Augusta, Georgia "Big Dig" PICTURES

[IloiloKano]

That gray at the bottom of the hole marks the clay boundary and the point beyond which no more bottles or jugs will be found.

 

[IloiloKano]

The clay boundary averages approximately 12 feet, give or take a foot or two.

 

[IloiloKano]

Manually teasing bottles out of the side while the backhoe operator continues to dig in the same hole.

 

[IloiloKano]

Taking a break for LUNCH!

 

[IloiloKano]

A couple more heartbreaks... TWO separate (and nowhere near complete) Frog Pond Chill And Fever Cure bottles - both broken. Each one would have been worth about $1,000 if unbroken, but unfortunately, these cannot even be repaired, since there simply wasn't enough of either bottle to piece back together.

They went back into the hole, along with anything else, broken or whole, that wasn't worth at least $20. Early in 2011 (digging started in April) they allowed local bottle collectors to come out and make offers on the low end bottles, but now they just throw them into the hole unless they know someone wants (and will pay for) particular items, like old bromo-seltzer bottles which they have found by the hundreds.

 

[IloiloKano]

Bill Baab recording results for the day's digging. In the upper right against the concrete are broken soda and beer bottles, which they save for a man who buys them for $2 each, repairs them, then sells them for a profit. I was told that he may have more than he wants now, but they keep stacking them up anyway, just in case.

 

[IloiloKano]

Another picture of Bill Baab recording the day's dig results, and the last picture for tonight. I'll try to get more pictures resized and posted in the next day or two.

 

[edndlm]

Shame about The River Swamp & Frog Pond Cures . Your estimate of value on the Frog Pond is way off . It is a $ 250 to $ 350 bottle and shouldn't be that high .

 

[sandchip]

Thanks for taking the time to post those pictures so we can watch as things develop. Keep us posted!

 

[IloiloKano]

ORIGINAL: edndlm

Shame about The River Swamp & Frog Pond Cures . Your estimate of value on the Frog Pond is way off . It is a $ 250 to $ 350 bottle and shouldn't be that high .

I thought I remembered being told that value by the people doing the digging, but I could easily be wrong. I'm not a collector. I only spent the one day with those guys, though I visited Bill Baab's home a few days earlier to see his personal collection. I was on vacation to see family, but now I'm back home on the left coast.

I originally found this site while searching for information regarding the value of several center script Coca-Cola bottles from the dig, which my brother gave me while I was visiting. Those doing the digging told me they should fetch $25-$30 each, and I plan to list most of them on eBay, but they do not all appear to be equal. I'm a coin collector, not a bottle collector, but I suspect as in coins, condition is key.