CMPharmD
Active Member
(sorry for the length, but I'm very excited....)
I have been collecting bottles for a few years. I am still in college and poor as hell, and live in a moderately densely populated city. I am also the only person I know interested in bottles. I have had dreams of finding bottles of my own for years, but have had to settle for thrift store finds and antique store overpricing until I could figure out what in the world bottle diggers do to find their privies/sites....
I was eating lunch by a creek in a public park (which I had no idea was there until I poked around a bit out of boredom) and saw some bottle bits down in there. I decided to come back this weekend, and just poke around a bit, out of fun, to see if anything was there. This was just for giggles as I have NO idea what to look for in creeks besides, well, bottles...
I jumped into the shallow end of the creek, and immediately my shoe got stuck in the muck and in an effort to balance myself, I ended up planting my sock-covered foot into the sandy bottom. Looking like a fool, I ventured in, making my boyfriend keep watch for any other people walking by. I don't know how *legal* it is to carry out bottles from a public park, but I figure I could just say I was cleaning the creek, and I doubt the bottles were of any real value anyways...
After poking around the creek, I found some bottle shards, but nothing else. My boyfriend suggested the upper banks. So I ventured up, with my black garbage bag, a rod to poke with, and my dishwashing-gloves covered hands. I'm certain I looked crazy.
The higher I went up on this bank, the more shards I found, until I found an area covered with broken plates and older looking bottle parts. I was taken aback. It was actually happening! I had found a bottle dump site! (I think... still not sure... could be the site of bottle remains from the local bums)
The ground was covered in vines, old clothes, ants, and spider webs. I didn't have anything to dig with, but I kept poking around until I felt what I thought was glass. Then, like an idiot, I dug with my hands.... I didn't find much, but some bottle shards. I only dug about 6" deep and then I cut my nail, which continued to throb the rest of the hunt.
Now, I didn't find anything awesome. I searched the creek, the banks, the bottle dump area, and around it. Since I had no idea what I was doing, and I was scared of any legal issues, I only stayed an hour. I also think the site had been dug before because nearby I saw some square-like holes carved out the side of the bank, which stopped when pipe was exposed. Happily, I found some bottles laying on the dirt. They're nothing exciting (and they are not OLD-OLD, but hey, old enough for me), but I am SO HAPPY I could finally see what everyone was talking about on this site. Now at least I sort of know what bottle digging/discovery is like. I am sure that when I am able to spend more time with this hobby, my weekends will be spent digging in the dirt for glass gold.
Here are some pics of my finds. Again, nothing big, but I'm sure happy!
These are all ER Drukee and Co NY. I found out that these are salad dressing bottles.
I have been collecting bottles for a few years. I am still in college and poor as hell, and live in a moderately densely populated city. I am also the only person I know interested in bottles. I have had dreams of finding bottles of my own for years, but have had to settle for thrift store finds and antique store overpricing until I could figure out what in the world bottle diggers do to find their privies/sites....
I was eating lunch by a creek in a public park (which I had no idea was there until I poked around a bit out of boredom) and saw some bottle bits down in there. I decided to come back this weekend, and just poke around a bit, out of fun, to see if anything was there. This was just for giggles as I have NO idea what to look for in creeks besides, well, bottles...
I jumped into the shallow end of the creek, and immediately my shoe got stuck in the muck and in an effort to balance myself, I ended up planting my sock-covered foot into the sandy bottom. Looking like a fool, I ventured in, making my boyfriend keep watch for any other people walking by. I don't know how *legal* it is to carry out bottles from a public park, but I figure I could just say I was cleaning the creek, and I doubt the bottles were of any real value anyways...
After poking around the creek, I found some bottle shards, but nothing else. My boyfriend suggested the upper banks. So I ventured up, with my black garbage bag, a rod to poke with, and my dishwashing-gloves covered hands. I'm certain I looked crazy.
The higher I went up on this bank, the more shards I found, until I found an area covered with broken plates and older looking bottle parts. I was taken aback. It was actually happening! I had found a bottle dump site! (I think... still not sure... could be the site of bottle remains from the local bums)
The ground was covered in vines, old clothes, ants, and spider webs. I didn't have anything to dig with, but I kept poking around until I felt what I thought was glass. Then, like an idiot, I dug with my hands.... I didn't find much, but some bottle shards. I only dug about 6" deep and then I cut my nail, which continued to throb the rest of the hunt.
Now, I didn't find anything awesome. I searched the creek, the banks, the bottle dump area, and around it. Since I had no idea what I was doing, and I was scared of any legal issues, I only stayed an hour. I also think the site had been dug before because nearby I saw some square-like holes carved out the side of the bank, which stopped when pipe was exposed. Happily, I found some bottles laying on the dirt. They're nothing exciting (and they are not OLD-OLD, but hey, old enough for me), but I am SO HAPPY I could finally see what everyone was talking about on this site. Now at least I sort of know what bottle digging/discovery is like. I am sure that when I am able to spend more time with this hobby, my weekends will be spent digging in the dirt for glass gold.
Here are some pics of my finds. Again, nothing big, but I'm sure happy!
These are all ER Drukee and Co NY. I found out that these are salad dressing bottles.
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