Fancy DECORATED antique COFFIN or SHOOFLY whiskey flask - TRANSLUSCENT PURPLE

Description

A
6 inch tall
deep
SUN COLORED AMETHYST
(
SCA
)
antique
COFFIN or SHOO FLY
style ORNATELY DECORATED embossed WHISKEY FLASK.
This whiskey flask has embossed vertical ribs on the entire lower half of it.
This is a very early hand
B
lown
I
nto
M
old (
BIM
)
bottle
with a ground
top
, dating back into the 1800's
.
Condition
:  This bottle has a uniform dull finish, patches of haze, and traces of content stain.  It has NO cracks, chips, dings, damage, etc
.
Age
:  An early hand-blown bottle (Blown-In-Mold = BIM) with a ground top, ca. late
1800's
.
Shipping
: All
DOMESTIC
shipping charges
INCLUDE
insurance. We have enjoyed shipping our items all over the world and are happy to offer most of our items to international buyers. Yet insuring International parcels is very expensive so PLEASE NOTE; we do
NOT
insure International orders unless winning buyer specifically requests this and we are able to provide an insurance quote. We do not falsify information on the Customs Form, such as a price other than what the actual purchase price is, so please do not request us to do so. We ship several times a week and send payment acknowledgments and shipping confirmations. Your prompt payment will assure a very quick turn-around time.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
If our shipping charge is much more than the actual shipping cost, we will refund the excess so what
YOU
pay for shipping/insurance is very close to, if not exactly, the
ACTUAL
shipping costs! This is especially important for foreign buyers to know as most of our foreign shipping charges are rough estimates
.
This type of flask is referred to as a 'coffin' flask because of the shape of it; shaped like a coffin. They are also known as shoo-fly flasks by the glass houses that made them.  Some collectors differentiate between coffin and shoo-fly flasks by the edges; coffin flasks have very pronounced sharp edges/sides, whereas a shoo-fly flask has more rounded sides.  Though these are found throughout the United States, they were most commonly used out west and many collectors of western bottles specialize in the ones that have embossing on them.
These coffin flasks were made to fit in a hip or coat pocket, the whole reason for the flat 'flask' shape.   Most of them are slick, not embossed, yet this one is highly embossed with a vertical ribbing decorated pattern.  And then there is the
beautiful deep purple color ... you hear about old glass turning purple in the sunlight ... the beautiful purple color of this glass is the result of the presence of manganese in the glass, a mineral that was pulverized and added to vats of hot liquid glass that acted as a decolorizing agent to turn the glass crystal clear.  Exposure to ultra violet rays trigger a chemical reaction and the minerals in the glass (manganese) oxidize and take on a wonderful purple hue.  This color is also referred to as amethyst, amethystine, lavender, magenta, and bottle collector’s have traditionally call it “SCA" (Sun Colored Amethyst) glass.
With few exceptions, only glass from before 1914 will turn this beautiful color.  Not only does this color make this a great looking little old coffin or shoofly flask, but it also authenticates it as being truly antique
,
check it out!
Terms of Sale
: Our goal is 100% customer satisfaction. We put our 30+ years of experience in antiques to use in describing every item we list. Items are sold in a store front format and your purchase is a binding contract, so please don't be hasty when looking over the listing. We find that communication is the key to successful transactions so PLEASE completely read the item description AND ask questions before purchasing,
thank you
!