Opened up a trash pit today and pulled out 3 period Civil War bottles!

[Devonrex]

---

Two are standard black whiskey or ales and the other is an embossed medicine bottle. Unfortunately the largest of the ales has a broken top but still displays beautifuly. This bottle as well as the medicine is embossed with the makers name. Apparently this is a house site that stood mid 1800's through the early 1900's. At the top of the pit I found a beautiful Pabst Blue Ribbon beer bottle manufactured in Newport News Virginia. This bottle was made around 1890 and is a collectors prize in itself. I have only just begun to dig this pit out as I found it late in the day. I eyeballed a large brass lantern wick and some sort of porcelain insulator. Glass shards were everwhere and some were very old which made me sick. Blob tops and pontil bottoms are everywhere. Large pieces of iron are masking out all good signals. The pit is about 5 ft by 5 ft and I have only dug down a foot so far. I am definitely going back this weekend with a bottle probe and a long handled shovel and finish digging it out. These are the first bottles I have found in a very long time! I also got a huge brass buckle of some sort with leather still attached to it. It looks period so I'm excited about this piece too. Lots of musket balls and case shot, two pieces of Hotchkiss sabots, one carved 58, and a fired Enfield. I also found a coat button which looks promising and a flat button. I took everything over to show my father, who started me in relic hunting, and he said he thinks he sees a big A on the button! I'm hoping it is a Confederate Block A but I'm not sure yet. I'm going to let it dry out and then carefully clean it with a dry toothbrush. Man, what a day!

That pit I'm sure still holds many more bottles as well as relics. Its just gonna take alot of time to dig it out as roots are crisscrossing all the way throug it. Hope you enjoy the pictures! Devonrex

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[Devonrex]

Some more photos...................

 

[surf]

Hey Devonrex,

Nice digz, sir. Those bottles are considerably post war, though. Henry K. Wampole

Hutter Closure, circ: 1893-1920,
Invented by: Karl Hutter,
American Patent: February 7, 1893, Number 491,113,
American Patent: June 16, 1896, Number 562,225,
American Patent: April 13, 1897, Number 580,456,
This stopper was an improvement to the Lightning stopper and was extremely popular and eventually replaced the Lightning as the preferred beer bottle stopper. A tapered porcelain plug was fitted with a rubber washer on the bottom and forced into the lip of the bottle to seal it. This stopper was replaced with the crown cork." North American Soda & Beer Bottles - Beer Closures

 

[Steve in PA]

Nice digs. That porcelain piece is a bottle stopper that was held in place with a wire bail. Typically used on 1880-90s beer bottles, root beer bottles, etc.

 

[John Boy]

I'd definitely go back to that spot and hit it hard.Great job and awesome digs.

 

[JmCraz8]

Sweeeet bottles!!!