Dating ball jars

Welcome to the Web site that's all about Ball jars!

The main purpose of this Web Site is to hopefully give Bar Jar Collectors, no matter how experienced, an opportunity to learn as well as have a rich visual experience with Ball Jars. I am more than sure that visiting here will give Ball Jar Collectors and non-jar-collectors alike, a much better appreciation for the hobby of collecting Ball jars. I am hopeful that everyone spending time at this Web Site will appreciate the beauty, rarity and oddities that make each jar presented here unique in the world.

Words are a very powerful medium and as an occasional writer and poet, I make good use of them. Yet, a picture says a thousand words. The real beauty of a jar can only be truly appreciated through a first person encounter but pictures are the next best choice.

Many of the jars featured in the Photo Gallery were acquired solely through the combination of constant continual searching, being in the right place at the right time, an acute knowledge and understanding of what to look for and of course, good contacts in the hobby. There is a saying. "knowledge is power" and that is very true but being in the inner circle is also priceless. Only recently have I made a few really good friends and acquaintances to now be in the "right" circle.

A persons passion, fervor and excitement with collecting anything actually increases from having an appropriate knowledge base concerning the hobby, by either research, reading or interaction with others of like mind. That knowledge will hopefully allow a person to spot good and unusual jars from common and worthless examples.

*Note* Not that some common Ball jars are actually worthless, because I have more common jars in the collection obviously then scarce or rare examples. Sometimes even so-called common jars are tougher to find then one might expect and to me, each & every jar has its own intrinsic value.

I've also included on this Web Site a page of information concerning the glass making process in general as well as other pages with crucial dating progression details of shoulder seal/bead seal Ball jars and important Events in Ball Corporation history. There are links to other Fruit Jar Sites as well as some other pages of interesting information and pictures of Ball Jars..

. Plus, back in the good ole days when there was no such thing as a digital cameras & the Internet, people shared visual information through "snail" mail! Well, believe it or not, that wasn't too long ago in actuality. One of the primary ways of showing another collector what the embossing on a jar actually looked like in those days was through a process called "rubbing." In 1990, I wrote a small article on how to accomplish this process in the easiest most precise manor. At the time, I was considered by many, the best known at this craft. I hope you enjoy the article.

***All of the old Ball related graphical images on this Web Site were digitally scanned and then "painstakingly" fixed and enhanced by Yours Truly, Web Master A lot of hard work and effort was put into this Web Site and is a continual labor of love. So please don't take any of the graphics and use them for your own purposes. Relentless hours were spent fixing badly soiled, damaged and stained images so those coming here could enjoy the true beauty of the old art work of a time long gone bye. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

I want to Apologize to everyone I have Not replied to who emailed me. Due to "Personal Issues" I have Not had Internet access for quite some time. Only a Smart Phone. Thanks for your patience and understanding!

Please E-mail your comments concerning this Web Site?

Your insights are appreciated as well as any info and digital pictures concerning unusual Ball jars. If enough interest is generated, I'll post photos of other collectors jars.

Dating Ball Jars

I have always liked glassware, usually various colors and shapes and have taken to collecting odd vases and jars through the years. A few years ago, my grandparents gifted me a few of their old Mason Ball jars they had stored in the basement. One was a “Perfect Mason #11″ and one was an “Ideal”. Up until this point, I really didn’t know how old they were or too much of the history of the ball jar but I always knew they were quite old and many people like to collect them. They have been in my kitchen now for over a decade and who knows how long they were in my grandparents canning room so I thought today was the day that I scour the internets trying to find some backstory on this wonderful piece of history.

Jar 1: Ball Perfect Mason Mold #11 (1910-1923)

Jar 2: Ball Ideal Mold #7. Defect? (1923-1933)

It’s pretty easy to see the difference between the two in the “Ball” script. Jar 1 has “ascender” on the letter “a” in Ball as well as a full underscore line under the whole word “Ball”. According to a few sites I’ve read that immediately dates it somewhere between 1910-1923. The second jar has an “open B” in the word “Ball” and no underscore. This dates the second jar between 1923-1933. These are averages but good enough for me.

Script Comparison

The patent date is just that, it also doesn’t “date” when the jar was made. Also, the numbers on the bottom of the jars just mean the mold number and unfortunately don’t help date the jars any better but I thought it was interesting that the second jar’s bottom number doesn’t really look like a number. Is this a defect? Was this a 7 or 2 skewed in the process? Who knows! Either way, I dusted them off, cleaned them up and now they reside back on my kitchen shelf where they belong.

Do you have any “Ball” jars? My goal is to get one from every “era” based on their script style. Have a look at how to date them and the difference in the script style: Bob Clay – Dating Ball Jars

Recycling Mason Jars

While I’m going to leave mine as is, I couldn’t help but love these Recycled Mason Jar Lights from Lamp Goods on Etsy. Very country chic: http://www. etsy. com/shop/LampGoods? section_id=7357599

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Beautiful Aqua Ball Canning Jars

I haven’t done one of these for a while! Not that I haven’t been perusing thrift stores, just haven’t found much lately. However I did make two really fantastic finds a couple of weeks ago these gorgeously aqua, old style Ball canning jars (the official name for this color is “Ball blue” but whatever I like aqua better):

I’ve seen jars like these featured around the web in varies cool projects, but I have never seen one at a thrift store before. In the last few years the aqua Ball jars have become popular and sought after. Online sellers often want upwards of 10 bucks an aqua jar, for both the wire top and screw on styles.

The interesting thing about my jars is they came from different thrift stores about a week apart. I found the little one at a local thrift store for only 69 cents. About a week later I did a double take walking down the junk aisles of an ARC and picked up the larger jar for $1.99.

The history of canning jars is fascinating, and many jars are worth a fair amount of money. For help dating canning jars check out this page written by Dave Hinson. For help dating Ball brand jars check out this page written by Bob Clay. One of the easiest ways to find a general date for Ball jars is their logo:

After reading plenty about Ball jars, I have determined that my large Ball jar was made sometime between 1923-1933. Unfortunately, my small Ball jar is a fake. It was made to mimic the 1970’s bicentennial reproduction Ball Ideal jars. It is from Mexico, and once you have examined real wire shut Ball jars you can tell something is off. The side of the fake jar is stamped “not for home canning.” The color of the jar is much deeper, the wire closure is flimsy and doesn’t hold the lid quite right.

It is disappointing that it isn’t real, but thankfully I paid so little for it and it is still a cool jar I don’t mind so much. If you are purchasing Ball jars and want to insure that they are real check out this page on fakes.

For everyone that isn’t a diehard collector, and just loves the style many people fake the aqua look. Check out these cool project made with fake aqua jars (click the pictures for the origin page):

From: After Nine to Five, afterninetofive. net

From: My Greenbrae Cottage, mygreenbraecottage. blogspot. com

From: Life of a Sippy Cup Mom, sippycupmom. com

As for my two Ball jar, I still don’t know what I will do with them. For now they are just looking pretty on the window ledge of my project room.

Early Numbering

Ball jars were originally formed by professional glass blowers who were each supported by a small team of assistants. The glass blower would mark all of his jars with a number used only by him. This was done for payment purposes. At the end of the day, the glass blower and his team would be paid for the number of jars that were marked with their number.

Modern Numbering

Modern Ball mason jars are marked with many different numbers, and those numbers vary by the company which is manufacturing them under the Ball brand name. The numbers can refer to the plant location, the job or batch number and the date of manufacture.

Dating Antique Jars

If you are attempting to guess the date that a jar was manufactured, the location of seams in the jar and the smoothness of the top are both helpful indicators of its age. If the top of the jar is rough, it was hand blown either freehand or into a mold and the top was broken off the blowing rod and ground down for smoothness; this means it was probably made before 1900. If the seams stop short of the lip, that means that the lip was attached to the jar or the top was formed after the jar had been blown into a mold. This type of jar dates to before 1915.

Dating Old Canning Jars

by theresa on June 11, 2012

I have a lot of old, vintage canning jars. I love the history they carry as well as their charm and character.

While it is okay to use them for storage or even as a refrigerator container, you should never process old jars in a canner. The old glass can’t take the temperature change and might shatter – which would be such a shame. Plus, the old fashioned sealing method is not reliable. But vintage jars are great on your pantry shelf to hold grain, etc.

So if you have some old jars, how do you know their true age?

If you have a Ball jar, you can date most of them just by looking at the logo. Every few years, the Ball Manufacturing Co changed the logo and if you compare yours to a reliable chart, you know how old it is. All you need is a chart like the one below.

I found this great chart on Pinterest, but unfortunately, it had lost it’s original link to the source. But Thanks to Sean at PunkDomestics. com for sending me the link here: Go to THIS website for a TON of information on old Ball canning jars. A must read! Just compare your logo with the ones below and you have a general idea of the date. There are a few other logos not shown here, but these are the most common.

PLEASE NOTE: I am getting a lot of emails and questions in the comments about the value of people’s jars. I’m not an expert in this area and I cannot tell you the value of your jar. Your guess is as good as mine.

I just love to collect them. Their value to me is sentimental.

If you have an old jar you want to sell, I suggestion you check on ebay to see what similar jars are selling for. Good luck!

Ball Perfect Mason

The Ball Perfect Mason was a brand of glass fruit jar (canning jar) made by the Ball Bros. Glass Company, with headquarters based in Muncie, Indiana. (See “Ball Brothers Glass Company ” page, for a brief summary of that glass company).

Glass jars with this embossed marking probably constitute the most popular jar for home canning ever produced in the United States. Hundreds of millions (possibly upwards of a billion or more!) have been made and used by home canners throughout most of the 20th century. (NOTE: also please see paragraph farther down on this page showing a modern REPRODUCTION of this jar, called the “AMERICAN HERITAGE COLLECTION”).

They are commonly seen for sale at antique malls, farm auctions, flea markets, yard sales, and on online auction sites.

The very first versions with this embossing are believed to date from approximately 1913, with production continuing to about 1960. Hundreds of slight variations in shape, size, lettering font, glass color, base markings, etc. exist, and this particular type of jar presents a wide field of study for fruit jar collectors and glass historians. Typically, they were made in half pint, pint, quart, and half-gallon sizes.

Ball Perfect Mason – Half Gallon & Quart sizes

Most of the earlier versions were round (cylindrical) in shape, and some of the later types are square (with rounded corners) in design. Some variants have vertical “ribs” or “grips” along the sides, probably added to assist in handling the jars while they are wet.

Molds

Ball Perfect Mason jars were made utilizing steel molds (or “mold cavities”) as part of “ABM” (“Automatic Bottle Machine”) i. e. automatic glass container-making machinery. Many different jar molds (thousands) were used over the many years’ time these jars were being produced. Each mold was hand-cut (hand-engraved) with the lettering incised backward into the inside surface of the mold, which of course results in the embossing (raised lettering) which is seen on the surface of the jar. Very close inspection and comparison between different older jars (that may appear to be exactly the same) will show that it was very difficult, if not nearly impossible for all of the lettering (including the cursive “Ball” lettering and the “block style” lettering underneath) to be engraved absolutely identical from one mold to the next. Many slight variations are seen, with the exact lettering orientation just barely noticeably different from one example to another, such as the spacing, height, width, depth of cut, of individual letters. On some jars, the word “Ball” is underlined, on others, not. The underline may be very long, or heavily “looped”.

Most of the typical Ball Perfect Mason’s are marked with a mold number between 0 and 15 on the bottom. (Sometimes the number is accompanied by a letter). As can be readily discovered, there were many different “sets” of molds used over a period of many years, with this same series of (up to) 16 numbers used over and over again to identify the molds being used on any particular machine. Thus, if a random sampling of these jars are studied,(for instance, just looking at a selection of only those marked with a number “2” on the bottom). it may be seen that the numbers typically appears slightly different, in fact “unique” in it’s exact formation, from one jar to the next. It may be a while before exact duplicates are found (i. e. finding two jars that were made from one individual, specific mold). This is one of the aspects of collecting these jars that can be fun and intriguing (or boring to some!) if you are “into” studying fine differences in these jars …. somewhat akin to the practice of collecting some older coins and comparing their minor “mold” or “die” variations.

Colors

The great majority of these jars were made in bluish-aqua or “Ball Blue” colored glass (Ball Blue is the standard color of these jars, a somewhat “more blue” shade of aqua). Later versions (after around 1936) were made in clear glass, and some (usually from the 1950s) in brown amber. Other colors that are known, but not so easily found, include Cornflower blue, straw yellow, olive green, olive amber, blackish olive, dark yellow amber, light green and medium green.

Error Jars

A number of “error jars” are found among the Ball Perfect Mason’s, including examples found with the embossing missing a letter (or letters), or with a word misspelled, such as “PERFFCT”, “PEPRECT” or “PEREFCT”.

A listing of many of these error jars can be found in the Redbook, a price guide used by fruit jar collectors. In general, the Ball Perfect Mason variants are listed in the Redbook from #332 to #363-3, and several of the BPM error jars are found within this group, listed as jars #352 to #363. There are no doubt very minor variants/errors that are not currently listed in that guide. Some jars have embossing that is unusually faint ( for instance, just one or two letters within a word) and this can sometimes be due to accumulated debris partially filling the engraving of the lettering on the mold itself at the time of making, or perhaps some other reason.

Other popular jars made by Ball include the Ball Mason . the Ball Ideal . the Ball Improved . the Ball Special . the Ball Sure Seal and others. (Please see my page on the “Mason’s Patent Nov 30TH 1858 ” fruit jars).

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New “REPRODUCTION” Ball Perfect Mason Jars: the “AMERICAN HERITAGE COLLECTION”

NOTE: Just recently (circa 2013) a new type of BALL PERFECT MASON jar has been issued, primarily sold through department/grocery stores such as Target, Kroger, and others, and online venues such as Amazon. These commemorative jars are being produced in a lighter, brighter blue color— not quite the same shade as the original jars.

These jars as being sold in sets of 6, and come in pint size only (as of this writing). They are marked (on front) “BALL PERFECT MASON”, on rear “1913 1915 / 100 YEARS OF / AMERICAN / HERITAGE / MADE IN U. S.A.”. Also, there are volume/weight measurements embossed along the side of the jar, including cups, milliliters and ounces. They are being sold along with modern screw bands and lids. The glass is a bit thinner and lighter than the original Ball Perfect Mason types.

New issue Blue glass Ball Perfect Mason jars, “American Heritage Collection”, set of six jars in pint size.

These jars are currently being sold for actual canning use, but also for “rustic” or “retro” decorative appeal; are being used as containers for liquid soap dispensers (some ebay or etsy sellers are selling them with special lids for this use); for use in candle making, and for similar Americana “primitive” and crafts projects.

The “1913 1915″ embossing (given above) readily identifies these as new production. As time goes on, however, their provenance might be somewhat less obvious to new fruit jar collectors.

Number “13” Jars

Some Ball Perfect Mason jars are found with the number “13” on the bottom. As mentioned earlier in this article, most Ball-produced jars are typically found with a mold number ranged between 0 and 15, so naturally some percentage of them will carry the number “13”. Rumors have circulated for years (and have especially been promoted on auction sites and by flea market and antique mall dealers) that superstitious distillers of illegal whiskey (“moonshiners”) who often did use fruit jars to contain their product, were hesitant to use jars marked with a 13 on the bottom. According to the stories, they threw them away, or intentionally broke them, fearing their enterprise could otherwise be met with bad luck. Sometimes the story accuses ordinary housewives of having done the same thing if they were especially superstitious.

Personally, I think most of the stories are hogwash, although I wouldn’t doubt that it happened on a very occasional basis, and just often enough to provide impetus for an urban legend (rural legend?). Most myths and legends are based on a kernel of truth, and this may be no exception to the rule. (However, keep in mind that fruit jars cost money, and the average farmer or housewife, often continually stretched to the limit with their household budget, would have never destroyed a jar merely because of the number on the bottom). Most home canners would pay little or no attention to the markings in the first place.

Some dedicated and experienced antique jar collectors will state that they think the number 13 jars are just as common as jars as those with other numbers. I don’t think this is true. There is a definitely noticeable difference in the numbers of #13-marked jars compared to the other numbers — they are a little less common. I’ve noticed this through looking at the bases of many hundreds of typical Ball Perfect Mason jars while browsing at antique and collectible malls and flea markets. However, the mild scarcity is NOT REALLY STRONG ENOUGH to warrant the prices which are often asked for these jars on online auction sites.

It seems evident that many of these jars are now saved by non-collectors or casual glass collectors (and “culled” from large groups of common jars) merely because of the number on the base. This culling out of #13 jars from among the “general population” of jars (and stashing them away) can increase the perception of their scarcity.

They usually do sell on auction sites ( if priced low enough ) for several reasons - but typically because of the belief in the rumors, along with the general public’s fascination with the number 13 and it’s connection with the “dark side” of life, the theme of “being unlucky”, and the perceived connections with the supernatural, the occult, etc.

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For a very good informative webpage about antique fruit jars, and commonly asked questions, including some info on the Ball Perfect Mason, check out Ball jar collector/expert Bob Clay’s page here: Common Misconceptions about Fruit Jars, by Bob Clay .

Bob Clay’s article with a timeline on “How to Date Ball Fruit Jars” appears here near the bottom of this page:

General discussion forum for Ball fruit jar collectors:

For more information on Ball glass jars, check out Bruce Wayne Shank’s site here: Ball Jars Collectors’ Website .

Karen M. Vincent’s article on dating Ball jars:

For information on values, you might check out the Redbookjars. com site, where the “Redbook” fruit jar price guide for collectors is available for purchase.

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