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All Forums >> [Bottle Forums] >> What is it? AFTER 1900 >> Piece of coal in bottle,but how?

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Piece of coal in bottle,but how? - 5/24/2007 5:50:15 AM    SmallTownGirl Posts: 11 Joined: 2/21/2007 From: Schuylkill County-Pennsylvania Status: offline I Just started bottle collecting a few months ago.. I came across a bottle dump along and old railroad bed. I actually found alot but this one has me puzzled. At first I thought it was the cork and a closer look it was a piece of coal.. OK no biggy.. The railbed was built in the late 1800's for the purpose of hauling coal.. The thing is ,how did it get there..? Its way to big for the opening up the bottle.. I know there is prolly a logical explanation for it ,I just would like to know what it is.. It is a Stove polish bottle.The front is Embossed with LIQUID STOVE POLISH MANUFACTURED BY JL PRESCOTT CO NEW YORK. Thanks in advance! By the way I'm from a small town in PA ,one redlight.. The coal region ..Its not quite a patch town but close..I hope to one day soon be able to give back to the board to others what I have taken.. By the way how do you become a supporter? Attachment (1) < Message edited by SmallTownGirl -- 5/24/2007 5:52:08 AM > Post #: 1

RE: Piece of coal in bottle,but how? - 5/24/2007 7:06:45 AM    passthebottle   Posts: 255 Joined: 1/23/2007 Status: offline Hi small town girl;    Is it possible that the contents of the bottle formed into that shape and harded? (in reply to SmallTownGirl) Post #: 2

RE: Piece of coal in bottle,but how? - 5/24/2007 8:50:29 AM    SmallTownGirl Posts: 11 Joined: 2/21/2007 From: Schuylkill County-Pennsylvania Status: offline Thats what I thought at first ,but I do think its coal. Then again what was stove polish made of back then? (in reply to passthebottle) Post #: 3

RE: Piece of coal in bottle,but how? - 5/24/2007 9:21:37 AM    capsoda Posts: 7705 Joined: 11/15/2005 From: Seminole,Alabama, USA Status: offline Hey Barb, Welcome to the forum. Nice bottle. It could be a lump of tar. Either coal tar or pine tar. Both were used to give a semi-shine to the stove. _____________________________ Warren Diggin down in Dixie, USA Work is for people who don't dig bottles President, Panhandle Cruisers http://www.panhandlecruisers.org/ (in reply to SmallTownGirl) Post #: 4

RE: Piece of coal in bottle,but how? - 5/24/2007 1:08:49 PM    bottlenutboy Posts: 2137 Joined: 10/10/2006 From: Bordensprings, Ala. or Esom Hill, Ga. Status: offline its coal, i had a chero cola bottle that was almost completely filled with coal i dont know how it got in there either but to get it out i just found something to fit in the top and crunched it up some and then ran some water in to get it out to become a supporter yo must either make a donation or buy a T-shirt from the forum store _____________________________ bottles for sale on my website! go check it out! http://www.geocities.com/cleburneslim/index.html?1170417418125 also check out the same bottles on my freewebs site!: http://www.freewebs.com/bottlenutboy/forsale.htm Spencer (in reply to capsoda) Post #: 5

RE: Piece of coal in bottle,but how? - 5/24/2007 1:15:19 PM    towhead Posts: 883 Joined: 12/31/2004 Status: offline I also found a bottle with- what appears to be- two chunks of coal....and also too big for the opening! < Message edited by towhead -- 5/24/2007 1:17:17 PM > (in reply to bottlenutboy) Post #: 6

RE: Piece of coal in bottle,but how? - 5/24/2007 7:15:25 PM    xpadigger   Posts: 6 Joined: 2/19/2006 Status: offline it is the dried remnants of the liquid stove polish that was originally in the bottle, which was a coal tar paste. I have the same bottle and a "Black Cat" stove polish bottle, both about half full of coal 'nuggets' which were dug from the same dump, also in PA coal country (Johnstown area).    (in reply to towhead) Post #: 7

RE: Piece of coal in bottle,but how? - 5/25/2007 12:36:46 AM    Humabdos   Posts: 446 Joined: 6/13/2004 From: Greenville Texas The Blackest land whitest people Status: offline I think I would leave it in there. You never know when you'll need a lump of coal. All I ever find in my bottles is dust or a few rat turds (in reply to SmallTownGirl) Post #: 8

RE: Piece of coal in bottle,but how? - 5/25/2007 7:57:08 AM    cowseatmaize Posts: 2135 Joined: 12/2/2004 From: Metro West, MA Status: offline I don't remember the turds but I found a nest of dead mice in a jug once. I imagine there must have been turds too. _____________________________ My 10¢ worth (inflation) Eric If you love what your doing it might be illegal, so watch your back. (in reply to Humabdos) Post #: 9

RE: Piece of coal in bottle,but how? - 5/25/2007 8:03:30 AM    towhead Posts: 883 Joined: 12/31/2004 Status: offline ....I had an open box of about 20 Dairy Bottles in the Garage from a few years back....practically every one contained a dead mouse!  Hmmmm maybe I should put some Mouse Traps in the Garage....   < Message edited by towhead -- 5/25/2007 8:06:59 AM > (in reply to cowseatmaize) Post #: 10

RE: Piece of coal in bottle,but how? - 5/25/2007 8:26:46 AM    epgorge Posts: 2410 Joined: 12/29/2006 Status: offline quote: Hmmmm maybe I should put some Mouse Traps in the Garage.... Or, just put the bottles back in there, as they seem to be doing the job. Joel _____________________________ (in reply to towhead) Post #: 11

RE: Piece of coal in bottle,but how? - 5/25/2007 8:36:03 AM    epgorge Posts: 2410 Joined: 12/29/2006 Status: offline I guess I need to start collecting stove enamels, there must be a bunch of them out there. here is one I have had for a feww years. It is a milliken's/ Parlor / Stove / Enamel /Milliken's / Boston  & NY / Anyone know if there is a exclusive book on stove enamels out there? Does anyone have any different ones they could post here. Joel Attachment (1) _____________________________ (in reply to epgorge) Post #: 12

RE: Piece of coal in bottle,but how? - 5/25/2007 8:53:52 AM    logueb   Posts: 1382 Joined: 1/6/2007 Status: offline Welcome to the forum Barb,  What is in the bottle is probably the dried contents of what was in the bottle.  I find this also.  Some of the dumps went throught cycles of great heat, enough that it can harden the contents of the bottle yey show little damage to the glass.   Its probably carbon, just not coal.  Coal is formed in layers , not round balls.  Heat and pressure forms coal.  If I am correct , when these deposits inside the bottles are broken up there will be some porisity in the lumps.  Just a guess. "Opinions are like noses, everyone has one - but they are all different" or something like that. _____________________________ Buster Bottle Bug Bit with no cure in sight. (in reply to epgorge) Post #: 13

RE: Piece of coal in bottle,but how? - 5/28/2007 10:34:30 AM    druggistnut Posts: 334 Joined: 1/7/2006 Status: offline It is definitely the "pitch" made for blacking stoves. I also tried and tried to get the stuff out of blacking bottles, with hot water, picks, acid.  The only thing that works (that I have found so far) is turpentine. Turpentine is made from pine stumps, and I believe the pitch in the blacking bottles is, too. It softens it up to a gooey mess and it comes out. That hard ball of stuff is in other product bottles, too, and we all know how many medicinal products had some type of sap/pitch from different trees in them. Throw in some other unGodly ingredients (they used anything) and it might congeal into a meteor, for all I know. Bill _____________________________ Michigan drugstore bottles/dose glasses, jugs, etc... Any paper from Mich drugstores, pre 1900. Mich. blob beers/sodas, hutches. Anything unusual from Michigan, i.e., paper from bottlers, etc... Buy or trade President-Flint, Michigan FOHBC Club (in reply to SmallTownGirl) Post #: 14

RE: Piece of coal in bottle,but how? - 5/28/2007 3:29:35 PM    bottlenutboy Posts: 2137 Joined: 10/10/2006 From: Bordensprings, Ala. or Esom Hill, Ga. Status: offline i still say its coal....unless someone can explain how it got in a chero cola i had _____________________________ bottles for sale on my website! go check it out! http://www.geocities.com/cleburneslim/index.html?1170417418125 also check out the same bottles on my freewebs site!: http://www.freewebs.com/bottlenutboy/forsale.htm Spencer (in reply to druggistnut) Post #: 15

RE: Piece of coal in bottle,but how? - 5/29/2007 10:17:08 AM    SmallTownGirl Posts: 11 Joined: 2/21/2007 From: Schuylkill County-Pennsylvania Status: offline  Thanks everyone for the great replies and the warm welcomes!I'm going to leave the contents of the bottle in there.. It may be worthless,lol.but makes a nice decoration.. This is a great board with TONS of info..I'm off to purchase a shirt or make a donation.. Good luck digging guys! < Message edited by SmallTownGirl -- 5/29/2007 10:20:14 AM > (in reply to bottlenutboy) Post #: 16

RE: Piece of coal in bottle,but how? - 6/1/2007 9:23:24 PM    Digger George   Posts: 316 Joined: 10/5/2006 From: PHILAD'A PA Status: offline I've dug a few dozen of those liquid stove polish bottles and about 90% of them had that same coal like ball inside. Sometimes more then half the bottle was full of balls. It's just the original contents that hardened. As for catching mice with bottles, I put a case of 12 empty round qt milk bottles in my shed each with a small piece of food in the bottom of the bottles. A week later 7 of those bottles had mice stuck in them. They couldn't get out! I may start selling milk bottles as mouse traps. There are enough of them around! _____________________________ "Everything on the earth has a purpose, every disease an herb to cure it, and every person a mission. This is the Indian theory of existence." - Mourning Dove [Christine Quintasket] (1888-1936) Salish (in reply to SmallTownGirl) Post #: 17

RE: Piece of coal in bottle,but how? - 6/1/2007 10:03:11 PM    RICKJJ59W Posts: 3322 Joined: 3/8/2007 From: Lehigh Valley US of A Status: offline This guy gets the coal star its  the remnets of the polish that just stayed in the bottle and formed a coal like object over the years, I dug many stove polish bottles and a few had them in it, think about it how would a (true) piece of coal  that's bigger then the top get in the bottle? Is it like building a ship in a bottle? Rick _____________________________ My Web Page.Lots of pix. Dig story's published in Antique Bottle & Glass Collector. New story added 9/08 www.19thcenturybottlediggers.com Digs in action. http://www.flickr.com/photos/pitpirate/ (in reply to xpadigger) Post #: 18

All Forums >> [Bottle Forums] >> What is it? AFTER 1900 >> Piece of coal in bottle,but how?

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