Dirty M.R. Sacramento

[AngelaC.]

Hello everyone. First time poster here and excited to find this group.

I have this bottle I purchased from a garage sale a few years ago. The sellers son had a pretty big collection of bottles he had dug up. They lived close to the train tracks in the Sierra Foothills in old gold county California. The area is rich with history and evidence of lots lots of hydro mining. I believe it is a M.R. Sacramento in Cobalt. It's still very dirty, but I've done nothing to it because I don't want to damage it. What is the best way to clean it?

It has a couple of imperfections. See in the pictures. Does this impact the value significantly? What is the best way to find the value of a bottle.

 

[hemihampton]

That's a nice one & an old one. appears to be iron pontiled dating it to around the 1850's. Best way to clean would be to tumble it but that would probably bust the small air bubble in neck & if the bigger already busted air bubble (or chip) above R. is really deep you may not want to tumble at all because it could severely damage bottle if that's to deep & thin glass there. For now best way to clean is with Soap & Water. Do you have any more like that one? that's a very good year/date for Bottles. LEON.

P.S. Welcome to the site

 

[AngelaC.]

That's a nice one & an old one. appears to be iron pontiled dating it to around the 1850's. Best way to clean would be to tumble it but that would probably bust the small air bubble in neck & if the bigger already busted air bubble (or chip) above R. is really deep you may not want to tumble at all because it could severely damage bottle if that's to deep & thin glass there. For now best way to clean is with Soap & Water. Do you have any more like that one? that's a very good year/date for Bottles. LEON.

P.S. Welcome to the site

What is Iron ponitiled and how did you know that. I very much want to learn. I love old glass bottles and jars.
I just recently acquired someone else's collection, or portion of one, from a storage company that went out of business. The "abandoned property" from folks that hadn't paid for their storage was up for auction in big storage units. I got about 30-40 different glass bottles, inkwells and som old clay or pottery bottles. I will post more pictures of different items we got.

What is the best way to get values on things. Some of the old pottery bottles I don't have much interest in. They're just not my thing, but I would like to learn more about them.

Thanks for your response.

 

[hemihampton]

on a Iron Pontiled Bottle the very bottom will have a discolored circle of color that is usually dark grayish or dark reddish in color. examples below. Leon.

 

[hemihampton]

from my research that bottle would maybe get $1,000+ in perfect flawless attic mint shape. good condition ones in or much better than yours in the $375-$800 range. A poor condition bottle like yours with damage maybe $100 at most but probably less, just my opinion, I'm no expert on west coast Bottles. Leon.

 

[UnderMiner]

Lovely Pre-Civil War Iron Pontil
It's a dream come true for many to aquire a bottle like that.

 

[midway49]

Wash with water and soft brush. Use a wire coat hanger or similar wire with patch of scrubby pad on end to reach inside. You can bend wire to access all areas. Then post pics again. You will have an idea then if you want it tumbled.