# Old Bottles



## debodun (Oct 15, 2022)

Three page album of the bottles my dad dug in the 1970s as a hobby.

https://www.seniorforums.com/media/albums/old-bottles.653/


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## Pepper (Oct 15, 2022)

Dug for bottles?  He would just pick a spot and dig?  Please explain.


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## RadishRose (Oct 15, 2022)

Pepper said:


> Dug for bottles?  He would just pick a spot and dig?  Please explain.


I dug up a few of those behind our new house years ago.


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## Pepper (Oct 15, 2022)

RadishRose said:


> I dug up a few of those behind our new house years ago.


What were you doing? Digging for a purpose or just digging for fun?  I never owned a yard to dig in.


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## Pinky (Oct 15, 2022)

debodun said:


> Three page album of the bottles my dad dug in the 1970s as a hobby.
> 
> https://www.seniorforums.com/media/albums/old-bottles.653/


I don't know if there still is .. but, back in the 80's, there was a collector's market for old bottles of all
types. We came across some while digging up the backyard in Niagara Falls. I gave them to a friend
who was thrilled to have them. I also gave her the green glass conductors from old telephone poles.


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## Lawrence (Oct 15, 2022)

I remember digging for glass bottles when I was young and still living with my parents. A few times my dad, my brother, and I went to old dump sites by old towns or farm sites. The dump sites were not used anymore and were being reclaimed by mother earth. Back then they would burn the trash in the dumps to make the volume of matter less. When digging the sooty residue could be quite a mess, taking soap and water sure came in handy. We found a few old bottles, but they were common ones so not of that much value. To me the best part was just digging through the rubble, to see what kind of priceless fortune you can find. The emotions that would arise within, the thrill of the hunt. There were many other bottle collectors during those times also, so odds where a person was digging up the rubble that someone had dug up before. Lots of those old dumping sites have been dug out and hauled away, then put into larger newer landfills operated by the government.


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## debodun (Oct 16, 2022)

Pepper said:


> Dug for bottles?  He would just pick a spot and dig?  Please explain.


You just don't start digging anywhere. He would get tips from people about where good spots to try were, like old dumps. There was a place nearby called "pottery pond" where he got most of them.


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## Oldntired (Oct 16, 2022)

I love old bottles, especially the blue and green ones. I have several.


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## Remy (Oct 17, 2022)

Yes, people would find out old dumps or places where people put their trash years ago.

I worked with a woman back in the 80's who knew a couple that dug up some coins and got about 10 grand for them. She was so mad as they spent the money on dinners and other stuff. She said she would have used the money for a house down payment and was upset they seemed to waste it.


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## debodun (Oct 17, 2022)

About 10 years ago, I sold most of my dad's collection (and kept some of the more interesting ones). It was out in the garage in about 20 large cardboard boxes. I sold them to friends of a neighbor for $100 (that's like $5 a box and some had dozens of bottles in them like small medicinals). Later, the neighbor told me her friends got cheated on the deal, the collection wasn't worth anywhere near $100. Well, I thought that if they felt that way about them, they weren't being forced to buy and they _had_ looked at them. Personally, I thought they got a bargain - there were probably nearly a thousand bottles in the collection.


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## Remy (Oct 17, 2022)

@debodun Seriously? Some people just treat you lousy and I'm sorry. That's total BS, if they re-sold those bottles for 50 cents to $1.00 each, they'd make their money back and more.


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## debodun (Oct 17, 2022)

Their reason was that those bottles were plain with no markings to identify them. similar to  this:


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## bingo (Oct 17, 2022)

we used to dig old dumps...one near old plantation  home where  we lived..gave some to kids...grandkids..sold rest...i had all the blue together and  the  other colored glass on window  shelves...lots of cleaning  to  keep up


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## debodun (Oct 17, 2022)

I remember my dad bringing home bushel baskets of bottles. He'd keep anything he found that wasn't broken and sit out in the backyard with two large galvanized tubs. One had soapy water to clean them and the other had rinse water and he'd spend hours cleaning bottles To think of all the work he did and you can't give them away these days.

I had some displayed in the windows of my old house. My new house doesn't have the deep sills the old one had.  You can see some of them behind the sheer curtains.


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## Nathan (Oct 17, 2022)

We find empty beer bottles in our yard, but that's from the druggie bums that live down the road...


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## debodun (Oct 17, 2022)

Take them to the store and get the deposits!


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## Fyrefox (Nov 9, 2022)

My mother was big into collecting bottles, but she bought them at antique or flea markets rather than dug them.  The bottles, some early 20th century, did look pretty on window shelves with light passing through them, especially those with some color in them.  Although she thought her collection was worth a fortune, after her death my sister and I had trouble divesting ourselves of them.  Collectible bottles are apparently a niche market, and their supposed value resides in finding someone interested in acquiring them…


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## debodun (Nov 9, 2022)

Old bottles were a hot item in the 1970s, but like every other antique and collectible, the bottom has fallen out of the market. The old collectors are dying off and the younger people aren't interested in what they see a clutter at best, or old junk. The poor economy has a large part to play in it also. People are holding onto their money in an uncertain financial time and are keeping it for necessities and not buying trinkets and dust-catchers.


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## Pepper (Nov 9, 2022)

debodun said:


> To think of all the work he did and you can't give them away these days.


He did it for the love of it, not for the problems you have disposing of them!  At least he got the enjoyment he was seeking.


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## bowmore (Nov 9, 2022)

That is very true,Deb. My sister has a collection of Wedgewood that nobody wants. At one time it was very desirable.


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## debodun (Nov 9, 2022)

I have 2 pieces of Wedgwood (no "e" in it) jasperware - mint/nut dishes.



I also have a figurine that has "Wedgwood" stamped on the bottom, but an antique dealer told me that isn't the same Wedgwood company.


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