WOW, What a finish to a great year of Pit Diggin!!!

jgas

Silver Member
Apr 23, 2008
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Midwesterner
🥇 Banner finds
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Detector(s) used
DFX, Pro 6000XL, SunRay Probe, Centech Pinpointer
All I can say is WOW what a finish!
Don(Donerizer) and I got out and did a couple of properties that I had my eye on for quite awhile. After securing permission to dig we thought that maybe we should have tried these next season when the weather would be more favorable. But you know how long that thought lasted :tongue3: About 20 seconds I think. So we decided to give the places a last "ditch" effort and we started to probe. I must say Don does not like to probe too much but I don't mind. I think it's fun to actually locate a privy let alone dig it. ;D

So we found a couple of pits to start off with. Mind you this area we were at was a corner lot area with 3 houses. One of which was a store and home back around 1870 or so the story goes. So we had to prove that by the finds. We started off with some typical blank medicines and some broken pottery and plates. Not much to show until I was able to pull out a very nice amber blob beer from the 1880's early 1890's. Then we pulled out a decent Mason with the german cross. Not too bad of a start but we knew there was more :thumbsup:
So we continued to probe after that pit in hopes of older and more significant finds. I was focusing on any kind of variation with the ground strata, any slight change that would signify soil that was disturbed over the years. I told Don that maybe we should just do some test holes, maybe 3 feet down so that our 6 foot probe might reach a deeper use layer. Well our first try was a bust but then the second one we hit "Paydirt." :headbang:

We tried the 3 foot starter hole and then probed it again. At around 8 feet we brought up wood ash on the probe tip. That tells us this pit is older, at least older than the usual coal ash. :thumbsup: So let the games begin!! We dug down and hit the gray wood ash and immediately found some old leather shoe soles. Good sign :) Then some broken glass and a couple of nice medicines. Dr. Prices and a Hoods sarsaparilla. Don got a bit aggravated by not pulling up anything really great so he let me jump in to try and change the luck!!! So I started and pulled out an absolutely fantastic Staffords Master Ink :o It was a beautiful green color. So I was out of the pit and I let Don go back in.....Frustration mounted and he again got the feeling of getting skunked :( Not much to show so he let me back in. And would'nt ya know the first thing I pulled out was another Staffords Master Ink. Unfreakin believable!!! We had never dug one of these and now we had two. :thumbsup: Don told me to stay put and dig another one, so I continued on and low and behold I pulled out a clear Sanfords ground lip Master Ink. This was just crazy now. I then topped it off with a small Staffords barrel ink and a cone ink. ;D

Then it was Don's shot at Glory!!! We were down around the 9 foot level and found the base so it was time to circle around the bottom and search for the possible fabled "Late Throw". Don was digging at one of the corners and yelled up to me that he see's a flask, not sure what kind but its way back in the corner. So after a couple minutes of very careful digging and obvious shaky hands, he jumps up with the prize. :thumbsup: A Violin or Scroll Flask in perfect condition :thumbsup: Can you say WOW, we did and it even got better when he looked at the base and saw a great Pontil Scar!!! Wow, a Scroll Flask that easily outdated anything in the pit by 20 to 30 years. A Fabled Late Throw come true. What a day and What a possible end to a great year.( we may get out again :tongue3:) All in all we found a pile of glass, a nice jug from New York, multiple keepers and the thirst to get back out next season and do it again. I told Don that "that makes ya wanna dig again huh?" He said maybe we shall dig in the snow! :icon_sunny: Hope ya all enjoy the pics and the season to come. Goodluck out there and be safe everyone. Now Go Eat Some Turkey!!!! :tongue3: jgas
 

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Upvote 0
Totally awesome digs. Love em all!!
 

Hey thanks for the replies everyone. Thanks for the Banner nods as well :thumbsup: The Stoneware jug has a makers mark of New York Stoneware on it. I still have to get it cleaned. The handle is missing >:( but still a cool find.
I didn't know about the lamp deal, that is way cool and older than I thought. We are going to have the flask polished a bit. I am sure it will turn out even better.
We do keep alot of the stuff we find, but to be honest with you we do sell some items. We don't so much like the money factor as we like the history factor! It surely outweighs any cash, but we do need to eat and fund the next digs :tongue3:

These finds were by far some of the oldest glass we have seen. Hopefully the weather will last just a bit longer for just one more dig! Thanks again for all the kind replies :thumbsup: jgas
 

jgas said:
And Finally some more pics.....Enjoy!!! We Did :thumbsup:
Great stuff!! Looks like you have a Saxlehners Bitterquelle in there also.
 

Great bottles, love them all, is there anything I can do to remove the oxidation from some of my clear bottles?? Thanks for the story and pics..
 

Geeze Louise would ya just look at all those beautiful oldies! 8) Seems like this one might be a payback for the good deed on the skeleton episode. :icon_thumright: You two are amazing! I couldn't imagine moving all that dirt in one day. :o But...with every great bottle find, there has to be a spark of energy to find the next. :icon_pirat:
Congrats, and always look forward to seeing what you two dig up.

Nana :)
 

I have a few pits to dig before winter hits, if we do half as good as you I'll smile for a week. Banner for the scroll flask!
 

That dig was simply killer man :headbang:

Your effort is amazing :hello2:

Makes me wanna go dig right now at night :laughing7:

How the heck do you get permission to dig someones yard like that :icon_scratch:

By the way that is a banner Scroll Flask :thumbsup:


Blaze
 

Your digs never cease to amaze me. :thumbsup:

Congrats on the great finds. :headbang:
 

Thanks for the replies again everyone! To answer a question about seeking permission, we simply ask and tell them what we want to do, offer some goods to them( most people just want to see the stuff and give it back). A ton of the properties are vacant buildings that we still seek permission for and are usually granted. :thumbsup:

Nana: Yea maybe we got a bit of payback for the skelaton :tongue3:

I think the lamp will be hard to clean but we shall try. We clean our finds first with copper shot shaken in the bottles, it usually cleans the crud out but when we have the bottle sickness those go to the bottle tumbler for a polishing. Thats the only way to get them sharp.

Yep we find the bitterquelles regularly here :thumbsup:
Any clues on the rarity of the Staffords Master Inks??? We have never found one before.

Once again thanks for the Banner nods on the flask, it's appreciated for sure. :thumbsup: jgas
 

Thanks for the tips on cleaning the bottles.. Now I will look up bottle tumbling..
 

Super collection of dug glass!

That scroll flask is awesome!!
 

Amazing! Another facet of this great hobby for me to explore. Thanks for the inspiration and congratulations on the finds. Probably few realize how much work that involved. Great job!
 

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