A lid to what?

Army

Jr. Member
Sep 3, 2018
36
23
Tacoma, WA
Detector(s) used
I have not done metal detecting since 1995 but at that time I had a Fisher underwater metal detector.
Primary Interest:
Shipwrecks
D8A3E957-AF14-4DF8-A14F-B3B97AA82345.jpeg
From a Spanish wreck from 1680, made out of pewter consisting of 3 pieces. Was attached to a broken green glass jar of rectangular shape. Thinking it might have been for snuff?
Any help will be appreciated.
 

I was going to say Old Standing Ashtray Top...But the 1680 Ship?? I Don't Know.

Someone here will.

If you can post the jar, even if broken, the glass and bottle folks are great on dating. Lids Don't Always Match what they're on though.

Good Luck!

Kace
 

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Thank you for the input. The glass was too fragile and could not get a intact piece. I was able to discern the shape but not a whole container. This wreck was in a sandy/sediment are that provided an anaerobic condition that kept the pewter from getting pewter disease.
 

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Thank you for the input, definitely not an inkwell. I think it was meant to keep any moisture out.
 

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That's a good idea, DCMatt.
I was finding possible leads with tabaquera, handel humidor, and pipe stand with green glass.

Humidor.jpg
 

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Am I mis-reading the ruler ... 3 1/2" metal neck with a smaller cap ?
 

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328E9403-A340-487F-A982-49F130316557.jpegI was not able to get a complete piece of glass but from the broken fragments I can tell was a large glass jar of rectangular shape and tall . There were a bunch of them, I just kept a few of the lids.
 

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I can tell was a large glass jar of rectangular shape and tall

Sorry to be a noodge, but 'large' and 'tall' are arbitrary terms.

Can you give us your best guess on the measurements? Otherwise, we're just shooting in the dark for an ID.
 

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No problem, I appreciate the help. I recovered them around 1994 while I was stationed in Panamá. I think the glass was about 4x4 inches wide and about 10 inches tall.
 

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4x4 inches wide and about 10 inches tall

Bigger than I expected... Too big to be from 17th C tea jars. Tea was very expensive back then and each jar this size would have held a small fortune in tea.

My gut feeling, based on the mass produced look of the lids, the style of the intertwined letters on the touchmark, and the fact that the touchmark is only letters (possibly American), makes me think these lids are from late 19th C tobacco jars or humidors. But I can't prove it.

I suggest you contact a couple of the Pewter collector societies to see if they have this touchmark in their database.

Analysis of a glass fragment might also tell the story.
 

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Amazing to have an artifact that old. I can only dream of it. Thanks for sharing it Amy
 

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Thank you again, I can tell you with a 100% assurance the wreck is from 1680 and Spanish with European cargo. I will check with pewter collectors if they can identify the marks.
 

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Here is a 1694 blown in mold jar with a similar type lid and similar (?) in size to what you describe.

antik_gravirozott_uveg_palack_22.jpg

The web site does NOT speculate on the original use of this jar.

Research shows that tobacco was very popular in all levels of Spanish society during the era. I suspect these were tobacco or cigarros jars.
 

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