Cool Finds: #13 Blue Ball Jar
Mason jars have their uses, from random storage to canning, but some seek them for collectibility. Three of the most popular brands to collect these days are The Ball Corporation, Kerr Glass Manufacturing Company, and Hazel Atlas Glass Company (not to fully disregard Mason himself, of course). Today’s cool find is a blue Ball jar with a #13 marking. But what do you look for in a Ball jar that makes it special?
Look to the Logo
While Ball’s logo changed dramatically over the years, it did so in subtle increments. These variations allow us to date our Ball jar. Note the extra tail on the A - Ball removed that in 1923, but this jar doesn’t have the extra loop after the L, so this jar dates back to anywhere between 1910 and 1923. As of this writing, the oldest Ball jar I have found is a triple loop, so I’ll keep you posted!
What’s Your Lucky Number?
There’s actually no correlation between numbers and rarity, I’m afraid, but that doesn’t mean you can’t put any stock in them. Say you’re wanting to collect every number and every color just to say you have them; say you have a particular proclivity for the number 7 - that’s enough reason to care. I personally had always hoped to find a #13 because of the rumors surrounding it. Some believe moonshiners, who were a superstitious lot, would, when jarring their moonshine, smash any mason jars marked with the number 13 because it would bring them bad luck. This has been largely debunked, sadly, and that number adds no particular rarity to the jar.
Imperfections Make Us Perfect
Collectors look for uniqueness. What makes your jar stand out from the rest? Bubbles in the glass, misprinted logos, unusual settling in the glass as it cools - all of these are examples of imperfections that are seldom perfectly replicated in another jar. One of the rarest mason jars in the world was a 1933 Ball jar whose logo was printed entirely upside down! Sadly, my jar maintains its “run-of-the-mill-ness” by providing nothing of distinction.
Color Me Intrigued
If you’ve been in the game long enough, you know this already, but oddly enough, there are more colors than just clear and blue. I personally have dark brown mason jars that I use for soup, but they’re neither old nor collectible. The blue glass was introduced in 1890 and discontinued in 1937, thus maintaining an interest with today’s collectors and giving my cool find another category it can check off. Other rare colors include purple, amber, citron green, milky white, and cobalt blue. If you stumble upon jars of these colors, you may have discovered a treasure.
There are other factors to consider, of course, including size, shape, and even whether or not it still has its metal lid, but I won’t cover those here. When it comes to Ball jars, there are complete books dedicated to identifying each distinct attribute and imperfection one can come across, so there’s always more for me to learn. But, since the pool of possibilities is so vast, chances are you’ll find your own special Ball jar with just a little bit of looking, so good luck!
