Plumbata
Posts: 1535
Joined: 12/4/2007
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Many thanks to all of you who provided your opinions, congratulations, and advice. Unfortunately, the excitement which this find has caused here does not reflect my own.
After a week of letting the impact of the find settle, I arrived at a very comforting realization. I have collected old crap since I was 5, and for the majority of my life I have been fascinated with old things regardless of the value placed upon the items by other people, or the antiques and antiquities market in general. It is the personal value which is most important, not the awe and jealousy reflected in the eyes of outside observers which gives me my satisfaction. I still appreciate my Peoria bottle finds more than anything, and any singular find which was not recorded in the local bottle books means more to me than a known pickle, despite the fact that its monetary value far exceeds any local bottle find I've yet uncovered.
It seems that many collectors have been corrupted by the trends of the market, and collect that which commands a good price because of the prestige and glory associated with such high-value items, and lately I have been concerned with the influences of society upon my collecting interests. This find has laid to rest all such worries. I still retain much of the innocence and pure love and joy of collecting which I held when I was in elementary school, and although I use the language of monetary value to relate the significance of certain finds to other people, my internalized categorization scheme is still mostly untainted, and quite different from what I express to others. To put in better perspective, a worthless cracked and chipped bottle which was not previously known by living people before I dug it means so much more to me than digging a 3,500 dollar pickle. That former kind of true discovery makes me happy, not the uncovering of something which, for whatever reason, is worth a great deal on the open market. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to dig something of such desirability, but I feel that I do not deserve such a find. To me, it is worth less than a 15 dollar unlisted pharmacy, so I will have no problem with letting it go when I am in need of the money. My aforementioned position does not indicate that I don't enjoy turning a profit from my finds and purchases; we all need to support our habits somehow, but it seems that I don't let the market dictate my interests. As ancientdigger wisely stated, I should wait until I have something better to convert it into, but when that time comes I will have no regrets. It may well be the best bottle I've ever found and ever will find according to the standards of established collectors, but to me, personally, it is about a forty places down the list of my favorite bottles.
Perhaps I am insane, but the fact remains that its personal significance is very little. The implications of this fact provides me with a great deal of solace and satisfaction, and I sincerely hope that my position will not be shaken by the trends of the outside world in the future. I honestly wish that all of you will be able to find something far "better" than this pickle at some point during your adventures, if you haven't already, and I also hope that you realize that the value which the outside world places on your find should in no way be internalized as your own perception of personal value. We can't take this old glass with us, so why waste our finite years worrying about what other people think? Do that which you personally love, and don't give a damn about what other people see in it. If collecting 5 dollar ABM deco sodas makes you more happy than anything else, then don't let anyone take your appreciation and love such things away from you by belittling your beloved collections.
This fortuitous find taught me many things about myself and my involvement with the realm of collecting antiques and antiquities, and it is those realizations which hold the true value, not the bottle itself.
Anyway, here are some better pictures of the bottle, which should be far more interesting than my longwinded explanation of personal value:
Also, I went back to the site and dug it out, and the only somewhat significant find was another one of these:
Best regards, y'all.
_____________________________
Alterius non sit qui suus esse potest.
Advertisements contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper.
- Thomas Jefferson
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RE: My first complete Iron Pontil, and a dandy to boot! - 
. Keep it if you can afford it.I just sold a bunch of my bottles, and it hurts.Save it for an emergency or something nice.It`s gonna hold it`s value.A piece like that will always be in demand.
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