Real or fake? General washington GI-14 firecracker flask

truthseeker4

I found this bottle at a local estate sale in virginia... Can anyone tell me if its a reproduction or the real thing? There's a thin piece of glass inside the bottle that connects the inside walls (See pictures) if you need more pictures please let me know. Thank you!

Chris

Thanks for posting. Yes, this is a modern piece (late 20th century)

Collectors refer to strands of glass like that on the inside of bottles as "bird swings"

truthseeker4

Thank you very much for your information. Am i right to assume that if this was a real bottle it would 100% have a pontil scar on the bottom, because of the age?

Chris

That is a great question. It would be common to see a pontil scar on authentic 19th century pieces but not necessarily so. And, to make matters even more confusing, some 20th century glass blowers created flasks WITH pontil marks. Some are more believable than others but they do make matters difficult for the beginning collector.

In bottle collecting there are exceptions to every rule of thumb!