Bottles found in Thames (part two)

[Mihai]

Here you have the second bottle. It's 172mm high and 70mm width. On the shoulder it's written "R. WHITE" and on the body:
"(REGISTERED)
R. WHITE
LONDON".
One chip on shoulder, slightly worse condition and the same problem caused by sitting who knows how long in water. Same questions as for the previous one: how can I safely clean it, what is the value and the most important how old is it?
It seems that you guys gave me the "collecting old bottles virus". For this, for reading my entries, and for answering to my questions...thank you!

 

[IRISH]

Hi and welcome Mihai.

Your bottle is a stone ginger beer, value is probably not a lot as most Whites bottles seem to be quite common but Roger or another English collector will be able to tell you more.
That black gunk should clean off with a good scrub, Hydrochloric Acid (Muratic Acid) will get it off quickly but I'm not a fan of using it on stoneware.

 

[Mihai]

Thank you Irish. I tried my hand with water and bleach and I'm quite pleased with the result. About the value issue it's not so important. In one day I might find, fingers crossed, a very rare thing and I wouldn't like to damage it with my inexperienced manuevres. I have no intention to sale anything I find. I enjoy to much the company of old things to sell them especialy if they are found by me. Their value is bigger for me than for somebody who will be willing to buy them. I wouldn't like to buy old bottle either as this would be the easy way to build a collection and anybody with some money could do it. But enerthing a bottle tens of years old is all about, isn't it?
Here you can see the provisory result of cleaning.

 

[southern Maine diver]

Hey Mihai...

Welcome to the forum... hope you enjoy the site.

Those are real nice ginger beers... I like the stoneware pieces. They don't go for an awful high dollar, but they are fun to collect. They really add to the old style decor of an old house or flat... great conversation pieces.

Are you just walking along the Thames or are you jumping into it and finding them underwater? Can you imagine what you could find scuba diving at these locations? Are they protected sites? Do you have laws there that forbid you to pick these up? They have a lot of places here in the states where they won't let you dig or dive for anything.

It would be interesting to know what kind of antiquity laws exist in other countries.
Just a thought... Nice stoneware/crockery keep looking.

Wayne

 

[capsoda]

Hi Mihai, My wife won't buy bottles either. She says the same thing you do " I want to find {dig} them my self".[]

Those cleaned up really nice. Good job.

Keep looking and good hunting to you.

 

[Mihai]

Hi, Wayne
First and second bottle were just on the shore. The third was about two meters in the water and I had to improvise a kind of bridge from bricks to reach it without getting soaked. I wouldn't dive in Thames even if I knew how, it's pretty dirty. Plus it's almost always muddy. To not talk about the boats that sail up and down the river. The catch is to go when the tide is as low as possible and in places where are not so many tourist.
About the laws I'm afraid I cannot help you much. But I asked somebody once about the fossils and he told me that I do actually a good thing by bringing out them. I presume that is similar with bottles.

 

[southern Maine diver]

Hey Mihai...

Bring a long, steel rake with you next time and try raking some bottles up. If anyone asks what you're doing, you tell them you're trying to do your part to clean up the river...

Wayne

 

[Mihai]

Hi, Wayne
Do you think that is anybody stupid enough to ask me what I'm doing in the riverbed when I have a long steel rake in one hand and a broken bottle in the other?
Thanks for advice!

 

[southern Maine diver]

Mihai...

Oh yea... there are plenty of people who would ask, believe me.

Wayne

 

[capsoda]

Hey Mihai, Wayne is right, the HEYWATCHA's will ask plenty of obvious questions.