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All Forums >> [Bottle Forums] >> Digging and Finding >> WHATS IT WORTH??!! WHATS IT WORTH??! WHATS IT WORTH?

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WHATS IT WORTH??!! WHATS IT WORTH??! WHATS IT WORTH? - 7/3/2007 7:01:14 PM    RICKJJ59W Posts: 3670 Joined: 3/8/2007 From: Lehigh Valley US of A Status: offline  I have been seeing (WHAT'S IT WORTH?) on here a lot lately, AKA a bottle some one dug,whats it worth?......I will tell you what its worth, Its worth all, the dirt, all the mud, all the rocks and the filth I go through to get to these glass objects of the past, its worth the pain of pulling buckets up one after another, even when the pit get real DEEP and your tired as hell, its worth your wife or girlfriend yelling at you asking why you are going DIGGING another weekend! Its worth taking off from work to finish up a pit and using your vacation days, Its worth being misunderstood by (Non Diggers) thinking your crazy for crawling into (OUTHOUSE) holes, ITS WORTH THAT AND A LOT MORE TO ME. I have sold a bottle here and there, don't get me wrong but my (good) ones I keep, I rarely hear much about the history of bottles on here, how the past was when these bottles where in use, I posted a clip from the New York Times from 1875 about privies a while back, one reply, its all bout what it worth, I am just saying I see that a lot, and felt like venting, Keep on Digging! Rick* < Message edited by RICKJJ59W -- 7/3/2007 7:24:56 PM > _____________________________ 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/ Post #: 1

RE: WHATS IT WORTH??!! WHATS IT WORTH??! WHATS IT WORTH? - 7/3/2007 7:24:34 PM    bearswede Posts: 2910 Joined: 9/28/2004 From: western mass Status: offline If you keep your eyes open, you will see a lot of information being shared here... "What it's worth" is part of the hobby too... Let's not forget that... Ron _____________________________ "I LOVE Wolfies!!!!!!!!!!!!" (in reply to RICKJJ59W) Post #: 2

RE: WHATS IT WORTH??!! WHATS IT WORTH??! WHATS IT WORTH? - 7/3/2007 7:28:27 PM    RICKJJ59W Posts: 3670 Joined: 3/8/2007 From: Lehigh Valley US of A Status: offline I do keep my eyes open look at my posts, I SEE (whats it worth more). _____________________________ 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 bearswede) Post #: 3

RE: WHATS IT WORTH??!! WHATS IT WORTH??! WHATS IT WORTH? - 7/3/2007 7:31:32 PM    justadddirt   Posts: 523 Joined: 3/8/2007 From: West Central Penna. Status: offline Rick, I have to agree with you. My outlook on bottle collecting is the thrill of finding, age & history of the bottle. Not really concerned about the value. But that's my opinon. Oh well!!!! _____________________________ Gary (in reply to RICKJJ59W) Post #: 4

RE: WHATS IT WORTH??!! WHATS IT WORTH??! WHATS IT WORTH? - 7/3/2007 7:43:00 PM    RICKJJ59W Posts: 3670 Joined: 3/8/2007 From: Lehigh Valley US of A Status: offline Your opinion is a good one  Gary, Like  I said if you find a good bottle and you know its up there in (rarity), that's one thing, but every 5 and 10 dollar bottle? And there are new people I understand, but TO ME I love the fact that these bottles have not been touched by any one for 100 to 150 years that's the cool part! I also have to dig! for my own bottles with my own hands.aint nothing better. 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 justadddirt) Post #: 5

RE: WHATS IT WORTH??!! WHATS IT WORTH??! WHATS IT WORTH? - 7/3/2007 7:48:39 PM    zanes_antiques Posts: 2027 Joined: 9/3/2006 From: Steubenville, Ohio Status: offline    I'll be the first to admit I've hustled antiques for a living. I've sold all of my best finds until now. Not that I haven't kept a few things here and there over the years but I wish I would been in a position to keep more.   The "Moneybug" bit me when I was young. I found a "Clipper Pilsner Beer" conetop when I was 12. I had a brief stint as a Beer Can Collector until I sold what is one of the rarest cans out there. It was all downhill from there too.   I have found and sold some of the most desirable antiques there are. I don't regret every sale just the ones where I was so broke I took a beating.   I'm not selling my best anymore to live off of. Sure it helps having a good job to rely on but I wish I would have held onto many things, that I will never have the chance of owning again.   Sure we all wonder what something is worth when we find it. It gives us an idea of just how rare an object is. It makes me proud to know when I've found something so scarce to make it valuable to others. Maybe instead of asking something's worth in dollars I'll ask "How common or rare is this bottle or artifact?". _____________________________ I buy, sell, barter, and beg....Zane (in reply to justadddirt) Post #: 6

RE: WHATS IT WORTH??!! WHATS IT WORTH??! WHATS IT WORTH? - 7/3/2007 8:10:19 PM    RICKJJ59W Posts: 3670 Joined: 3/8/2007 From: Lehigh Valley US of A Status: offline That's it Zane I was just thinking of that..Thats how to ask...How common? how rare? This Quote comes from A good friend of mine MR.Charlie Cook a 70 year old privy digger from New Orleans.                                                                                 THE VALUE OF A BOTTLE JUST TELLS YOU HOW GOOD YOUR DOING. _____________________________ 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 zanes_antiques) Post #: 7

RE: WHATS IT WORTH??!! WHATS IT WORTH??! WHATS IT WORTH? - 7/3/2007 8:54:24 PM    hj   Posts: 112 Joined: 5/14/2006 From: Western Pa. Status: offline Hi Rick, I have not been in the hobby for a very long time, and the very best bottle in my collection would not fetch a hundred dollars in anyone’s market. I also have a 95 mini van with 200,000 miles on it, a relic from my soccer dad days. I could probably get about five hundred for it if I tried to sell. If my best bottle fell off of the shelf and smashed I would be heartbroken. If the mini van did not start in the morning I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. I could always get a hundred at the scrap yard. Dollar-wise my van is worth more than five times what my best bottle is. But not to me. Dollar value is relative. I think that as a society we have gotten so used to making an investment and then watching it depreciate into garbage that when we find something that was garbage that has appreciated into something of value it intrigues us. Rarity is a abstract measure because it lacks numbers in most cases. People understand dollar value. I think a lot of us feel the same way that you do about finding and holding, and asking a dollar value in most cases is simply looking for a yardstick on “how well we did”. Regards HJ (in reply to RICKJJ59W) Post #: 8

RE: WHATS IT WORTH??!! WHATS IT WORTH??! WHATS IT WORTH? - 7/3/2007 10:14:27 PM    privvydigger   Posts: 517 Joined: 7/16/2006 From: Heart of the Coal Regions Status: offline I dig for my local stuff.....I'm a local collector....I keep digging for my local stuff...they are so hard to find....we have the age just can't find the bottles....The what's it worth to me is a bonus for digging 200 outhouses in 23 month's and not finding what I'm looking for.  Its nice to look at all the bottles you've dug, the ones you have and the pics of the ones you used to have who adorn other diggers shelves.  I would rather trade but sometimes making a buck helps out.  If it were easy and you could make alot of cash everyone would be doing it.  Most people 5 foot into a clay cap then hitting water would go back to their fishing pole.  I have not touched my fishing gear in 23 months.  Just remember, the number one rule.....there are no rules! _____________________________ gtr'dug (in reply to hj) Post #: 9

RE: WHATS IT WORTH??!! WHATS IT WORTH??! WHATS IT WORTH? - 7/3/2007 11:08:15 PM    RICKJJ59W Posts: 3670 Joined: 3/8/2007 From: Lehigh Valley US of A Status: offline quote: the number one rule.....there are no rules! You got that Right!! < Message edited by RICKJJ59W -- 7/3/2007 11:10:22 PM > _____________________________ 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 privvydigger) Post #: 10

RE: WHATS IT WORTH??!! WHATS IT WORTH??! WHATS IT WORTH? - 7/3/2007 11:15:20 PM    lobeycat Posts: 3805 Joined: 9/8/2003 From: RED SOX Nation Status: online A wise man once said "What is it worth, is part of the hobby too...Lets not forget that..." and damn if he didn't hit the nail on the head. 90% of the people who come on here and ask "what's it worth have just found their first bottle by the side of the road or in grandpa's basement. They know its old and more than likely never heard of a hobby where people collect 150 year old trash. It's human nature to think they've struck it rich and ask a value. 99.9% of the time it's a $5 bottle, they say thank you and are never heard from again. Then you get that 0.1% who catch the fever, and next thin you know their building tumblers out of spare blender parts.  Knowing the value of a bottle is an integral part of the hobby. We all trade with people at times. Would you trade a bottle you cant find information on with a buddy not knowing what it's worth? Maybe yours is worth two of his bottles. Maybe it's worth his whole collection. On rare occasions I come across a bottle I cant track down. I have no problem asking this forum "what it's worth" or a buddy or dealer I can trust. I can't buy or even own a bottle that I don't know the value of, It's just not wise. There isn't a person on this forum who loves these things more than I do. The sense of history that's attached to everyone of them, whether it's worth $1 or $1000 captivates me. That being said I must add, nothing, but nothing gives me more satisfaction than spotting a olive yellow Dr. Soule's  from 150 yards away at a flea market, asking the seller how much, paying my thirty bucks and selling it on ebay the next week for nearly $360. Ya just can't do that without knowing how much a bottle is worth. Just my take on things, Lobey. Happy Fourth everyone! (in reply to RICKJJ59W) Post #: 11

RE: WHATS IT WORTH??!! WHATS IT WORTH??! WHATS IT WORTH? - 7/3/2007 11:37:24 PM    JGUIS   Posts: 1705 Joined: 3/18/2006 From: New Lexington, OH Status: offline I'm creeping out of the shadows for this one.  It hasn't been that long ago that I was a valuehound, wondering how much every crap bottle I found was worth.  Then I started digging privies, and learning.  Then I started digging old privies, and learning some more.  I'd say it's half learning and half thrill factor, the money is just a bonus.  I'm also a local collector, and kind of have a thing for clay pipes, but I'll sell other bottles for whatever I can get.  I just use any money to buy local stuff that I can't dig, like photos etc.  < Message edited by JGUIS -- 7/9/2007 12:13:55 AM > _____________________________ A pipe gives a wise man time to think, and gives a fool something to stick in his mouth. (in reply to lobeycat) Post #: 12

RE: WHATS IT WORTH??!! WHATS IT WORTH??! WHATS IT WORTH? - 7/3/2007 11:46:53 PM    appliedlips Posts: 1712 Joined: 1/30/2005 Status: online       I can't help myself,I just can't stay out of these philosophical debates.Rick,I have always liked your opinion on this,as I've heard it on another site.It reminds me of my father in law,a bottle digger of 30+ years and will never buy a bottle and hardly trades.It makes him happy,and that is what it's about.Myself on the other hand like to know the value of my finds and I am open to trade on most all but a precious few.Not for money reasons but for the sake of collecting.If I can sell stuff I don't enjoy looking at often and get something I really enjoy I should.In the end it makes for a better collection.My collection is not one category and I don't dig in the same state I was raised so I do not dig the bottles I started collecting.I have alot of nice bottles from many collecting categories but am envious of those who have peiced together very complete local collections,or collections specializing in one category.There are good collector's and then there are good scroungers and digger's.I am a better gatherer,I guess.I would like to improve on the collecting end of the hobby.In the past diggers were the dummies who drug the bottles to the show to sell to knowledgable collector's for pennies on the dollar.I think sites like this as well as ebay has ended that.I dig far more bottles than I ever intend on keeping so I need to know values or get screwed on all my hard work.I love bottles and love digging them,but I got started because a buddies mom offered to pay us $20 for every embossed milk from her grandfather's dairy we could find at the dump.I was 12 and have dug thousands of bottles since for the pure love of it.Not only have I benefited but so have the collector's you and I have sold to.Those bottles end up filling an important spot on their shelf,much better than an lesser spot in one the boxes under my house.You and I understand the history and so does anybody that sticks with this hobby for years.If  money gets them started great,we need newcomers to keep the hobby alive.To each his own I guess,Sorry for the soapbox,Doug < Message edited by appliedlips -- 7/4/2007 12:03:17 AM > (in reply to RICKJJ59W) Post #: 13

RE: WHATS IT WORTH??!! WHATS IT WORTH??! WHATS IT WORTH? - 7/3/2007 11:55:22 PM    capsoda Posts: 7929 Joined: 11/15/2005 From: Seminole,Alabama, USA Status: online Most newbees do ask whats it worth because they haven't yet learned that it has any history. Once they learn that it hasn't much value the next logical step is to wonder where it came from and what it was used for. Then they are hooked. Don't bother me any more but it shure used to. _____________________________ 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 JGUIS) Post #: 14

RE: WHATS IT WORTH??!! WHATS IT WORTH??! WHATS IT WORTH? - 7/4/2007 1:12:21 AM    privvydigger   Posts: 517 Joined: 7/16/2006 From: Heart of the Coal Regions Status: offline Quit talkin or get out of the hole! Hit it with the shovel again why don't ya! I'm tired of lookin at the crack a your ass! I'm on one! No its a ketchup! Aaaaahhhhh!  @$#@ WATER!!!!!! BRICKS!!!!! ROCKS!!!!!! PLANKS!!!!!!! Petered out! COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL! Gunna look Good on my Shelf! Hey Rick, I seen your buddy Ryan out and about Sunday!  A very good day diggin!  I hear your up to gettin together on a dig!  Hey any good one liners  _____________________________ gtr'dug (in reply to capsoda) Post #: 15

RE: WHATS IT WORTH??!! WHATS IT WORTH??! WHATS IT WORTH? - 7/4/2007 1:40:28 AM    L C   Posts: 1586 Joined: 3/17/2007 From: Ohio Status: offline I got hooked on bottles by finding some under an old house I tore down for a guy in the early 1970s after coming home from the Service. They were actually just common bottles, but I was very intrigued by them. And then I ran into a Friend I had not seen since I was drafted into the Armed Forces, and came to find out he had discovered the original town dump here where I grew up on the banks of the good old White Oak Creek while fishing for Rock Bass one Spring. The main part of the dump had broken loose from the bank and slid down the hill. My friend said that there they were, bottle necks and bottoms sticking out of the dirt every where ! When I saw the sodas and whiskeys and other medicines and flask he had dug out of the ground, I went totally off the deep end, and have never lost interest in collecting bottles since. That blasted dump was not twenty five feet from the hole where we swam in the summer months when I was a Kid. For a long time I never even thought about what one of my finds might be worth, then I joined the Ohio Valley Bottle Club. After being lied to and screwed so many times by the veteran collectors who had the knowledge of the value of bottles, and found that I had been trading money bottles for more or less junk, knowledge of the value of a bottle then became very important to me. As Lobes stated, you need to know values of bottles if you intend to buy , trade, or sell them to others. It was only then though that I felt the need to know value. And let me say before going any farther pertaining to the Ohio Bottle Club, there were many good and honest collectors that belonged to it as well as the bad ones, and I am sure there still is, although I have not been a member of it since the 70s. Still, since the first day I became a bottle collector, the searching and finding the dumps and making those sometimes small as well as  great finds are still the main thrill of the hobby for me. I do not have an extremely valuable collection, some of my bottles I cherish are only worth a few bucks, but I found them myself, and was thrilled as I uncovered them. I do know that I do have a bottle or two that is worth a good bit of money. I know this, because I researched them, trying to find out history of the maker as well as the value of the bottle in question. I still have many bottles I have no idea what they are worth, I have not bought a bottle price guide book since the 70s, and have no idea where  I have even put the books I bought back then. And actually, I do not really care, but if I ever decide to get rid of the collection I have, I will sure find out what the value of every one of them are if I am able to, before I attempt to sell them.       If a person asks me the history or value of a bottle, if I know it, I will tell them. I am more than willing to share my knowledge of anything I know with others, I fell very good about that. I know collectors , that if you ask them a question about a bottle, that will not tell you one dam thing about anything, I find that quite sad. That is another thing I truly like about this forum, people here are always happy to share their knowledge with others, or so it seems to me anyway, and I am glad I am a part of it.     One of the things I used to think about when I would dig up an old bottle, especially pertaining to a soda pop bottle was ; what was that person doing or seeing that was going on around them at the time they were drinking it a hundred plus years ago. IF BOTTLES COULD ONLY TELL THE STORY ! < Message edited by L C -- 7/4/2007 2:04:00 AM > (in reply to lobeycat) Post #: 16

RE: WHATS IT WORTH??!! WHATS IT WORTH??! WHATS IT WORTH? - 7/4/2007 6:56:53 AM    RICKJJ59W Posts: 3670 Joined: 3/8/2007 From: Lehigh Valley US of A Status: offline Na no one liners......A brick, stone or wood one would be nice though. _____________________________ 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 privvydigger) Post #: 17

RE: WHATS IT WORTH??!! WHATS IT WORTH??! WHATS IT WORTH? - 7/4/2007 7:03:53 AM    RICKJJ59W Posts: 3670 Joined: 3/8/2007 From: Lehigh Valley US of A Status: offline Yea me to Cap, some time I just (flare) out on a thought, and go with it, but that's just me  hahahahah!!!good subject though huh?...Its 7 am IM relaxed now, ready to go out and check a sink I probed. HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! _____________________________ 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 capsoda) Post #: 18

RE: WHATS IT WORTH??!! WHATS IT WORTH??! WHATS IT WORTH? - 7/4/2007 7:15:58 AM    RICKJJ59W Posts: 3670 Joined: 3/8/2007 From: Lehigh Valley US of A Status: offline I HEAR YOU L.C....I really wasn't saying that in a bad way, that all I am seeing was (WHAT'S IT WORTH) it was just an observation, and yes every one has to start out some where, and ask questions to learn, even (WHAT'S IT WORTH) I guess in the long run you either you grow in to a bottle LOVER or just a bottle collector. Rick < Message edited by RICKJJ59W -- 7/4/2007 7:27:20 AM > _____________________________ 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 L C) Post #: 19

RE: WHATS IT WORTH??!! WHATS IT WORTH??! WHATS IT WORTH? - 7/4/2007 8:30:50 AM    BRIAN S.   Posts: 1471 Joined: 5/27/2003 From: The Mountains of Tennessee Status: offline Doug , Lobe , Bear , and LC ...... very well said ! Doug , you mention another site in your post . Are you the one that dug the Green John Roots ? < Message edited by BRIAN S. -- 7/4/2007 8:31:47 AM > _____________________________ Tennessee Hillbilly Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most ! Always looking to buy or trade for Drake's Plantation Bitters and Drake's go-withs . And Tennessee Bottles and Jugs ! (in reply to RICKJJ59W) Post #: 20

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