Great grouping of bottles but I'm wondering how many of those you labored to extract from the ground. Here's a picture of just one of many historical flasks, bitters, inks, mineral waters and sodas and medicinals I've dug. Never bought a bottle in my life, did a little trading when I had duplicates. After reaching the ripe old age my wife and I are now, we sold the entire collection for one $$$$ and with that, bought a winter home in Florida. Attached is a picture of me taking a "fresh" one out of a site.
I partially agree with you but not living in CT I'd be a poor judge of the possibility of finding valuable and historical bottles, flasks, etc. I will say that hundreds of fine specimens are still waiting to be removed from their resting place. How much research how you done as to the location of past citizens homes through the public available tax rolls and tax maps? None?...strike 3, you're out. If you'd already done this and marked their location, that is where I'd start. Next I'd drive and or walk the area of that long gone home and if the evidence of past occupation is there, that indeed a home or structure was there, then the hunt is on. Try to figure out the "layout" of the home, determine where the privy might have set, always out the back door and downwind. Did the house have a basement or half basement? You have to be relentless in your search and be a cut above the typical novice obvious dump digger. I'm sure, as your mentioned, many super digging sites have been ravaged with lots of great pieces found but my guess and gut feeling tells me there are this many and more just waiting for the dedicated bottle digger. When a fellow digger shows me a great bottle he has dug...I'm fascinated but if he bought it has much less meaning.
Dear Flasks,
Digging and finding has great rewards, I also could hit the shows and buy but then the interest in the piece drops so I don't bother going. I keep hearing about all the wealth in CA, if this is the case why don't you where-with-all people band together and help with your "street people" problem or are you leaving that up to Polosi. Want to talk about great pieces...this is one year of my metal detecting on the beach 3 miles South of Ft. Pierce before the highrises and concrete replaced the land. Those are 23K 1714 gold escudos, half were 8's and the others 4s. In size and weight an 8 is equal to our silver dollar and the 4 was the same as our silver quarter. I found several little pieces of jewelry but they are not in that pictures. The silver reales are mostly 8s and had to be cleaned...the gold picked out of the sand was mint.
