The very first and earliest Boyd's liners for their zinc caps (commonly found on Mason jars) were made of clear/ colorless glass that was 1/16" thick. This is noted in the patents filed by John L. Mason and John K. Chase in June 1857, October 1857, and June 1863. Following 1871, Boyd's cap liners were made of milk-glass or (very rarely) porcelain.
We came across this one on the shores of a partially dried-up pond next to a rural gravel road in Eudora, Kansas. It is 2.5" in diameter, and has some defining features. On the bottom side, the edge is embossed with the text, in all caps with Serif, "BOYD'S GENUINE PORCELAIN LINED CAP". The middle of this side looks irregular and does not match the rest of the liner's texture--it looks as if the glass itself had been smeared at some point. It is single-lined, with no additional layers beyond the embossment area.
This Boyd's liner looks just a little different from ones that I'm used to seeing; the font for the Boyd's Genuine Porcelain Lined Cap embossment is a serifed typeface rather than the usual sans-serif typeface that you would normally see. The only other liner I've come across so far that has this typeface is this one on eBay. Unfortunately, there weren't any details on the seller's page. In addition, this liner has an aqua-colored tint to it rather than the usual pure white coloring found in these milk-glass liners.
All of these details has me concluding that this liner is pre-1900s at the very least.
All of these details has me concluding that this liner is pre-1900s at the very least.
On the flip side of this Boyd's liner is just what appears to be the numeral "3" embossed in the center. At first glance, it looks almost like the number 2 or a backwards letter "S" because of a raised, thin line in the numeral. However, when held up to light, it is clearly a 3.
I have found one similar to your description, differing in the fact that in the raised center is an open cross symbol with the letters H F J CO. Any ideas? Information on this item is scant at best for me.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I can tell, what you have is an old Hero Fruit Jar Company liner. The cross should have the letters H, F, J, and CO, one in each of the four arms. It should look something like this:
Deletehttp://www.halslamppost.com/Oilwick%20Lamps/Mason%20Jar%20HFJ%20Lid.jpg
The Hero Fruit Jar Co. was originally called the Hero Glass Works of Philadelphia, established in 1869, and changed its name to Hero Fruit Jar Company in 1883. They continued in business until 1908.
i found one with what looks like a ww1 german insigna
Delete(Actually, this was posted by WizenedWizard's grandson...) It is a "Genuine Porcelain" lid.
DeleteThanks for this! My daughters and I just found one of these in the creek near our house! Ours didnt have a number in the middle though.
ReplyDeletefound two in the creek near Mt. Hope Kansas, one has no center print the other looks like a backwards "4" or a triangle. posted 7-5-13
ReplyDeleteI have an quart aqua boyd's mason with a porcelain lined zinc lid....any idea what is worth?
ReplyDeleteFound one just like it today planting asparagus on the back of the property today. At my farm in outskirts of Adrian Michigan almost in Ogden. It has no numbers and on top in the center it has three circles on it making it look like a target.
ReplyDeleteFound one just like it today planting asparagus on the back of the property today. At my farm in outskirts of Adrian Michigan almost in Ogden. It has no numbers and on top in the center it has three circles on it making it look like a target.
ReplyDeleteMy friend has one that has a number 4 in the center that is backwards and she also has the jar that it goes to. Does anyone know the value of this item?
ReplyDeleteI have 8 several are boyd's othersnot sure yet still investigating.
ReplyDeleteMe again. I also have the zinc lids that the liners go in.
ReplyDeleteFound the same BOYD lids off the Bank of the Lewis River in the lost town of Etna Washington.
ReplyDeleteFound at Crown King, AZ. Boydis Genuine Porcelain Lined Cap 3: Good condition, on a ATLAS/strong shoulder, Mason jar turning green. In the center ring of the cap there looks to be a mountain with a cave and a human figure!!
ReplyDeleteFound one in the back yard while digging. "BOYD'S GENUINE PORCELAIN LINED CAP" with the number 5 in the center and 3 raised circles around it like a target.
ReplyDeleteTopeka, KS
DeleteI just found the same one today. If you have any info on it, please email me at hailenrain@ aol.com
DeleteI found some in an old barn it says Atlas on outside of metal lid but liner says Boyds original porcelain on the liner so not sure what that means also found a few porcelain lids but not boyds
ReplyDeleteI found one on the creek bank in Pittsburgh and all of the letter "n" are backwards. Have you seen any like this and does this increase it's value?
ReplyDeleteI just found one today with all backwards N's. It has a straight line that looks like a dash on the opposite side.
ReplyDeleteI found 3 milk glass lids sofar in a burnt building that was dozed in one is BOYD'S GENUINE PORCELAIN LINED CAP with no. 5 in center.
ReplyDeleteI found one in the Oconee river today.
ReplyDeletefound two in a old creek by my house not sure how old they are but very cool
ReplyDeleteI found one sticking halfway out of the sand at the water's edge in a creek fed by an artesian spring yesterday in McComb, MS. It has "Genuine Boyd's Cap for Mason Jar" on it's outer rim. It was a super cool find on our Mother's Day get away. I'll treasure it forever knowing it's a piece of history. The stories that I can make up of it's journey to meeting me.
ReplyDeleteFound 1 that says "GENUINE BOYD'S CAP" "FOR MASON JAR"
ReplyDeleteOn the other side it has "33"
I found one yesterday in a dirt pile at a construction site. It says Boyd's genuine porcelain lined cap with an 8 in the center of 2 rings and the numbers 136 in small numbers between the words cap and Boyd's. I've never seen one before but it is definately porcelain and not milk glass
ReplyDeleteI have one I found today except the numbers are 129
ReplyDeleteMy husband found one while digging in our yard and it has a 0 on one side and the other side say's BOYD.S GENUINE PORCELIAN LINED with a cross in the center that has the letters H F J Co.
ReplyDeleteHFJ is hero fruit jar company still old but not as old as some of the true ones
DeleteFound same thing but in center it has what looks like a WV which makes sense since i found it in west virginia
ReplyDeleteI have been finding these in a western PA creek for the past year or so. Some are intact. I did not know what they were until this week. Recently I've been finding them in a nearby bottle dump. Some had very corroded lids which helped me determine what they were. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteMy husband found one digging out a wall on our property, mint condition..
ReplyDeleteI found one today intact with the lid yet. Lid however is slightly corroded. Has "Boyd's Genuine Porcelain Cap and a 3 in center. Obviously upon research it's in line with some of the oldest in 1800's. Found whilemetal detecting in yard I wonder if their is a jar of money deeper down?
ReplyDeleteI have found about 15 of these over the past two months on an old farm we bought in Tennessee. I've been metal detecting and coming across bottle dumps finding plenty of old bottles and numerous lids with intact porcelain liners and other material also. I have three Boyd number five. The rest are different brands or no markings some or white some are bluish and 10 and some are yellow when held up to the light
ReplyDeleteFound one while digging the crawl space on an old 1850’s estate in the mountains of North Carolina. In the middle there is a graphic of a what looks like a gate within a gate shaped like a Capital M?
ReplyDeleteFound one today in a creek in Dublin, OH - 'Boyd's Genuine Porcelain Lined Cap' with a Number "1" in the middle! I thought it was a doll dish. From this site now I know what it is!
ReplyDeleteI have recovered a Boyd's liner from an 1870s-1910s archaeological site that only reads "BOYD'S GENUINE PORCELAIN LINED" without the word "CAP."
ReplyDelete"M" in center of liner.
DeleteFound a milk glass liner on the beach today, fully intact but without any markings so I'm having a hard time figuring out where it's from.
ReplyDeleteHave found a few different types over the last year . over 200 so far
ReplyDeleteI found one digging in my parents garden bed after I had just asked for some kind of sign from my recently deceased darling companion best buddy pet Rooster whose name is, yep you guessed it, Boyd.
ReplyDeleteI stared at it all covered in dirt and was like, does that say Boyd?? I knew it couldn't say that but... it did.
He of course wasn't a porcelain cap #7 but certainly Boyd is genuine. Best individual I've ever known. I love you Boyd.