A brief history of glass stoppers

sea glass stopper collecting

For as long as there have been bottles and jars, people have come up with ways to close them up to keep the contents clean and safe. Early closures were straw, rags, leather, clay, wood, or whatever someone could find that they could stuff in the top of the container. The earliest glass stoppers date back as early as 1,500 B.C., though they didn’t come into wider use until the mid-19th century, mostly used for food containers.

sea glass stopper shapes

Stoppers can be simple and utilitarian, or decorative and ornate, but generally have the same three parts. The shank sits inside the bottle or jar neck and serves to close the container. The shank can be ground down to fit a specific bottle exactly, or a thin strip of cork used to create a tight seal. The finial is the top part of the stopper that you grasp to pull the stopper out. Decorative finials were used on perfume bottles, decanters, and other bottles that were meant for display. The neck is the part of the stopper in between the shank and the finial, and is not always present on a glass stopper, depending on its design.

Glass stoppers were usually used on bottles that would be used over time, such as a perfume bottle, and sauce bottle, decanters, and apothecary bottles. Bottles that were used only once, such as wine or beer, would be stoppered with cork or something less expensive than glass. With the advent of less expensive closures, such as the crown cap or the external screw cap, the use of stoppers declined. When you find a glass stopper on the beach, you’re finding a little piece of history!

See some of Fiona Dart's beautiful collection of beach-found bottle stoppers


Learn more about bottles

articles about bottles stoppers history identifying

Learn more about identifying bottles by shape and color, the history of bottle manufacturing, stoppers, marbles, and more. Articles ›

This article appeared in the Beachcombing Magazine September/October 2019 issue.

4 comments

I’m on the East Coast

Janet February 18, 2024

I have a glass 4 leaf clover bottle stopper I dug up from a old city dump. I can not find one that looks like it to find a possible value.

Becky Foster June 21, 2021

Lol. I have an emerald green bottle that needs that stopper. If you’d be interested in selling it, I’d be interested in purchasing. I have no idea what either are worth, or who made the glass. I believe it is vintage 60-ish, possibly 70s. No maker’s Mark or signature I could find. If you know more, please share. You can HMU in FB msgr. Small world. This was my first “hit” in Google search.

Teresa Weaver May 08, 2021

I have an emerald green stopper similar to the fourth one in the top row. Just wondering what the value would be.

Wade Meaux December 16, 2020

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