Misc Old Canning Jars.

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Publius

TB Fanatic
I don't where else to post this.

A good many years ago we moved into this house got into canning and it's not something I'm foreign to as I grew up doing it. So we started out doing green beans, apples and peaches and over the years we picked up 100s of canning jars at yard sales and picked up a few odd ball jars along the way and I grew up in a home whose dad was an antique glass collector and I knew some canning jars had some value but only the really old ones and most did not exceed $20 in value but that was 30-35 years ago.

Well, as it turns out some canning jars made in the late 60s and early 70s now have some collectors value and some of the really old canning jars are now fetching some serious money in the collectors market.

No telling you have go over what you have in your collection and use the internet search engine. I'm still going over our stuff and have a few in question and two newer ones I thought would have some collector value as it turns out a Canning Jar with a Liberty Bell on one side and the words Mason on the other is now worth $20 if it has the words Bicentennial included on the jar as it turns out the company that made them, produced them from 1975 to 1977 or so and oddly the pre 76 jars were of limited production and handed out as gifts by the company and not sure if it has a little more value or not I'm still researching. I have one with the words "Mom's Mason Jar and shows a image of an older woman holding an apple it has a value of around $10 and I see some asking up to $8 more.
 
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WalknTrot

Veteran Member
Yep, I have a bunch of the old ones in my regular rotation, but lately, I've been using newer ones if I'm doing any kind of canning that I might make gifts of.

Besides, those old ones are made of good heavy glass, and I want to keep them.
 
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summerthyme

Administrator
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I'm the same about the old jars. I've been gifted with several cases of old jars over the years... my Mom found a bunch of half pint square jars a few years back... I LOVE those! And my DDIL brought me 300 jars from a yard sale, and once I got done scrubbing all the dirt and cobwebs off them, I discovered a bunch of them were as old as from 1910! Some of them are worth $30 each...

(I mentioned that to my Amish hired kid, and he said (very practical minded; I don't blame him) "sell them quick, and buy lots more jars with what you get!". But I've got enough jars (even including several cases of unopened new ones that are kept in reserve in case the power goes out or a freezer dies- I could can up most of the meat in the freezers- with some help from hubby or kids- if the worst happened). And those old ones are SO much nicer than the cheap new stuff. So I treasure them, and use them- and make sure they're never included in the stuff I give as gifts.

Summerthyme
 
P

Publius

TB Fanatic
Don't laugh but there are a few canning jars that out of desperation will fetch an easy $1,000. and if you're willing to sit and let an auction house put the word out to bring in the right people some of them will bring $4,000 to $5,000. Looking around the net I see some being sold on E-bay really cheep and should be getting much more for some of them, so whoever it is thats selling them either has no idea what they are doing or they are selling stolen goods.
 
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ReneeT

Veteran Member
I must have a little Amish in me (hmmm... my Aunt's Dad was Amish but left the sect; maybe it did rub off lol!) but I do what the Amish hired kid suggested to Summerthyme - sell/swap 'em to my jar collector/seller friend for jars I can use for canning. The seal goop on the new canning lids is pretty narrow; I've had seal failures when using them on the older, thicker jars.

I've saved back some old blue jars, and a few other, older jars that do have $$ value to sit around for pretty; and I do have quite a few of the Mom's jars that I bought new back in the Great Canning Jar Drought in the 70's; but I lean hard toward the practical side and have a pretty good idea how many jars/year it takes to feed just for Hubby and I, and the occasional grandkid - I keep over 1,000 jars in rotation now. If I had to feed more folks... Well, I STILL don't have enough jars on hand (no matter WHAT Hubby thinks lol!!)
 
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Emilys

Contributing Member
Yes, they do have resale value. I was going to buy some at a garage sale and the lady wanted twelve dollars a pop for them! I had no idea.
 
Babs

Babs

Veteran Member
This may be a little off topic, but I wanted to mention that vinegar and hot water cleans the old jars really well. I fill my water bath canner about half full, add a couple of cups of vinegar, heat to almost boiling, turn the heat off and set the jars inside to soak. Sparkles like new.
 
M

Martinhouse

Deceased
I've had old canning jars break while processing in the canner. I figured they'd been stored where they experienced temperature extremes, like a shed or garage.

Is there any way to test them to make sure they aren't brittle?

Carol
 
4

4bears

Inactive
Martinhouse said:
I've had old canning jars break while processing in the canner. I figured they'd been stored where they experienced temperature extremes, like a shed or garage.

Is there any way to test them to make sure they aren't brittle?

Carol
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Maybe if you can water in them and leave the water sealed in the jars until you use them. The jars stay clean and you have some water stored for an emergency.
 
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summerthyme

Administrator
_______________
I doubt temperature extremes would hurt the jars any (unless they were full, and froze... I've goofed and filled a jar too full to freeze stuff occasionally and had it break in the freezer- but even then, they BREAK... don't just get "weak")

However, getting banged around will cause microfractures, which then can break under the thermal stress of canning. It happens (I lose about one jar a year in the canner) and aside from the mess and the loss of the food in the jar, it's not a big deal.

Summerthyme
 
packyderms_wife

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Publius said:
I'm still going over our stuff and have a few in question and two newer ones I thought would have some collector value as it turns out a Canning Jar with a Liberty Bell on one side and the words Mason on the other is now worth $20 if it has the words Bicentennial included on the jar as it turns out the company that made them, produced them from 1975 to 1977 or so and oddly the pre 76 jars were of limited production and handed out as gifts by the company and not sure if it has a little more value or not I'm still researching.
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where'd you see that these were going for $20? I have a few of these jars. I also have six or so jars that say pepsi on one side and mason on the other. I also have about a half dozen of those jars that say Mom on them with the lady holding either an apple or is it a pie?
 
B

blueberry

Inactive
I don't think temperature extremes would hurt the jars either. I keep my empty jars in an outbuilding with temperature extremes from 0 to 110 degrees. I have a large varity of different jars from probably 100 years old to new ones.

And I totally agree that older jars have thicker glass, are more sturdy, and I just like the look of them too.
 
P

Publius

TB Fanatic
packyderms_wife said:
where'd you see that these were going for $20? I have a few of these jars. I also have six or so jars that say pepsi on one side and mason on the other. I also have about a half dozen of those jars that say Mom on them with the lady holding either an apple or is it a pie?
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I did a little research and the collectors value on the Mom's canning jar is about $20 but I see them as low value curios and you can sell them but only people wanting an oddity for decoration are likely to buy them, but give it another ten or more years they may jump up a little.
 
P

Publius

TB Fanatic
blueberry said:
I don't think temperature extremes would hurt the jars either. I keep my empty jars in an outbuilding with temperature extremes from 0 to 110 degrees. I have a large varity of different jars from probably 100 years old to new ones.

And I totally agree that older jars have thicker glass, are more sturdy, and I just like the look of them too.
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What you're looking for are Mason jars that are green, blue, amber, brown, amethyst/purple in color, the brown and amber/yellow ones from what I remember are extremely valuable.
There are a few later manufacture jars the are square and some square with ornate patterns that have value of more then $20.

Theres not a year that go's by that some of these old jars get broken or destroyed by some other means and very slowly they become extremely valuable. When I was younger I was listening to someone telling My dad and was being told (bad news) how one guy we knew in Rode Island got his home broken into and they ransacked the place looking for valuables when in fact they broke hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of very old glass bottles and jars and it was insured but the insurance company was not to happy about the police taking it so lightly mind you this was back in the early 70s.
My home growing up, the contents was insured by Lloyds of Loudoun for 3/4 of a million.
 
packyderms_wife

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Publius said:
What you're looking for are Mason jars that are green, blue, amber, brown, amethyst/purple in color, the brown and amber/yellow ones from what I remember are extremely valuable.
There are a few later manufacture jars the are square and some square with ornate patterns that have value of more then $20.

Theres not a year that go's by that some of these old jars get broken or destroyed by some other means and very slowly they become extremely valuable. When I was younger I was listening to someone telling My dad and was being told (bad news) how one guy we knew in Rode Island got his home broken into and they ransacked the place looking for valuables when in fact they broke hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of very old glass bottles and jars and it was insured but the insurance company was not to happy about the police taking it so lightly mind you this was back in the early 70s.
My home growing up, the contents was insured by Lloyds of Loudoun for 3/4 of a million.
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most people view glass bottles and jars as being worthless, unless they are in the know so this doesn't surprise me one bit! I don't have enough jars to take out a LoL insurance policy but it is good to know tthat they are valuable. I have some refrigerator jars and blender jars that are square and I bought them at yard sales because of their shape and patterning.

images


I have these, the only reason I knew they were blender jars was because they still had their lids.
 
packyderms_wife

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
I have a set of these jars that range from half pint to quart I bought them to put buttons and stuff in, their shape makes it easy to store multiples on a shelf. Most of them I managed to get for free. I didn't realize they were canning jars I thought they were either refrigerator jars or blender jars. I do have several oyster blender jars in the half pint and pint size, I'm storing beads and glitter in those.

images
 
packyderms_wife

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
I have one of these and I think it's half gallon jar or maybe a quart and a half, it's keeping my button collection company. :lol:

images
 
packyderms_wife

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
I have one of these but no lid for it

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/58757970111460642/
sorry the photo wouldn't post.

and I have one of these, again no lid, and my bottle is very ornate compared to this one but the shape and spout are correct.

efbace60aa7db31a87dd4bbef4b72e32.jpg


those old timey pickle pigs feet jars are kinda nice as well, I have several of those in several sizes, again no lids, that hold various brushes, etc., in my studio.
 
Freeholder

Freeholder

This too shall pass.
packyderms_wife said:
and here's a little project for those jars with chips but not suitable for canning anymore.


ff57ac5d79aa09f89fdfbe768d99549d.jpg
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Now, THAT I like!

I've got a few old canning jars here, two or three blue ones and an amethyst one that sits in my kitchen window (I'm hoping the color will get darker). But they are family heirlooms, so they aren't going anywhere. I use the blue ones for storing dry goods. I have also got a few of the ones with wire bails and glass lids -- again, I use them for storing dry stuff. It's nice to have a few old things (as long as they are still useful).

Kathleen
 
P

Publius

TB Fanatic
packyderms_wife said:
I have a set of these jars that range from half pint to quart I bought them to put buttons and stuff in, their shape makes it easy to store multiples on a shelf. Most of them I managed to get for free. I didn't realize they were canning jars I thought they were either refrigerator jars or blender jars. I do have several oyster blender jars in the half pint and pint size, I'm storing beads and glitter in those.

images
Click to expand...



These Square jars were made sometime in the late 1930s and early 1940s and there are later variants call by collectors a a more rounded-square on the corners and they did not make a whole lot of the true square and pint jars seem to have more value.

Note not all old canning jars are worth a fortune but will have some value. Color is a good indicator that it may be worth more and worth the effort of looking into it.
 
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P

Publius

TB Fanatic
packyderms_wife said:
I have one of these and I think it's half gallon jar or maybe a quart and a half, it's keeping my button collection company. :lol:

images
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Hard to say what its worth but intact half gallon Mason jars are a little harder to come by as people did not buy as many of them as they did the quart size jars.
Doing research and finding nothing at all about an older canning jar it could be a indicator it's a rare one thats so seldom seen it does not show up in any of the collectors books, so be careful when you go to some collector and having him or her look at it and within minutes they throw $50 on the table for it. Sometimes its best not to let some collectors even know where you live. ;)
 
packyderms_wife

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Publius said:
Hard to say what its worth but intact half gallon Mason jars are a little harder to come by as people did not buy as many of them as they did the quart size jars.
Doing research and finding nothing at all about an older canning jar it could be a indicator it's a rare one thats so seldom seen it does not show up in any of the collectors books, so be careful when you go to some collector and having him or her look at it and within minutes they throw $50 on the table for it. Sometimes its best not to let some collectors even know where you live. ;)
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They are pretty common in my neck of the woods, saw one recently for $10 at a local thrift shop, even had a lid.
 
packyderms_wife

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Freeholder said:
Now, THAT I like!

I've got a few old canning jars here, two or three blue ones and an amethyst one that sits in my kitchen window (I'm hoping the color will get darker). But they are family heirlooms, so they aren't going anywhere. I use the blue ones for storing dry goods. I have also got a few of the ones with wire bails and glass lids -- again, I use them for storing dry stuff. It's nice to have a few old things (as long as they are still useful).

Kathleen
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Emilys said:
Now that is nice and creative!
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If you go over to pinterest.com you will find gobs of lighting ideas using canning jars, or even old jars. If I were to make one of these I'd use the LED lights as they don't get nearly as hot.
 
packyderms_wife

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
this one would be a nightmare to clean but I would so do this if I had the extra crystals!

177e687703360675893631e365d69174.jpg


here's one w/o the crystals.

7970196dc8bfb5f4b19738e826fb5a8b.jpg
 
B

blueberry

Inactive
packyderms_wife said:
I have a set of these jars that range from half pint to quart I bought them to put buttons and stuff in, their shape makes it easy to store multiples on a shelf. Most of them I managed to get for free. I didn't realize they were canning jars I thought they were either refrigerator jars or blender jars. I do have several oyster blender jars in the half pint and pint size, I'm storing beads and glitter in those.

images
Click to expand...

I have one of these too - the square pint. I found it out in the cow pasture!
 
M

Martinhouse

Deceased
Pachyderm's Wife,

Those little jelly bowls that you said you remember your mom having....we had them when I was a kid, They were from a wonderful type of Concord jelly that had whole grapes or chunks in it. It was called Welch's Grapelade. The jars had the type of metal lid that was pried off with a bottle opener. Must have been late '40s or into the '50s.

It was the most expensive jelly around and we probably only ever had it a couple of times, as we were a large and frugal family.

Carol
 
packyderms_wife

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Martinhouse said:
Pachyderm's Wife,

Those little jelly bowls that you said you remember your mom having....we had them when I was a kid, They were from a wonderful type of Concord jelly that had whole grapes or chunks in it. It was called Welch's Grapelade. The jars had the type of metal lid that was pried off with a bottle opener. Must have been late '40s or into the '50s.

It was the most expensive jelly around and we probably only ever had it a couple of times, as we were a large and frugal family.

Carol
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Interesting, do you remember other types of jelly bowls then? I'm wondering if my mom brought them with her to the states from Canada then? I remember two little white crocks that had come with some sort of orange marmaladein them, she stored pens and pencils in them.
 
M

Martinhouse

Deceased
No, that I don't remember. Jelly came either in jars or nice reusable jelly glasses. These little bowls were kind of a specialty thing, I think, and only came with that one type of jelly.

I never had much of a sweet tooth, but that stuff was SO GOOD! I could have eaten the whole thing with just a spoon. Our big family would wipe out that little bowl of jelly at one breakfast. We just couldn't afford that!

By the way, thanks for opening a door to a neat memory! I have been feeling really nostalgic lately and this was a nice little tidbit to recall.

Carol
 
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