Bob,

Indeed, very likely to be a gasket for a bottle with a metal bail type lid 
... the milk bottles with that type closure dated mid-1880s to after 1910.

"On September 17, 1889 Harvey and Samuel Barnhart of Potsdam, New York were 
issued a patent for a system of sealing milk bottles with a ligneous disk. 
Their preferred material was a white soft wood immersed in boiling paraffine 
although they also said wood pulp, fiber, paperboard or paper mache' could 
be used.  In order to receive the milk cap, the milk bottle had to be 
finished with a shoulder or cap seat in the milk bottle lip for the cap to 
seal against.  Although the patent was not officially assigned to the 
Thatcher Manufacturing Company, the Barnhart brothers were officers in the 
company and Thatcher was the first to use this new system of sealing milk 
bottles.  They referred to it as the Common Sense Milk bottle.  It would 
eventually become the standard for the milk bottle industry.

Pictured above are two milk bottles.  On the left is a milk bottle with no 
cap seat and on the right is a bottle with a cap seat and also bottom 
embossed with the Sept. 17th, 1889 patent date.  Note the ledge or shoulder 
for the milk cap to seal on but also notice that both bottles are fitted 
with metal bail style lids.  At first glance this would seem wrong but 
finding milk bottles with bail tops and a cap seat is not all that uncommon. 
It appears bottle manufacturers quickly designed their milk bottles with cap 
seats yet some customers preferred the older style bail tops and others used 
the pulp caps in combination with the tin tops.  In fact Harvey and Samuel 
Barnhart were issued patents on June 2 and July 28, 1896 for bail type 
bottle closures a full seven years after they introduced the milk cap.  In 
both sets of patent papers they mention that these bail tops were especially 
desirable for use with the milk caps described in their September 17, 1889 
patent.  Bail tops were available well into the early 1900's before they 
were completely replaced by milk caps.  We have seen advertisements as late 
as 1912 offering tin top milk bottles...."

http://dairyantiques.com/Milk_Bottle_Necks___Lips.html

http://dairyantiques.com/Bail_Top_Milk_Bottles.html

Bob Skiles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"There is also an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, 
without either virtue or talents ... The artificial aristocracy is a 
mischievous ingredient in government, and provisions should be made to 
prevent its ascendancy."

- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Genheimer" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 12:48 PM
Subject: Re: Weird disks


> Candace
>
> Could they possibly be milk bottle stoppers.  Most were made from heavy 
> cardboard or cork, but these appear to be about the right size.
>
> Bob Genheimer
> George Rieveschl Curator of Archaeology
> Cincinnati Museum Center
> 1301 Western Avenue
> Cincinnati, Ohio 45203
> 513-455-7161
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of
> Candace Ehringer
> Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 12:54 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Weird disks
>
>
> I have several rubber? (or possibly ceramic?) disks which came from a 
> privy or
> trash dump next to a Los Angeles school cafeteria (ca. 1890s-1910s+). Has
> anyone ever seen anything like them before? Six of them have "M & M"
> stamped on both sides and one has "HQ" stamped on both sides. They
> measure 1-1/2 inches in diameter and are 1/8 inch thick.  I would 
> appreciate
> any help. My internet research has proved futile. Photos can be viewed at 
> the
> link below.
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/10925368@N07/