasn't happened. I'm sure that summer is just around the corner.


----------



## Staunton Dan (Jun 24, 2009)

> ORIGINAL:  capsoda
> 
> The closure is a little metal disk that is slightly concaved in the middle with a wire soldered to the top. The wire facilitated sealing by twisting the cap.


 
 I guess that's why I haven't found any lids as the metal would have been destroyed from being in the ground. On a similar note,  I am amazed at how copper and brass decompose in the ashy ground and eggshells come out almost like the day they went in.


----------



## capsoda (Jun 24, 2009)

Egg shells are calcium in its base form so they do well under ground. Eggs have been found that are over 2000 years old intact. The tops were probably tin so they would go away quickly.


----------



## FloridaRecycled (Jul 1, 2009)

Here's a link to a current ebay auction for the protector jar that downeastdigger has...jar has the same lip as yours and there's a pic showing the lid...it will give you an idea of what to look for.  The auction just started - but you might want to keep an eye on it...

http://cgi.ebay.com/WHITTLED-Quart-PROTECTOR-Fruit-Jar-6-Sided_W0QQitemZ330341508935QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4ce9e36747&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12%7C66%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C72%3A1205%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

 Tinna


----------



## Staunton Dan (Jul 1, 2009)

> ORIGINAL:  FloridaRecycled
> 
> Here's a link to a current ebay auction for the protector jar that downeastdigger has...jar has the same lip as yours and there's a pic showing the lid...it will give you an idea of what to look for.  The auction just started - but you might want to keep an eye on it...
> 
> ...


 
 Thanks for the heads up. There are some great items in his auctions.


----------

