I was doing some scouting for a new site yesterday. I'd been to the beach Friday and Saturday with some nice finds but nothing spectacular. So yesterday headed off in a different direction. I have been known to knock on doors before and the gentleman said sure, go ahead and dig. It was a small farm with less woods on it.
There was a heavily hunter CW camp or something there, plus a long time gone house or two. I wandered about for about 2 hours with little to show for it. I was doing a zig zag pattern, so nothing planned, since I didn't know the site. Found a fair amount of shotgun shell bases and then some square nails and then ration can and junk iron. Finally got some scrap lead and a couple eagle buttons. Only 1 bullet a Washington Arsenal. Did find a modern 22 in wood which I left, couldn't get it out.
So I went into what I thought would be a very snaky area later this spring and found what was left of a HUGE copper kettle. It consisted of the rim, handle and 4" of raggedy brass handing down all around it. (don't tell anybody that dung-for-brains, while knowing a wire fence was there - tripped and fell flat on my face over it). Well, there were the large pieces of brass from the copper or brass, I guess brass, pot so I started digging them up. After all you never know....
There was a good bit of broken glass in this very shallow area. Then I started more like scratching with the shovel than digging. Up pops a McCormick & Co. Baltimore clear glass bottle. From the style it's early 20th century. So I scratched some more, and up pops a "Garrett & Co. Virginia Dare Extract" bottle. It also looks either late 19th or early 20th century. Lots of broken whiskey bottles, clear, amber and green. Broken isn't the word - shattered is.
Anyway, cool Bottle. Never saw one but I mainly have 18th century black glass bottles, which these are not. so I dug a little deeper. To my shock after all the broken pieces (lots of broken stuff) I see another smooth, dark line in the dirt. I got the strap sided Amber whiskey out intact. It still needs more cleaning as has a stain still inside. I could only do so much overnight. May have a slight ding on the lip or it could be a casting flaw, can't tell right now.
I hadn't run the detector in awhile and in this 3' square area, not deep, I'm getting big brass targets, so cleared off some more ground. And then another glimmer - no but wait - 2 glimmers, a bluish mustard bottle and a near perfect Union with cannons and flag and on the other side clasped hands and a mountain. Some kind of whiskey flask. These had very little dirt in them. Go figure. Mud had the necks clogged, so they were laying there all this time, empty.
One more run of the detector and the "brass trash" was an NCO belt buckle. First one I've ever had. Knock me over with a feather.
Now I'm certain two of the bottles are not Civil War. The Amber, I'm not sure of but it's the only amber I've ever dug. The mustard I'm pretty sure is CW as is the aqua flask. I'll have to do some more research. I own a couple of the mustards I bought awhile back, but with the exception of an umbrella ink I dug a year and half ago, these are the first bottles I've found in 20 years. I'm so excited I may have to call out a mental health day today! But I guess I won't. And it hunts too much to go dirt fishing today
There was a heavily hunter CW camp or something there, plus a long time gone house or two. I wandered about for about 2 hours with little to show for it. I was doing a zig zag pattern, so nothing planned, since I didn't know the site. Found a fair amount of shotgun shell bases and then some square nails and then ration can and junk iron. Finally got some scrap lead and a couple eagle buttons. Only 1 bullet a Washington Arsenal. Did find a modern 22 in wood which I left, couldn't get it out.
So I went into what I thought would be a very snaky area later this spring and found what was left of a HUGE copper kettle. It consisted of the rim, handle and 4" of raggedy brass handing down all around it. (don't tell anybody that dung-for-brains, while knowing a wire fence was there - tripped and fell flat on my face over it). Well, there were the large pieces of brass from the copper or brass, I guess brass, pot so I started digging them up. After all you never know....
There was a good bit of broken glass in this very shallow area. Then I started more like scratching with the shovel than digging. Up pops a McCormick & Co. Baltimore clear glass bottle. From the style it's early 20th century. So I scratched some more, and up pops a "Garrett & Co. Virginia Dare Extract" bottle. It also looks either late 19th or early 20th century. Lots of broken whiskey bottles, clear, amber and green. Broken isn't the word - shattered is.
Anyway, cool Bottle. Never saw one but I mainly have 18th century black glass bottles, which these are not. so I dug a little deeper. To my shock after all the broken pieces (lots of broken stuff) I see another smooth, dark line in the dirt. I got the strap sided Amber whiskey out intact. It still needs more cleaning as has a stain still inside. I could only do so much overnight. May have a slight ding on the lip or it could be a casting flaw, can't tell right now.
I hadn't run the detector in awhile and in this 3' square area, not deep, I'm getting big brass targets, so cleared off some more ground. And then another glimmer - no but wait - 2 glimmers, a bluish mustard bottle and a near perfect Union with cannons and flag and on the other side clasped hands and a mountain. Some kind of whiskey flask. These had very little dirt in them. Go figure. Mud had the necks clogged, so they were laying there all this time, empty.
One more run of the detector and the "brass trash" was an NCO belt buckle. First one I've ever had. Knock me over with a feather.
Now I'm certain two of the bottles are not Civil War. The Amber, I'm not sure of but it's the only amber I've ever dug. The mustard I'm pretty sure is CW as is the aqua flask. I'll have to do some more research. I own a couple of the mustards I bought awhile back, but with the exception of an umbrella ink I dug a year and half ago, these are the first bottles I've found in 20 years. I'm so excited I may have to call out a mental health day today! But I guess I won't. And it hunts too much to go dirt fishing today
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