The top can be cut off and a nice one put on to replace it. I use to chunk them but now I have them cut off and a new crown top put on almost impossible to tell it.
I get a man in Nashville to cut mine off he charges $5 . I find the closest top to match the color and have it cut to fit. Then I use a glass epoxy to attach it to the bottle. I think very few people could rally detect it if I didn't tell them. He uses a high speed diamond edge blade and it is a smooth cut. Ever now and then one will break but it's about 1 out of 50 or so and you really aren't losing anything per what you start with.
There is a gentleman in southern Georgia that replaces tops. His name is Ken Neese, he is well known and very reliable. If thats of any interest to you!
Willy
Yup! Ken and Carl Barnett wrote the book, both are really great guys to know in the bottle world. I just saw them both at a local bottle show this past weekend and Ken had a few bottles for sale he had repaired and if he would not have told me himself they had been repaired I would have never known.