Big Boys Hobbies

How do you know where to hunt bottles?

Digger Dan

Digger Dan

Elite Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2010
Messages
1,379
Location
Gilroy Ca
I replied to a thread but noticed it hasn't had activity in a few years.. oh well new post here..

I love the thrill of the hunt I don't really care about value of bottles I would find..

So how do you all locate hunt locations, get permission etc..etc..

Any advice would be appreciated.

THANKS :D
 
So I have only found a handful of bottles. i mostly buy them.

But there are a few major areas where the bottles are.

A). trash dumps from older properties
B). privies
C). rivers/lakes/water bodies

Back before central trash dumps, people/houses/farmers threw away all their trash (including bottles) in a central location.

When houses had outhouses/privies people threw the old bottles in there.

many people search river beds, and dive for bottles.


so the couple dumps I have stumbled across.

A). along the back stone wall of a property line
B). if there was a brook/creek/river along the property line
C). trash pits were often behind the house (depending on climate)

Privies and outhouses were either lined with Rock, or brick, sometimes wood. they would throw ash from the stoves in the same places

Also when people dig up for a pool or new foundation they find bottles from old dumps

try googling how to find bottles

also the website antique-bottles.net has a digging/finding section where people show off the places they find bottles

this site has been really helpful to me in the bottle learning process

btw this is just a SMALL amount of data, and the most above it true,but there are probably 100s of answers to your questions depending on where in the world/country your located. I am just telling you what I have learned from friends and online
 
Most of my bottle finds have been randomly found, usually I see bits of old glass then usually find a small bottle cache nearby.. often you may find other
unique finds with the old bottles... but they are not easy to find in the city.
 
Here is the spot a buddy has been digging, he invited me to come along yesterday.

Note to self:
A). wear good boots (I cut my foot open, through my shoe)
b). Gloves are a must
c). bring something to carry your finds out with
D). first aid kit comes in handy (see A)

we brought home about 10-20 keepers from here. When I say keepers.
amber whiskey bottles with white horses painted on them. (white horse whiskey), some common bottles for my mom to tole paint, amber/green champagne type bottles, and some other oddities(license plates, can with the advertising still in good shape). cobalt blue bottles, mason jars, milk bottles with embossing.


So this is a 20' x 20' area, along a stone wall at a farm house. The house dates to the 1870s. but most of the stuff we are finding is 1940s (license plates). but we have dug down and found a few TOC (turn of the century) era medicine bottles. I suspect the old stuff is below. but it could take years to get to the bottom.


1236881_10201825880545995_750349689_n.jpg

578007_10201825882306039_1843733054_n.jpg
 
If i can figure out where the house or houses were i look out back, people always tossed the stuff out back. sometimes they carried it further than others.
I find alot of old bottles along stacked rock walls, on the backside. I guess out of sight out of mind applied back then too...
 
I have never searched for bottles but I saw a show on the tube one day they were excavating an old Outhouse!! They were pulling all kinds of stuff out of it!! One of the things being bottles!!
 
that's a tough question....

lakes, streams, creeks and banks of such areas.

walking in the woods and stumbling upon them, behind old buildings...

Farm dumps, town dumps, hobo camp sites, rr camp sites..

privy holes can be a bust or they can fill your truck...

many ppl look at sanborn maps or old town maps to find houses that had outhouses and will ask to retrieve bottles. unless you know the people i probably wouldn't use the word dig..

basically anywhere you think people might have been/lived..

At the wife's family farm/our hunting camp, i've found huge dumps that are 10x30yds, one that runs an entire ravine, including both banks of it...
a 25' well hole...

I've also stumbled across countless small dump areas just walking in the woods that nobody in the family knows about.

i'd also hit the library for old maps. I also talk with some of the old timers that grew up here for 80 years...
many great ideas for places to go look..

casually mentioning md/bottling can score you ways to get invites.

wife's retired supervisor was in town last night and met us for dinner.
he lives on the Menominee river. I told him that if he found any bottles to give me a yell...
he invited me to go to his place and look all I want...and all of his land. He's found copper arrowheads, old traps and there are a couple creeks on his land that have bottles strewn all over....

good luck hunting
 
I find a lot of bottle dumps in ravines near rivers/creeks , or far sides of hills near old houses. Anywhere hidden from view usually. Sometimes they have been buried either on purpose or just from the passing of time but you can spot the general area by the glass or junk fragments laying around.
 
I am a new member here and a member of antique-bottles.net of 7 years or so...Always keep an eye out for any signs of old metal! barrel rings stove parts etc. people often walked to the end of their property ..took a family member or their oldest son..and dug a huge hole..the dumps i have dug have produced some amazing glass...One decanter i gave to a local museum ..because it was made by a man called Thomas Cains..made @ the boston crown glassworks..Circa 1815 and historically significant
best metal item i ever dug from a dump was a 1914 Massachusetts license plate..it was 2 feet down under a cast iron wood stove door...


as a Relatively new Detectorist..i have noticed a few of the traits and skills carry over From Bottle Digging ...To MDing. Such as .Firemaps..Or Being able to read a site. ATB.net welcomes new members and their curiosity..and has a Great bunch of members who taught me all i know about old glass....

Its a great hobby .Just like this one!. i like to do both ...Goodluck
 
I stumbled across a bottle dump a couple years ago now. I have still been pulling good bottles out and even my first cache of silver! (See link in signature).

My bottle location is where an old train water filling station was reported to be, but there was also a depot reported in the area. However, upon my own research, I think this was the site of the depot. The old brick foundation can still be seen as well as the bottle dump that extends probably a good 100 feet (not sure how wide) but 10ft down and still hitting bottles. It was a good accidental discovery.

Unfortunately people have destroyed the area with off road vehicles and dumping modern trash. :mad:
 
TheCoilist said:
I stumbled across a bottle dump a couple years ago now. I have still been pulling good bottles out and even my first cache of silver! (See link in signature).

My bottle location is where an old train water filling station was reported to be, but there was also a depot reported in the area. However, upon my own research, I think this was the site of the depot. The old brick foundation can still be seen as well as the bottle dump that extends probably a good 100 feet (not sure how wide) but 10ft down and still hitting bottles. It was a good accidental discovery.

Unfortunately people have destroyed the area with off road vehicles and dumping modern trash. :mad:
Click to expand...


I would love to see a few photos of the best bottles you have found!!

thanks

keith
 
NHKeith said:
I would love to see a few photos of the best bottles you have found!!

thanks

keith
Click to expand...

Will do. At the kiddos softball practice. Will get some up shortly. A lot have not yet been cleaned as I find them fast than I can clean them. Lol
 
NHKeith said:
I would love to see a few photos of the best bottles you have found!!

thanks

keith
Click to expand...

These are a few quick snaps of some bottles. I have about 3 five gallon buckets of bottles to be cleaned still.

3udemu8e.jpg

I just like the color of this one regardless of age.

y7e9yme4.jpg

I love the Barq's Rootbeer bottle

pu5y6uma.jpg

ebepe5y3.jpg

su7a5y9u.jpg

uvabetep.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
 
Very Nice stuff!

Even some of the newer stuff can be nice. The ACL bottles (soda with painted on labels) are very cool there are a few RARE ones, so its always good to check the sold listings on flea bay.

The cobalt blue one is great. non bottle collectors love these(look great in a window). i sell a couple of those every time I setup at the fleamarket. I only get 4-7$ for them. but they consistently sell.
 
For me, the age isn't as important as is the pattern, style, and coloring of the glass. I like the iridescence of some good old glass.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
Just some fragments, but maybe someone can help ID?
Replies
4
Views
82
scoundrel
scoundrel
C
Jesse James Gold
Replies
3
Views
124
SS_Wonder
S
scoundrel
Creepy Doll Found While Bottle Hunting
Replies
4
Views
117
scoundrel
scoundrel
GLASSHOPPER1955
Latest bottle finds so far this year...
Replies
6
Views
106
scoundrel
scoundrel
scoundrel
Last Four Bottle Hunts
Replies
13
Views
285
maxxkatt
maxxkatt
Back
Top Bottom