Glass Floats

[diggerjeff]

these floats can travel very great distances on the ocean currents. i have always thought most were from japanise fishing . could have come from any international waters.

 

[leebran20]

Hey gang: I'm by no means an expert on floats, but I do know they're very collectible and attract some very serious collectors -- from Hawaii, to the U.S. West Coast, Japan and Europe, etc. My digging partner -- who also owns an antique shop -- is very knowledgeable on these and is the trader that one particular Hawaii collector uses to build his collection. I was at my partner's shop this week when he showed me a package that just came in, which he secured for this collector, and in it were just two, very special floats, that totaled nearly 3 grand. One was a heavily embossed specimen w/ characters never seen before, and the other was in a color never seen before. This guy regularly competes with about a handful of others in the world for floats like these -- so both the serious collectors and the serious floats are out there.

I prefer to dig and collect bottles, but I do have some floats and on this day at the shop I did happen to spend 80 bucks for two smaller floats (and this was heavily discounted because he's my bud). This is the first time I've bought floats. Both have sea water trapped inside of them -- the smaller one, about 4 inches across, is about a 1/3 full -- and those are the ones that I really like right now.

Sam, great story and float. Terrific good fortune, and that's a pretty good one in my semi-knowledgeable capacity, with its sandblasted quality and real dark green color.

You rarely find them on Hawaii's beaches these days, but quite a while back they would not infrequently turn up. I did find one at a beach on Oahu's east shore as a young kid with my dad, and though a common type, I of course still have it and have treasured it all the while. I much more recently dug one in a trash pit way back in a valley, which was a nice surprise.

If you're interested to learn more, go to eBay and search "glass fishing float" in title and description and about seven pages will regularly turn up. On one of these pages, you can also find the book "Glass Float" by Walt Pich. It's the newest book on floats, and supposedly incorporates all of the latest found since the original bible on this hobby was published by Amos Wood quite a while ago. I, of course, bought the book off eBay the same day as I bought the floats. Go figure, huh. I feel another sickness coming on.[&:]

 

[leebran20]

Here's a pic of the smaller float I bought on Tuesday.

 

[leebran20]

sorry gang, having problems and my girlfriend is hungry. be back later.

 

[LaidBackJack]

Just for the heck of it, here are three floats I picked off a beach on Kodiak Island in 1982. The 3" yellow was not a real common find. I never found a red one, but a crewmate did on Unimak Island. On one beach not far from Dutch Harbor, three of us picked up 40 or so in a couple hours. Those were the days. Other times we would look for Aleut artifacts, walrus ivory, and WWII relics. The floats & other maritime flotsam became de-facto favorites, because we could almost always count on finding some any time we went ashore in those islands. BTW, the "weather" in the Aleutians is unbelievable. We weren't strolling along sun-kissed beaches, picking up the goodies we found. It was always windy, & I mean windy! And usually raining/sleeting/snowing. You wore rain gear 24/7 and 365 days a year where I found my floats. We would only drop the hook in sheltered spots, and those are far & few between in the Aleutians, so we took advantage of any chance to go ashore in the skiff, & a few times we were able to cruise around all day exploring seldom visited beaches. I'll bet the beaches of the Aleutian Islands are still well stocked with glass floats, for anyone who could afford an expedition, & put up with the constant discomfort & flat-out danger. The outer islands are very seldom visited, if at all. Many of them cannot be safely landed on, I imagine some of them would be virtual jewelry boxes. I was young then, and figured to be immortal. I wouldn't try what I did back then.....now. But I still have these floats & a few others, and an assortment of other artifacts, to remind me of that time. If only I knew then what I know now...etc...

 

[leebran20]

Jack: those floats are beauties -- but especially the yellow one of course. The islands to the west of the main Hawaiian Islands, like Midway and Kire and the like, are also still gold mines for floats and other nautical artifacts. Most of the regular folk like me don't get chances to go to these islands -- some of them are bird sanctuaries, marine research areas, etc -- but a friend of mine who works with Fisheries does and he has a TON of floats. A lot of common ones, but the sheer numbers are mind-boggling.

Sorry had to run off last night before successfully posting pic of my float. Gotta go to work, but hopefully tonight i can.

 

[LaidBackJack]

Looking forward to your latest score. Even though I wasn't particularly interested in glass back then, I saved every glass float that I found, except regrettably, some really big ones that I didn't want to pack back to the states. I had a half dozen 12" or so absolute beauties, including an emerald green one... that I traded for worthless junk before I left, what a dummy! I never made it out to the Andreanofs, or the Rat Islands, but I've been told by a military friend who was stationed on Shemya, that those islands are treasure chests for all kinds of booty. It's all about the ocean currents, and where the mostly Japanese fleets operated. The Aleutians are like a magnet for anything caught in the Japan current...but usually only the south & west sides of those islands. You can look a long time on the north side before you'd find anything. I was in the Bering Sea, Herring fishing, and spoke with guys who had gone ashore on the Pribolofs. They found old campsites with bottles dating back to the sealers in the early to mid 1800's, but not a single float. I distinctly remember turning down trades for some of those bottles, lord knows what they were? I had scores of floats, & I wouldn't trade for those crummy old bottles....ha ha...what an idiot! Still, it was great being young and dumb...but only because I survived it. I have another story about a friend who went to Cocos Island, looking for buried pirate treasure, and instead he came home with crates full of 17th & 18th century bottles. He's been retired for a long time now, and he just has one or two of those bottles left. The rest helped pay for his spread. I keep in touch, you never know, he might decide to go back if the stock market tanks, or his wife divorces him...and I'm going with him, you can bet. Cocos Island isn't the Aleutians...palm trees, tropical breezes....17th century pirate bottle dumps.....We grow too soon old, and too late smart.

 

[leebran20]

So true, Jack. Here's the pic of the smaller float -- I hope. It's actually 3" across. If this is successful, I will then post pic of the bigger float -- about the size of a softball -- I also got that day. It has only about an inch and a half of water, so is less valuable, but I like it a ton too. My partner told me that most-full float he's come across was a small one -- less than 3" across -- 3/4 full, and it predictably ended up in the "museum" of that serious collector I mentioned.

Good luck, whenever the chance actually comes, on finding pirate's booty. I'd love to get the chance at what you're talking about too. BTW, also really enjoyed the pics of your recent finds in the Sierra Nevadas. Any more news on that spot? Take care.

 

[leebran20]

OK, I think I'm getting better at this. Now interfacing w/ my iPhoto and Photoshop. Roger should be pleased, if this is successful.

 

[LaidBackJack]

Brandon, Pardon my stupidity, but were water-filled floats made that way? Or does the water somehow get inside later? I have never found a float with liquid inside! To what degree does this amplify their value?

The Sierra dig is going strong, I'll be back at it tomorrow. We only work it during the weekdays in order to avoid any weekend tourist attention. Partner Melvin is camped right on the spot, and one look at his huge, dirty, hairy presence is usually enough to repel any visitors. A bit of subterfuge of this type is necessary, unfortunately. Truth is he's the nicest guy in the world, wouldn't hurt a flea. Best of all, he has no interest in glass. He just wants rusty metal, & especially any old shell casings we turn up. He's an expert with his metal detector. I will definitely take pics of some finds after I get them cleaned up & sorted out. Right now I don't have the time. The Carnrick's is the best so far, AFAIC. I've found two good applied tops, but both are unembossed amber spirits bottles, no pontils. About 20 good tooled bottles, mostly food or condiments, with a few meds or cures. This dump was apparently used from at least the 1870's until the 1960's. Then it was buried by the highway improvement. The cartridge casings we find are definitive dating aids, with Mel's encyclopedic knowledge of that subject. To the present day, the spot is a favorite place for target shooting. If anyone else has ever picked it, we haven't seen any signs of it yet. It's so large & spread out that it will take a long time to cover it all. So we're planning to re-bury our excavations & continue next season...thus the need to stay under the radar of any interested observers. From November to May this spot is buried under several feet of snow & completely innaccessible. The road is closed 10 miles down the hill. I can't wait to get back tomorrow & see what Mel has uncovered! The only problem is that he has no regard for bottles, and takes no care with them when left unsupervised! Aaaaarrgghh! To Melvin, bottles are literal targets for his plinking addiction! I have taught him to discern the difference between ABM & BIM, but it's not a sure thing. Thus I always return with supplies, prepared for anything. So far, he hasn't demolished any serious keepers. Best Regards, LBJ.