# Save the Newbie!



## AmericanWoman1964 (Oct 25, 2011)

Well hello there Antique Bottle collector type peoples! I am new to this arena! I joined because I have so many bottles in an old dump in my New Hampshire yard. I don't know a thing or have a clue about bottle collecting at all. I am hoping to learn a thing or two from all of you! Namely, on todays dig (I dont dig for bottles, I was clearing an area in my yard and came across the dump) I found a few I thought were different but do not find any info online. #1 HG Gurnsey 6.5 oz bottle, #2 Nesbitt's 7 oz bottle, #3 T Noonan & Sons, Boston, MA. All of them are unblemished. No cracks or chips. No bottle tops either though so I dont know if that matters. This  is only a few of the thousands in this dump. It seems every soda coompany is in there. My wonder is, is it worth it? Do I sell them? To whom and how? Do I send them to the dump as I clean them up? Just what am I looking at here? Any input would be most appreciated. Thank you in advance for your kindness.


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## surfaceone (Oct 25, 2011)

Hello AmericanWoman,

 Hooray, you are right on the edge of an experience you might quite like. 

 How's the paint on that Nesbitt's? 

 We are happy to encourage that little Digging Devil on your shoulder, who's telling you to get scratchers and digging implements and go to town on that dump. Must be nice to have such a resource so conveniently located. [8D]

 If you take photos, and post them, we'd be happy to weigh in. Sounds like you may have mid 20th century on top. To find older, painfully lonely ones, you have to go deeper...


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## RICKJJ59W (Oct 25, 2011)

Now don't go scarring her away Surf [8D]


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## AmericanWoman1964 (Oct 25, 2011)

Surfaceone

 Thank you for responding. Im only having to go not even 3" down....this is all right on the surface with little growth over it. I also dug up an almost complete Model T complete with spoked tire rims in the same pit so dating is difficult for me. The paint is pretty pristine on the Nesbitt's. To be honest, the idea of researching the bottles does NOT appeal to me. One bottle I had dug up I didn't think was worth anything...I just thought it had character and put it in my windowsill ended up selling at a bottle auction here in Keene, NH (I had no idea there was any such auctions) for over $1000 ..... that kind of piqued my interest. I still have the bottle. What surprised me was it didnt seem to matter that it wasnt hand blown. Hence you can see my ignorance. I love the digging part just because I enjoy being outdoors and love my forest. I doubt highly I would bother to sell any of them since that would require research and time I dont care to spend on it. Im a single mother with 7 kids and any free time I get ...Im riding my Harleys....I happened upon the 3 dumps in my forest here when I was looking for stone to build a stone wall. I have quite a bit of different milk bottles ...well heck...I have everything...I dont even bother bringing them down to the house anymore....they just accumulate. I never bother with anything chipped or broken either. I assumed those would be worthless anyway. I guess Im just interested to see how it all works and surprised there is a demand for such things. I can post pictures of any of the bottles. I'll clean up the Nesbitt's one and post it shortly. My thought was more if there are any that are in demand I would save them for anyone local who wants them.


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## Bottles r LEET (Oct 25, 2011)

Hello, and welcome. It sounds like you have a 1940s-50s dump. Even if there are no older bottles, it is still worth going through. Newer dumps like these can have soda bottles, marbles, toys and more.


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## AmericanWoman1964 (Oct 25, 2011)

Rick...I have 7 daughters.....I don't scare too easily! LMAOOO  And nice to meet you! Glass bottle articles and collector magazines? WOW....now I am seeing the scope of my ignorance. THAT may just scare me off! LOL It's unlikely I will ever be an antique bottle officianado!


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## AntiqueMeds (Oct 25, 2011)

> Im riding my Harleys....I happened upon the 3 dumps in my forest here when I was looking for stone to build a stone wall


 
 If we see a lady ride by on a motorbike carrying a large rock we can assume its you?  Or maybe just a random angry wife?[]


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## AmericanWoman1964 (Oct 25, 2011)

Bottles r LEET Hi there! And hello neighbor! I will look through some of my bottles to see if I have any from those areas. If you ever get over this way email me and let me know....you are welcomed to check out the dump sites! And yes I have found tons of marbles, cut crystal, metal toys, etc. Some of them pretty neat. I salvaged a metal milk bottle carrier. Cleaned it up and spray painted it blue but I gave it away. Lot of old tools etc too. By the size of these dumps...this has been going on out there for a very long time. Just the amount of mattresses alone shocks me. I know back in the 50's there was a house on the back of the property that burned down. Im assuming most of it is from them. Lot of old leather tie up shoes. Some neat things I held onto. The amount of bottles is overwhelming. Its actually not what I was looking for.


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## AmericanWoman1964 (Oct 25, 2011)

Antique Meds HA HA HA HA HA HA No anger here! And I only ride solo! No rocks! LOL


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## surfaceone (Oct 25, 2011)

> I can post pictures of any of the bottles. I'll clean up the Nesbitt's one and post it shortly. My thought was more if there are any that are in demand I would save them for anyone local who wants them.


 
 Hey AmericanWoman,

 We enjoy pictures of bottles, and in situs too. I think there may be diggers not terribly far from you, who might be happy to excavate your dumps, for a share of the bottles, or whatever...

 Do you know the history of the property? Have you explored thoroughly? Three dumps suggests a longer period of dumping. Have you noticed any glass shards that look older, heavier, more distinctively colored, cruder? Ironstone pottery shards are always a welcome sign... Digging is fun, and sometimes therapeutic. [8D]

 Sounds like you have lots on your plate.




From.


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## carobran (Oct 25, 2011)

> ORIGINAL: AmericanWoman1964
> 
> Bottles r LEET Hi there! And hello neighbor! I will look through some of my bottles to see if I have any from those areas. If you ever get over this way email me and let me know....you are welcomed to check out the dump sites! And yes I have found tons of marbles, cut crystal, metal toys, etc. Some of them pretty neat. I salvaged a metal milk bottle carrier. Cleaned it up and spray painted it blue but I gave it away. Lot of old tools etc too. By the size of these dumps...this has been going on out there for a very long time. Just the amount of mattresses alone shocks me. I know back in the 50's there was a house on the back of the property that burned down. Im assuming most of it is from them. Lot of old leather tie up shoes. Some neat things I held onto. The amount of bottles is overwhelming. Its actually not what I was looking for.


 what kind of metal toys??................some can be worh a pretty penny,you might wanna post all the ACLs you find in the soda section,someone may be interested in buying them..................P.S. just so you know,there is no know cure for the bite of the bottle bug[8|]...........and hopefully theyll never find one...[8D][][]


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## AmericanWoman1964 (Oct 25, 2011)

There seems to be everything from more modernish milk bottles to old looking rectangular light green ones just like on AntiqueMeds' link. And it also depends which of the three sites Im digging at. Today there was a really neat brown one but I left it as it was cracked. There are blue, clear, and brown bottles. I've only found busted ironstone. Really wish some of those were intact. LOL @ theraputic.....YES! It's my little escape! I'm planning on building a barn here soon and one of my ideas is to collect some of the broken glass - there's plenty of that - and mix it into the concrete....makes a really nice end result. And it helps clean some of it up. The scope of it is pretty big. The dump I particularly find a lot of glass in goes down probably a good 10 feet. I have yet to find bottom but then I haven't really tried. It is also my understanding that the whole tract of land here was once owned by the local Lumber Mill and out in the woods is a huge building that just fell in. This week I dug out 5 different cast iron woodstoves. It really behooves me what is out there. At this point the scrap yard I keep bringing all the metal too has asked me to look for certain things as I go (namely tractor seats). Theres also like...old soap tins, medicine tins, cleaners, chemicals, etc etc etc....I think the reason so much of it is so clear and intact is because theres no like...dirt in between...its just a big pit of trash. I assume they thre things in it and either they broke ..or not...lot of alcohol bottles too.


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## AmericanWoman1964 (Oct 25, 2011)

carobran Hello! Good to meet you! I dug up an old scooter thing...like...with the handles....sheesh they are popular again now but this was a really old one. I almost kept it too but...off to the scrap yard it went. I will keep your advice now though. Im not gonna sit here and beat myself up over all the stuff I sent off to the scrap yard. Old bycicles etc.... 

 Please *hangs head in shame* what does 'ACL" stand for?


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## AntiqueMeds (Oct 25, 2011)

be careful pulling out bottles, broken ones can slice you up good if you start pulling on them.


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## AmericanWoman1964 (Oct 25, 2011)

Thanks for all your input! Really gives me something to think about before I just write it off. I suspected there may be a few things out there worthwhile and you have all given me confidence to look a little harder before I throw it away or write it off. I'll start posting some pics soon of some of this stuff (my puter doesnt have a cam so I have to get hold of my daughters). I look forward to learning more from you!


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## RedGinger (Oct 25, 2011)

Welcome, AmericanWoman.  ACLs are "Applied Colored Label" (sodas).  Here's a site that will teach you a lot about bottles http://www.sha.org/bottle/  What area of NH are you from?  That's where I first started digging and collecting bottles.  It's a wonderful state.


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## AmericanWoman1964 (Oct 25, 2011)

RedGinger Good evening! Thanks for the link! Im right on the MA/NH line near VT (Keene area). Browsing the site is awesome! Let's me know Im not alone here! LOL I didn't realize it was such an interest! Sheesh I'm excited to start posting some of the things I dug up. Im originally from the Boston area and have been here about 25 years now. I LOVE it here. I'm thrilled to find all of you in these forums! Are you here in NH?


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## carobran (Oct 26, 2011)

> ORIGINAL: AmericanWoman1964
> 
> carobran Hello! Good to meet you! I dug up an old scooter thing...like...with the handles....sheesh they are popular again now but this was a really old one. I almost kept it too but...off to the scrap yard it went. I will keep your advice now though. Im not gonna sit here and beat myself up over all the stuff I sent off to the scrap yard. Old bycicles etc....
> 
> Please *hangs head in shame* what does 'ACL" stand for?


 please dont tell me what all you sent to the scrap yard.................itll probably make me cry...[&o][&o]...............and are you keeping the medicine tins??[8|][][]


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## carobran (Oct 26, 2011)

> ORIGINAL: AmericanWoman1964
> 
> I look forward to learning more from you!


 just dont expect to learn a whole lot from me..[&:][8D][8D][]


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## AmericanWoman1964 (Oct 26, 2011)

*hangs head in shame again*....I didn't save anything. I was going through a divorce.....I got rid of almost everything I owned. But the dumps are still there and I barely scratched the surface of them. WhenI come across some more tins I will let you know if you are interested.


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## RedGinger (Oct 26, 2011)

No, I'm not living there anymore.  Can't wait to see your finds.  Keep digging!


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## carobran (Oct 26, 2011)

i might be interested as i dont own any medicine tins.................i might be interested in some of those toye and other members probably would to.................and if you find some 40s -50s toys that arent in too bad a shape and nobody here wants them theyd probably do pretty good on ebay (at least more than youd get at the scrap yard[]).[]


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## JOETHECROW (Oct 26, 2011)

> I just thought it had character and put it in my windowsill ended up selling at a bottle auction here in Keene, NH (I had no idea there was any such auctions) for over $1000 ..... that kind of piqued my interest.


 
 Hello and welcome Jaqui..... RedGinger (Laur) is my wife...We both hunt for and dig for bottles quite often,...Your above statement piqued _my_ interest...I was curious to what your auction bottle was...That's pretty good cash for a bottle you found in your back 40!...Also did you know that one of the best bottle shows in the country is in Keene? I actually went to it once with fellow member Penn Digger... Good luck in your dump(s)...


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## AmericanWoman1964 (Oct 26, 2011)

Then I will make sure to keep you in mind. I am so not doing EBAY...just the word alone scares me! LOL But I will be a little more discriminating than the scrap yard from now on. I'll be spending a lot of time out there this week as I pick supplies for wreathmaking...and after checking out this forum....I wonder if I will get around to wreathmaking after all and end up spending my time digging! I have to say Im still a little surprised by the amount of interest. If I have these dumps in such abundance here...I assumed everyone did. Most of all in New England. I guess I just thought this stuff was everywhere.


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## carobran (Oct 26, 2011)

id take 1 dump like your describing,and you got 3!!..................ive never sold on ebay either.............to much trouble and i dont even know how to do it[&:].............i just though i was the only doofus(no offense[]) who didnt sale  on ebay[8|][8D]


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## AmericanWoman1964 (Oct 26, 2011)

JOETHECROW Good to meet you and your wife! I would never have known save for there was an article in the paper when they held it. I was pretty surprised to find there was any interest really. As I said above...there's such an abundance of this stuff around here. I'll dig my little brown bottle out and tell you what it is tomorrow when I can see better in the daylight. get a picture up of it for you. I only knew what the bottle went for because it was the same exact one listed in the front page as I had dug up. Sheesh I think that was like 5 years ago. Most of the bottles I've saved are in a box in my basement. The thing I collected was milkware but I dont even collect that anymore and left a couple boxes of it on my front lawn for free. But you all have me thinking otherwise now! LOL Still I think it will just be a nostalgic pasttime for me when I feel like trapsing through the woods.


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## carobran (Oct 26, 2011)

some bottles go for _THOUSANDS _of dollars(although the highest ive paid for one was $40)..................never underestimate old glass[][]


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## AmericanWoman1964 (Oct 26, 2011)

HA HA HA Then you have way too much cash! Im far too utilitarian for that! ok....*sigh*...Im just cheap because I had too many kids! LOL In all reality I may give this more thought...I thought it was awesome that I could actually bring this scrap metal to the scrap yard and they PAID me for it instead of me paying to bring it to the dump. To think any of it may have had more value .....ok I am so not gonna beat myself up.....LOL


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## RICKJJ59W (Oct 26, 2011)

> ORIGINAL:  AmericanWoman1964
> 
> Well hello there Antique Bottle collector type peoples! I am new to this arena! I joined because I have so many bottles in an old dump in my New Hampshire yard. I don't know a thing or have a clue about bottle collecting at all. I am hoping to learn a thing or two from all of you! Namely, on todays dig (I dont dig for bottles, I was clearing an area in my yard and came across the dump) I found a few I thought were different but do not find any info online. #1 HG Gurnsey 6.5 oz bottle, #2 Nesbitt's 7 oz bottle, #3 T Noonan & Sons, Boston, MA. All of them are unblemished. No cracks or chips. No bottle tops either though so I dont know if that matters. This  is only a few of the thousands in this dump. It seems every soda coompany is in there. My wonder is, is it worth it? Do I sell them? To whom and how? Do I send them to the dump as I clean them up? Just what am I looking at here? Any input would be most appreciated. Thank you in advance for your kindness.


 
 When some one says "there are 1000s of bottles" I think newer dump.
    Post some pictures let us see what your digging. Welcome to the bottle Jungle[]


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## AmericanWoman1964 (Oct 26, 2011)

Rick

 Good Morning! I will take some pics of the dump sites themselves to give you an idea of what I have to dig through. It
 s rainy and grey here today so I don't know how good the pics will be but I'll take some anyway!


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## RED Matthews (Oct 26, 2011)

Hello Jaque;   This is a collection of material information for newbee's in the hobby of Historic Bottle Collecting.     There are several approaches to bottle collecting, and every one has a different interest, that keeps them going after bottles that represent their interest.   My interest in putting this together; is to look at the development of bottle making and the methods that were used when the bottles were *Hand-Made and Mouth-Blown.*  This is intended to mainly cover the bottles that were made in the development of the *American Glass Making Industry*, the first industry in our country..     New diggers and collectors, need to realize how to identify bottles that were made by Hand and Mouth-Blown vs the bottles that were made on an *AUTOMATIC  BOTTLE  MACHINE (ABM)*.  These glass items can be left for future collecting objectives; or recycled into the batch additive to today's glass production.  *If there are two vertical seams on the finish of the bottle, leave it or recycle it.  The logic is the value isn't going to be worth taking it home; unless it is an unusual figural or fancy bottle. *     This item will not print onto a link in the ABN FORUM.  ??     Well Jaque, I will type this over and see if I can copy it into a post on the thread regarding your bottles;  The number one thing to learn is how to identify and know Mouth Blown Bottles.  One of the best things to learn is how to identify the pontil marks.              #1  When a bottle has a round ring of glass on the bottom, it is telling us that the ring was made by having an empontiling done with the previous blow pipe with neck glass left on the end of that blow pipe.  The diameters (inside and outside) will be about the same as the neck of the bottle under the finish.  So this is a Blow pipe or Open Tube Pontil[/b], on the bottom of your bottle.  That previous blowpipe was laid on a rack by the glory hole to keep that glass tube end hot enough to stick to the next bottle.  These are often referred to [/b]as: an open pontil[/b] but that is up to the collectors use of words.  
              #2  When the bottle has a contact mark on the bottom that illustrates that  what was used to empontil it, that mark will be a round form with different textures in the mark.  The mark is made by an iron punty rod and the diameter and style is different for: small to huge heavy glass bottles.  These heated punty rods were often soft coated with a sticking agent like: graphite, red lead or white lead .  The coated punty is then placed in; an open boxes with:  powdered iron, glass chips, glass dust, sand, to mention the main ones.  It is then stuck on the bottom of the new bottle to become a handle for the bottle-maker to apply glass to the neck of the empontilled bottle.   
  Some punties are even just coated with some hot glass from the melting crucible.  Identifying the exact method of empontiling is not as important as just realizing it has been on a punty rod.                 #3  Now the last thing to look at is the finish on top of the bottle you are thinking of keeping.  If the finish was applied hot glass it will be just a ring of glass or it might have lines going around it and down on the neck of the bottle indicating that a pinch action tool had been inserted in the neck and the hot glass rotated to shape the hot glass, that was put on the neck.    In this looking at your bottle or jar â€“ if you see two vertical mold lines on that finish â€“ then it was made on an ABM (Automatic Bottle Machine) and left for a future collector.  The only exception is if the bottle is a unique figural or has some other indications of being a collectors item.  This will come after you have more experience.  This is no doubt enough to get you on a good road.      RED Matthews   <bottlemysteries@yahoo.com>


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## carobran (Oct 26, 2011)

> ORIGINAL: RICKJJ59W
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 you just hate dumps that arent full of pontils dontcha??[8|][8D].................id be more than happy to find a 20s -40s dump,and even 50s if there was some ACLs in it[][]


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## AmericanWoman1964 (Oct 26, 2011)

RED WOW thats a lot to digest! Thank you! I will start to educate myself accordingly. Although I think this dump has far newer bottles: IE one of the ones I have is a clear HIRES EXTRACT bottle. I located the same one online that dates it to 1910...I dont know how reliable that is but....that seems likely given the things I find other than bottles. My personal interest lies more in ancient history and etymology than modern manufacturing history so I am at somewhat of a loss. You and your fellow peers here in this forum have given me some wonderful information and I will most likely continue to pursue it since I am stuck with this dump on the property and will inevitably want to clean it all up! So thank you again for your good input and I look forward to learning more from you!


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## carobran (Oct 26, 2011)

1910 aint bad..............maybe before long youll find some hutches and druggists[]


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## AmericanWoman1964 (Oct 26, 2011)

[/quote] you just hate dumps that arent full of pontils dontcha??[8|][8D].................id be more than happy to find a 20s -40s dump,and even 50s if there was some ACLs in it[][]
 [/quote]


 HA HA HA HA HA Anytime you feel inspired by all means....come clean out the dump! LOL Its sitting on the spot I want to start building a barn!


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## carobran (Oct 26, 2011)

trust me,if i was closer id be up there digging a crater in your yard....[][8D]


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## Wheelah23 (Oct 26, 2011)

I have to, again, disagree with Red. It is too much of a blanket statement to say "leave behind any machine made bottles". This is simply a dumb thing to do, you'll miss out on a lot of great and sometimes valuable bottles! I'd say a much better rule of thumb is "leave behind any UNEMBOSSED machine made bottles". 

 Please post some pictures of this dump, sounds like a fun place!


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## carobran (Oct 26, 2011)

i was thinking the same thing..................there might be some art deco soda in those dumps..[]..........or some 1915 and Christmas cokes


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## RICKJJ59W (Oct 26, 2011)

> ORIGINAL:  Wheelah23
> 
> I have to, again, disagree with Red. It is too much of a blanket statement to say "leave behind any machine made bottles". This is simply a dumb thing to do, you'll miss out on a lot of great and sometimes valuable bottles! I'd say a much better rule of thumb is "leave behind any UNEMBOSSED machine made bottles".
> 
> Please post some pictures of this dump, sounds like a fun place!


 

 Better watch Red might beat your azz  hahahaha

 There could be a "good" bottle  dug in a 1890's to 1910 dump or privy. But in the new dumps you have to dig through tons to to find one. I do not dug the new new dumps or privy's but I do dig up to 1890s 1900. They are my cut off  years.

 Two of my best bottles came from 1890 privys. I will never pass one up.
 DR Moores  Venereal Antiseptic


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## AmericanWoman1964 (Oct 26, 2011)

Will do kids...soon as I get back out there. Had planned to head up today but its damp and cold out and not much time by the time I got home. Although there really isn't much to see other than a huge mess. I uncovered most of the top soil over the pit and its just a huge pit of glass....a LOT of broken glass to pick through to find good pieces. Still haven't studied up on the different types yet but there is a lot of embossed. So will put you all on hold until I get my butt back up there....hopefully there will be some sun tomorrow!


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## Pinzel (Oct 27, 2011)

Hello AmericanWoman, I live in Central NH. My email is aofreak2007@gmail.com if your near me.Sounds like this spot has potential.Id be interested in speaking with you if you dont plan on thorougly digging this spot.I would be interested myself if you dont mind. Thanks


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## farmgal (Oct 27, 2011)

Welcome AmericanWoman64! Nice to have newbies. Keeps the site going and alive! Been thru NH several times as a child and adult. Awesome state. 
 Some of the first things I found were as you say soda bottles just about on the surface. Bet I would of found some really nice things there seeing there was an original two hole outhouse. However we sold the lot and they tore down everything....sigh! But we moved to a farmstead with it's own old treasure in the treebelts and all over the property. farmgal


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## riverdiver (Oct 27, 2011)

Hi Americanwoman,

 I too am in NH and fairly close to you, I am in the Sunapee area and would be happy to help you identify what is good and bad. I collect most things that are found in dumps however I am usually digging in underwater dumps. I have the ability to shoot in situ photos and upload them to my or your email on the spot so that you could post them. I am available this friday and the following monday before this white junk covers your dump. Email me if you are interested at 
 riverdiver@hotmail.com, if not then thats ok too as I will be out metal detecting anyway.

 The dumps sound like a lot of fun and even though it is not your hobby you could be sitting on a nice cash flow or a bunch of trips to a modern dump for recycling. 

 Enjoy them while you can as they are a wonderful trip back in time.


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## carobran (Nov 12, 2011)

im interested to know whatever came of those dumps?........and id really like to see pics of the metal toys and medicine jars[]


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## David Fertig (Nov 12, 2011)

DO NOT OVERLOOK MILK BOTTLES.

 Around here, almost any round embossed milk brings at least a couple bucks.  Even if they're dirt-common, put a bunch together for $1 each, but make the buyer take them all.  We've got plenty of local milks that bring $20-100 at auction, and a few that bring quite a bit more.

 Oh, and welcome to AB


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