# Iron pontilled Mineral Water



## treeguyfred (May 26, 2020)

Pulled this out from under a collapsing chicken coop in Morristown, NJ a couple of years ago of an old property. I don't know about all of the soda and mineral bottle id sites... anyone know where I can get more info? Great iron pontil, really crude applied blob lip...
Thanks for any direction or thoughts..
~Fred


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## hemihampton (May 26, 2020)

Does it have a name on it?


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## treeguyfred (May 26, 2020)

Just  ..."Mineral Water" on front... back "M"


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (May 26, 2020)

hey Fred, that is a beautiful iron pontil. There are many M embossed iron pontil mineral water bottles. Most have the name of the maker on them. I dont think you want us to guess. I would without a doubt say it is an unknown maker. Unless the maker was named Mineral Water. Lol! Sorry i couldn't be more help. 
ROBBYBOBBY64.


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## sandchip (May 27, 2020)

Great looking bottle with a helluva iron pontil mark.  Might send pictures to Tod.  There are a few "M"s listed as unknowns on his site, but I didn't see one like yours.






						North American Soda & Beer Bottles
					

This site offers a history of North American antique soda and beer bottles.  Within you will be able to date your old soda and beer bottles based on shape, color, base style, lips, and closures.




					www.sodasandbeers.com


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## yacorie (May 27, 2020)

Very cool find.  The lip looks like it was just added - love the look


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## Robby Raccoon (May 27, 2020)

Those chickens sure had an eye for nice glass.


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (May 27, 2020)

yacorie said:


> Very cool find.  The lip looks like it was just added - love the look


I was thinking the same yacorie, the lip is so clean it doesnt look like it goes to the bottle. I am sure it does. Wonder is the chickens sat on the bottle to make it hatch?They are stupid birds.


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## J.R. Collector (May 29, 2020)

I agree the top looks different from the bottle and looks ground down. Great bottle either way.


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## treeguyfred (May 30, 2020)

LOL you guys.... It's my belief that the circa 1910's chicken coop was built on / over the privy (could not get permision to move, partly disassemble or remove floor boards of the chicken coop) I was allowed to scratch (ha- like a chicken) around back there and saw just a tiny crescent sliver of the lip of this bottle. I thought it was going to be just a tiny flake or piece of a lip, but lo... and behold! was able to manage a full extraction. Only intact item there (lots of various aged shards and bits of this and that, use you imagination) This lip is frequently seen on Baltimore bottles (which really threw me) Because I thought it might be a Morristown Mineral water bottle.
~Fred


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## sandchip (May 30, 2020)

Sometimes the tooling of the top can change the hardness of the surface of the glass, much like turn mold bottles which in my experience seem to be slightly more resistant to staining than non-turn mold.  Either that or somebody epoxied the top of another bottle onto a broken one, then ground the top, then planted it in the old chicken coop just for a laugh on you.  Probably filmed it and posted it on Youtube.  In all seriousness, I think it looks great, and all original.


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## American (Jun 3, 2020)

The way it was found would discount any post alterations of the soda it would seem,  but it looks like the neck is too short and it reminds me of all the Savannah bottles with replaced tops.  The instant giveaway on those Savannah bottles is that short neck.  If the top has been replaced you can also feel the separation with your finger inside the neck, and ultimately a little firm twist on the top will pop that replaced top right off.


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## willong (Jun 3, 2020)

sandchip said:


> Sometimes the tooling of the top can change the hardness of the surface of the glass, much like turn mold bottles which in my experience seem to be slightly more resistant to staining than non-turn mold.  Either that or somebody epoxied the top of another bottle onto a broken one, then ground the top, then planted it in the old chicken coop just for a laugh on you.  Probably filmed it and posted it on Youtube.  In all seriousness, I think it looks great, and all original.



I think you nailed the reason for the different appearance--with your lead in speculation that is. The second theory sounds a bit specious.


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## sandchip (Jun 3, 2020)

willong said:


> I think you nailed the reason for the different appearance--with your lead in speculation that is. The second theory sounds a bit specious.



Bingo.  Specious and facetious.  Not to mention downright sarcastic!


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## nhpharm (Jan 31, 2022)

Just to tack on to this post, the below bottle was unearthed in Galveston, Texas yesterday.  Absolutely love the lip!


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## jwpevahouse (Feb 2, 2022)

The wedge style lip suggests 1840s, the overall shape of the bottle suggests 1850s. I'd date the bottle to about 1850 give or take a year or two. Blue became popular by the late 1840s but gained it's most popularity during the 1850s. By the 1870s blue sodas were becoming uncommon and more or less disappeared by the 1880s. The lip has a somewhat non standard, fat shape which suggests it may have used an off brand patented closure. An interesting, not so usual bottle. Bottles with initials vs a name are often hard to identify. From my experience there is always someone lurking out there in bottle collector land who will know and eventually ID the bottle for you.


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## nhpharm (Feb 2, 2022)

Thanks!  It's exciting to dig early stuff like this in Texas.


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