Most bottles made before 1858 have a pontil mark on the bottom, or a coin-sized indentation where the pontil rod was snapped off (the pontil rod held the bottle while it was being formed and finished). Pontil rods were often made of iron, so pontil marks may contain reddish residue stuck in the hole. The pontil mark acts as an excellent dating tool.
Bottle collectors, who often call themselves ‘diggers,’ seek a wide variety of bottles for their beauty, color and historical significance. Some key collectible varieties include bitters, milk, soda, beer and pontiled bottles.
“The Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors is a non-profit organization for collectors of historical bot… [more]
Bill Lindsey's fantastic bottle identification and information site. Loaded with detailed descriptions and diagrams… [more]
Ed and Mark Runyon's wonderful guide to the antique bottles of Cape May County, New Jersey is a great site for anyo… [more]
There's a ton of information here, but as with bottles, you have to dig to find the best stuff. Start with the famo… [more]
Assembled by Gunther Rademacher with the help of several other contributors, this collection of over half a million… [more]
Norbert Lamping's collection of 600+ ceramic bottle stoppers, Hutter stoppers, swingtops, swivel stoppers, and ligh… [more]
This simple site features a beautiful collection of antique Chinese snuff bottles. Start on the categories page, wh… [more]
Lather up with Creighton Friceks complete chronology of collectible Old Spice shaving products. Start with the bott… [more]
This site has lots of great photos and descriptions of rare vintage ink bottles. In particular, check out the Water… [more]
This site, from the Museu Del Perfum (Perfume Museum) in Barcelona, hosts a fantastic collection of almost 300 beau… [more]
Got a site to suggest? Let us know.