Does anyone know the origin of these pieces of sea glass?

by Jessica
(Mayetta, NJ)

Sea Glass bottle stopper

Sea Glass bottle stopper

~ submitted by Jessica in Mayetta, New Jersey

My friend and I found these pieces in Barnegat Light, NJ last week. 

  • We know the one piece is a bottle stopper, but we were curious to see if anyone had some information as to the time period and type of bottle stopper. 


  • The aqua piece appears to be the bottom of an old bottle with the letters AY'S on the bottom and we would love to see if we could find the actual bottle. 

  • As for the dark green piece, we have tried and tried to research where it came from but have had no luck. 


If anyone could help us out we would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks!

~ submitted by Jess and Sharon



sea glass colors line

~ Comments from David and Lin Schneider 

There are a number of books on bottle identification available.

These books are very helpful if you have a piece of a bottle with distinctive marking, like your seafoam piece shown above.

They concentrate on collector's bottles but should have the bottle that your piece came from.

We would recommend Michael Polak's book, Warman's Bottles Field Guide.

Known as the "Bottle King," Michael has a collection of over 3,000 bottles acquired over 30+ years. A well-established expert on identifying bottles, he has written six editions of the Antique Trader Bottles Identification and Price Guide and two editions of Antique Trader Bottle Field Guide.

A nice thing about this book is that it is packed with actual photos and shows clearly
the details of the bottom lettering on many, many bottles.

So there's a good chance you could identify what you've found. It could be quite rare.

If it is a piece from a wine bottle for example from Italy, it will be harder to identify, as few books are written specifically about wine bottles. But this book is fairly inexpensive and definitely should be in every sea glass collector's library.

~ Comments from David and Lin Schneider at OdysseySeaGlass



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Comments for Does anyone know the origin of these pieces of sea glass?

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Jan 19, 2013
 About the rounded green piece
by: Rob

I have a clear and round-bottomed version of your green piece that I found last summer.

I was puzzled as to why it was so round - a jar or bottle like this wouldn't stand up - until I made a tour of Edison's laboratory in South Orange.

His lab had these large bottles that had glass caps/cups placed upside down on the opening - much like a measuring cup inverted and placed on the top for easy access.

They were the exact shape of my piece.

Maybe yours can be attributed to the same use.
Jul 04, 2011
 LBI
by: Jessica

LBI is a hard place to try and find sea glass, we have to actually get in the surf and dig around for it. But since we live 10 minutes away from it, that's where we usually go. Definately have to go at low tide on a calm day.
Jun 29, 2011
 bottle stopper
by: abby

The bottle stopper comes from an apothecary drug bottle which were made from 1850 to 1900. My sister found one too.
Apr 10, 2011
 Barnaget
by: Ann

I did not find a lot of glass on the Barnaget end of LBI but the pieces I did find were bigger then average and I plan to try there again soon. I found far more glass on the southern tip of LBI.

I think the green piece is an insulator. They were made in a wide variety of colors and shapes.


View Larger Map
Mar 26, 2011
 bottle stopper sea glass Lavallette, NJ
by: Anonymous

My son found that exact bottle stopper today in Lavallette, NJ. We have been collecting seaglass for about 6 years and never saw anything like it. I was amazed when I saw your stopper too. I also would like to know the type of bottle it may have come from and age.
Mar 06, 2011
 I am a collector 12 years+
by: Also Jessica from NJ

I have found a awesome book called Pure Sea Glass: Discovering Nature's Vanishing Gems By Richard LaMotte.

It has been so enlightening like bubbles in the sea glass pr-dates the 1800's.

That stopper you found on LBI, so rare and I have never in all my years sea glass hunting on LBI have never found one.

Happy Hunting!
Aug 18, 2010
 Writing
by: Jessica

The green piece doesn't have any writing on it, and it's so rounded on the bottom that I don't think it was a bottle. I've been told that it could have been an insulator used on electrical poles, but it doesn't seem to have the same exact shape as the ones I've seen. It does resemble it for the most part though.
Aug 17, 2010
 sea glass bottle bottom
by: Anonymous

I found one like yours and it was marked Perier it had a bubble in the glass. I just love it . would love to know how old it is. Does your have writing on the bottom>
Aug 14, 2010
 Barnegat Light, NJ
by: Jessica DeWorth

We did find some other pieces..not jewelry quality but still beautiful. I'd say it was about 3-5 pieces per hour. We went to Barnegat Light which is the northest end of Long Beach Island in NJ. It is also where the Barnegat Lighthouse is..In order to get to the ocean from the boulevard it's a long walk. If you start at the Lighthouse and follow the jetty all the way down, you'll get there. It's probably about a quarter mile walk but it's beautiful down there and worth the trip! FYI, we didn't find much just lying on the beach, you have to get in the water and sift (a little fishing net is perfect for this)..Good Luck!

-Jessica
Aug 12, 2010
 Sea glass
by: Amy

Those are amazing pieces!!! I've been collecting since I was a kid..... I was wondering what the name of the beach is? Did you find other pieces?
thank you

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