If the price is fair and you decided later you don't need it, it would be easy to find a buyer for it and get your money back out of it. Around here something like that won't sit there very long, even at a high price.
Yes, that is a bottom "shell." They were made in anywhere from 1 to 4 pieces, which were then cemented together. For the really rare ones, if they are broken, collectors of these multipart insulators sometimes dissolve the cement and take them apart. Then they can re-cement an unbroken top to an...
I hadn't yet bothered to sign up since the forum change had taken place, but after seeing your mug I got it done just so I could say... that is SICK!!! Top shelf find!
Dig a few small holes where your surface finds are. that will tell you pretty quick if it is just a scattering of stuff on the surface or a trash pit. If you find yourself digging in a trash pit (fingers crossed), a potato rake is a good tool to dig through everything with little risk of...
Very nice! I have the same OP bottle but with no embossing. After seeing this post, I had to take a close look at mine to see if there is any ghost embossing. None that I can see.