# A Pontil Kind of Day....



## Staunton Dan (May 5, 2008)

Well, I found #7 and possibly #8. The one I believe runs into the other. Most privies in our town run about 6 feet long and some are about 4 feet. This one appeared to stop at about 4-1/2 feet and then  broke through and is now more than 9 feet long. The guy who owned this house back before the civil war must have been a cobler because I found 30-40 shoe heels of all sizes in the hole along with  lots and lots of large animal bones. There were only 3 whole bottles that came out so far and I am almost done and all were pontiled even the broken bottles of which there were very few. This is the best of the day, a M. McCormack blue pontiled soda which I've been told was a Richmond, VA bottle. McCormack moved to Tennessee for a time and then back to Virginia. I have made some other good finds in this hole including a bayonet, a rifle and possibly a handgun. I will finish digging tomorrow and then start sifting. I have already found some nice marbles and buttons just eyeballing so I am anxious to start sifting. I will show the other 2 pontiled bottles in subsequent posts.


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## Staunton Dan (May 5, 2008)

I thought that the hole was finished then this popped up. It's a common 12 sided pontiled puff but I like it because it has a lot of whittle and I haven't found many pontiled bottles in my fairly brief bottle digging history.


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## Staunton Dan (May 5, 2008)

Here's what not to do. This open pontiled Genuine Essence bottle was in the ground for over 150 years and it came out perfect. It didn't fare too well when I dropped it on the pavement. It is a fairly common bottle and not worth much but I think that we'll all agree that is no way to treat a bottle. I apologize...


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## digger mcdirt (May 5, 2008)

Nice Bottle Dan McCormick was in Richmond from 1852-1859 then moved to Nashville and stayed until 1861. They then moved to Louisville sometime 1861 .If I am not wrong instead of  having the McCormick name on them some have N.McCorkmick instead of the correct M.McCormick. I checked my sale sheet and I think I was correct $250-$300 range. Very nice soda you don't dig a Cobalt Pontil every day. Too bad about the other one. Seems like I remember you dropping a Coke once you don't need to work in a Nitroglycerin factory ever. Just joking .


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## NCdigger5 (May 5, 2008)

Nice dig! That blue one is AWESOME!


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## Jim (May 5, 2008)

Nice dig, Dan. The McCormick is a sweet bottle. Sorry about the one you dropped. I dropped and smashed a killer pontiled amethyst pumpkin-shaped perfume bottle once. That one hurt, it was a beauty and was the only pontiled bottle in an otherwise 1890s-era pit. I went to hand it to my digging buddy, I thought he had it, he thought he had it.  It slipped out of both of our hands and smashed on the paved parking lot [] Needless to say, we were both crushed. ~Jim


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## madman (May 5, 2008)

killer story nice bottle love to see the other stuff you found   mike


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## appliedlips (May 5, 2008)

Congrats on another good dig Dan.Good luck tommorrow.


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## Staunton Dan (May 6, 2008)

> ORIGINAL: digger mcdirt
> 
> Nice Bottle Dan.  McCormick was in Richmond from 1852-1859 then moved to Nashville and stayed until 1861. They then moved to Louisville sometime 1861. If I am not wrong instead of  having the McCormick name on them some have N.McCorkmick instead of the correct M.McCormick. I checked my sale sheet and I think I was correct $250-$300 range. Very nice soda you don't dig a Cobalt Pontil every day.


 
 Here's one for sale on the internet. You were right on the money. Mine is the one with the altered mold which changed the "N" to an "M". Here's what they say about the bottle and their price:




*
 CIVIL WAR SODA BOTTLE, CIRCA 1852-1858 *

 Nice Civil War era cobalt blue soda bottle. M.McCormack / This Bottle Never Sold. Stands 7 1/2" tall. According to an early ad McCormack bottled soda, mineral water, ale, champagne cider, and brown stout. He was in buisness in Richmond from 1852 -1858 . In 1859 he moved to Nashville , Tenn and in 1861 he moved again to Louisville, Ky . The bottles manufactured in Nashville & Louisville are of a different body style. An interesting fact with this bottle is that the original bottles that were produced had a mold flaw and read N. McCormack. Due to the high cost of molds , the mold was altered rather than changed. You can see the alteration of the mold in this bottle. 





*Price:*
 $295.00


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## idig (May 6, 2008)

> ORIGINAL: digger mcdirt
> Too bad about the other one. Seems like I remember you dropping a Coke once you don't need to work in a Nitroglycerin factory ever. Just joking .


 
 yeah, I remember that as well. I guess thats what happens when you become an old washed up digger! hahahahaha! just kidding buddy ol pal! nice finds![][X(][8|]


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## beendiggin (May 6, 2008)

Nice job Dan...And by the way, I've broken my share over the years.


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## Staunton Dan (May 6, 2008)

Thanks. What's so difficult to take is how hard I've been digging to find just 2 unbroken open pontiled bottles. They are so thin and it came    out of the ground so perfect in amongst all of the rocks and bricks. You can bet that I have learned a valuable lesson and will treat the next bottle with  patience and the respect that it deserves. Yes, glass does break and very easily at that. Luckily, it was not a high dollar bottle.


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## RICKJJ59W (May 7, 2008)

Nice stuff Dan,do you have a pic of the guns? good looking Ip  blue soda!I haven't been digging pits for a month, been busy.Looking at your pix is making me itchy for a dig. Rick


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## jesster64 (May 7, 2008)

beautiful bottles with history. i dug an ink the other day and had it on the seat next to me driving home. clown in front of me decides to make a left turn without signaling. I slam on the brakes and the ink goes flying. no damage though except to my heart which skipped a beat. they say you should always buckle up your loved ones.


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## Staunton Dan (May 7, 2008)

*Heres a Link...*



> ORIGINAL: RICKJJ59W
> 
> Nice stuff Dan,do you have a pic of the guns? good looking Ip  blue soda!I haven't been digging pits for a month, been busy.Looking at your pix is making me itchy for a dig. Rick


 
 Here's a link to my post on the relic forum which shows some of the civil war items including the rifle and bayonet that I found.
http://www.thetreasuredepot.com/cgi-bin/relic/relic_config.pl?read=226680


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## Staunton Dan (May 7, 2008)

> ORIGINAL: jesster64
> 
> beautiful bottles with history. i dug an ink the other day and had it on the seat next to me driving home. clown in front of me decides to make a left turn without signaling. I slam on the brakes and the ink goes flying. no damage though except to my heart which skipped a beat. they say you should always buckle up your loved ones.


 
 I know what you must have been experiencing. These bottle have survived in the ground for over a hundred years and then they're placed in our hands for safe keeping and look out. We tend to take them for granted instead of treating them like the gems that they are. These are all lessons for us to learn. I know that I will be much more careful in the future.


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## cobaltbot (May 7, 2008)

Just awesome stuff, must be great diggin in ol' virginny!


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## Staunton Dan (May 7, 2008)

Yes, I'd have to say that it is. Thanks for the encouragement.


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## E (May 9, 2008)

Cobalt blue McCormick is a beaut!  

 I dug a teal blue McCormick near Farmville, Va. a few years back, not sure if its an "N" or "M," but thinking its one of the older Richmond types:  squatty with very crude/tulip-shaped blob.

 Great to see that folks are still out there digging, your pics/stories are making me think about coming out of retirement...


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## Staunton Dan (May 9, 2008)

> 2008 8:35:13


 
 They say that people stop living after retirement. I retired 6 years ago at the age of 57 and since then I have been digging 2-4 times a week, 5-6 hours a day and BTW...My wife and I had a baby boy 3 years ago. Now, it's difficult to keep him out of the holes I'm digging even at his age. So yes, come on out of retirement and start digging again. Kids are optional.


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