# River Diving for Antiques in Canada



## scubacanuck (Sep 25, 2018)

Hi everyone,

Ok, off to a false start on this chat, since I tried to push my YouTube channel a bit too hard, so I'm taking a mulligan. I'm from Ottawa, Canada and been diving all summer for antiques and making videos. Started off doing traditional shipwreck dives, but quickly realized I enjoyed looking for antiques in rivers a lot more.

Attached are some of my best finds to date and what I think they are.

1. Wine or olive oil bottle 1820 to 1850? Posted on another thread in this chat for info.
2. Mustard jar 1870-1890, info found on this site.
3. Beer bottle pre-1900

Looking forward to your comments and will post future finds in appropriate threads.

Thanks
André


----------



## Harry Pristis (Sep 25, 2018)

Some forums would label this post as blatant poaching and delete it.  The idea of this forum is to post your diving adventures HERE.


----------



## scubacanuck (Sep 25, 2018)

Harry Pristis said:


> Some forums would label this post as blatant poaching and delete it.  The idea of this forum is to post your diving adventures HERE.



What do you mean by HERE? I should post pictures and text only? If you feel this is inappropriate, please delete my post....


----------



## Robby Raccoon (Sep 25, 2018)

You can also insert a video directly into here-- there is a film-icon right of the picture-icon. But I should think that linking to YouTube would be preferable to the site owner, for that means he only has to pay for the text memory. A video costs more to maintain on the site, because images and video take up more storage-space. But a link takes up little storage. 
But, we would like to see a few choice photos uploaded to here with detailed descriptions of your adventures and of what we are seeing. A show of your best in-situation and best-finds photos would be nice as that is what this site is truly meant for. Indeed, based off of how you typed your post,  it does sound like you were only trying to get people to subscribe to your YouTube page. I think that is what Harry Pristis meant and was frowning at.


----------



## scubacanuck (Sep 25, 2018)

Ok, took back my post and rewrote it. I'm really into bottles and I don't want to sound like I'm here for a quick plug. I do spent a lot of time on my videos, so I tend to plug my channel whenever I can. I'll try to balance things out a lot more, since I want to be in good standings in this forum.

Cheers
André


----------



## Harry Pristis (Sep 25, 2018)

Good job, Andre.  Welcome. 



Your first bottle is a French wine bottle, a Bordeaux wine bottle.  The black glass bottle is (likely) British, an ale bottle.


----------



## scubacanuck (Sep 25, 2018)

Thanks Harry, as for dates, what would be your closest guess?


----------



## CanadianBottles (Sep 25, 2018)

Nice finds!  Do you find Ottawa and Hull items a lot?  I lived in Ottawa for a while so I collect bottles local to the area.  I'd be interested to see photos of your local finds!


----------



## Harry Pristis (Sep 25, 2018)

scubacanuck said:


> Thanks Harry, as for dates, what would be your closest guess?




The Bordeaux bottle without a pontil scar is late --- say the last quarter of the 19th century. The French exported a gazillion of these wine bottles. The lip finish improved somewhat over the decades, but they never got beyond crude until they were fully molded. 
The ale bottle is a little earlier, I think.


----------



## scubacanuck (Sep 26, 2018)

CanadianBottles said:


> Nice finds!  Do you find Ottawa and Hull items a lot?  I lived in Ottawa for a while so I collect bottles local to the area.  I'd be interested to see photos of your local finds!



Top of my head I have a Nesbitt of Califonia and it says on the back it was bottle in Ottawa. When I'll get home tonight I can send you a pic. Do you have one of those in your collection?


----------



## HouTxSoda (Sep 26, 2018)

Most USA Nesbitt's ACL's do not list a local bottler on them, so please post pictures of yours.


----------



## BradJenkins (Sep 26, 2018)

Cool finds. Given my own interest in the France Region , I really liked the Bordeaux wine bottle...


----------



## RCO (Sep 27, 2018)

found some items swimming during the summer too , if you noticed my old posts . everything from an old ink well, coca cola bottles , an old local embossed bottle from 1900's . also found an old penny from 1913 in a park and an old bottle cap when metal detecting 

I'd be interested in seeing any bottles you found that had Ottawa embossed on them or other nearby towns and cities


----------



## scubacanuck (Sep 27, 2018)

Will post tonight for sure, didn't know it could be rare.


----------



## CanadianBottles (Sep 27, 2018)

I don't have one of the Ottawa Nesbitt's but I've seen them from time to time.  Main reason I don't have one is because I don't like paying much for international brands and I've never found one in the wild.  They aren't terribly rare but not super common either.  
Have you ever dived in the Rideau river?  I never hear about people diving the Rideau, only the Ottawa.  There's a spot on the Rideau (not the canal) that's quite likely got loads of hundred year old bottles, but it seems like it's hard to find stuff from that era in the Ottawa from what I've seen people posting in the past.


----------



## scubacanuck (Sep 27, 2018)

CanadianBottles said:


> I don't have one of the Ottawa Nesbitt's but I've seen them from time to time.  Main reason I don't have one is because I don't like paying much for international brands and I've never found one in the wild.  They aren't terribly rare but not super common either.
> Have you ever dived in the Rideau river?  I never hear about people diving the Rideau, only the Ottawa.  There's a spot on the Rideau (not the canal) that's quite likely got loads of hundred year old bottles, but it seems like it's hard to find stuff from that era in the Ottawa from what I've seen people posting in the past.



I dove in the Rideau a few times and will do more of them in the upcoming weeks. If you have areas you want me to cover, let me know. I'm having a lot of fun diving in town. Actually made local news last week, for diving for antiques and cleaning the river. Here are a couple videos from the Rideau.


https://youtu.be/eQfzNy01e20

https://youtu.be/Y-qoNbdoipQ

https://youtu.be/D-zRSukDuE8

Ok, I'm going home for lunch to get a picture of the Nesbitt.


----------



## scubacanuck (Sep 27, 2018)

CanadianBottles said:


> I don't have one of the Ottawa Nesbitt's but I've seen them from time to time. Main reason I don't have one is because I don't like paying much for international brands and I've never found one in the wild. They aren't terribly rare but not super common either.
> Have you ever dived in the Rideau river? I never hear about people diving the Rideau, only the Ottawa. There's a spot on the Rideau (not the canal) that's quite likely got loads of hundred year old bottles, but it seems like it's hard to find stuff from that era in the Ottawa from what I've seen people posting in the past.



Here is the Nesbitt from Ottawa. I have hundreds of other bottles I still have to clean out.


----------



## CanadianBottles (Sep 27, 2018)

Send you a PM, but yeah those spots you dove were the three spots I always wondered about.  They definitely warrant return trips though, there must be more down there somewhere.


----------



## RCO (Sep 27, 2018)

scubacanuck said:


> Will post tonight for sure, didn't know it could be rare.




the Nesbitt is a neat find but its definitely not rare , in the sense of what would be considered a rare soda bottle . it was mass produced and I've definitely seen a few of them before 

the rare soda bottles from Ottawa area would be pre 1940's ( embossed or art deco type bottles not the painted ones ) , as from what I know Pure Springs dominated so much after that , isn't much else from Ottawa in the 50's-70's time period


----------



## RCO (Sep 27, 2018)

CanadianBottles said:


> Send you a PM, but yeah those spots you dove were the three spots I always wondered about.  They definitely warrant return trips though, there must be more down there somewhere.



I agree with the keep searching , often I go back to places I've been before and find new things . 

2 of my more interesting bottle finds this summer were in places I had been to multiple times in the past , the 1900's era Brown's spring water bottle was found near a dock I've swam near many times , the ink well was also found in a location I had been thru many times 

and the 1913 penny was found in a park I've literally been to 100's of times , hidden near a rock not somewhere you'd expect to find a coin


----------



## scubacanuck (Sep 27, 2018)

RCO said:


> I agree with the keep searching , often I go back to places I've been before and find new things .
> 
> 2 of my more interesting bottle finds this summer were in places I had been to multiple times in the past , the 1900's era Brown's spring water bottle was found near a dock I've swam near many times , the ink well was also found in a location I had been thru many times
> 
> and the 1913 penny was found in a park I've literally been to 100's of times , hidden near a rock not somewhere you'd expect to find a coin



I'll be going back for sure. I know I just scratched the surface. The dive at the old dump at Lees Avenue, I went in circle a bit and then my camera started to fog etc...wasn't a good dive.  I'm trying to pack in some footage for winter, so I can keep my channel alive. Going to Rideau is convenient, since it is close to home and I always feel like my chances  are pretty good at finding something. Started looking at going to Green Island, lost of history there too.


----------



## scubacanuck (Sep 27, 2018)

RCO said:


> I agree with the keep searching , often I go back to places I've been before and find new things .
> 
> 2 of my more interesting bottle finds this summer were in places I had been to multiple times in the past , the 1900's era Brown's spring water bottle was found near a dock I've swam near many times , the ink well was also found in a location I had been thru many times
> 
> and the 1913 penny was found in a park I've literally been to 100's of times , hidden near a rock not somewhere you'd expect to find a coin



Very cool RCO! One place that I'll be going back for a while is the old hotel, been there twice now and plenty of treasures left to find. Crudely cleaned what I found tonight. 

- wishing well
- fanta
- nesbitt bottle in Ottawa Canada
- medium coke no embossing
- small coke embossed
- couple with dots( think it is bottle by coca-cola)
- large coke
- canada dry
- amber rye bottles
- amber beer
- amber medicine
- old gatorade
- couple randoms
- the pre 1900 british ale(oldest)

Don't really know what to do with them. Worth selling online?


----------



## BottleDragon (Sep 27, 2018)

Nice finds, I really enjoyed your videos. Will subscribe for sure. I'm beginning to think I'm taking the wrong approach by digging for this stuff... lol. 

As for selling them, first determine if you have any rare ones, and sell those individually if they're in good condition. I see you have a lot of Coke bottles -- there is a rare Canadian Coke bottle called the D19, so definitely check for that. There's a thread about it on the forum.

With the more common pop bottles, you probably won't get much for each individual bottle. I would maybe try selling a lot of 12 at a time... advertise locally on Craigslist or Kijiji.


----------



## scubacanuck (Sep 28, 2018)

BottleDragon said:


> Nice finds, I really enjoyed your videos. Will subscribe for sure. I'm beginning to think I'm taking the wrong approach by digging for this stuff... lol.
> 
> As for selling them, first determine if you have any rare ones, and sell those individually if they're in good condition. I see you have a lot of Coke bottles -- there is a rare Canadian Coke bottle called the D19, so definitely check for that. There's a thread about it on the forum.
> 
> With the more common pop bottles, you probably won't get much for each individual bottle. I would maybe try selling a lot of 12 at a time... advertise locally on Craigslist or Kijiji.



Exactly the advice I was looking for, thanks BottleDragon. Went and looked at the Coca-Cola embossed bottles and didn't see any 19  I saw a 57 at the bottom of one, another has no markings at the bottom. I'll do a bit more research to find out what they are worth. I know I won't get rich with these, but at the rate I'm collecting, no point in keeping all of them. Haha 

Cheers
André
https://www.youtube.com/c/AndréConstantineau


----------



## RCO (Sep 28, 2018)

for the coca cola's , you need to check the bottom's and see if they have dates . the ones with coca cola painted in white likely won't have one . its only the older embossed ones that do . the old ones also say " coca cola company of Canada Limited " and by the 50's they just say  "coca cola ltd "  

I don't think the Canada dry bottles hold much value in that condition . myself I find those fairly often as well , just found one of the clear ones last week along a road here 


wondering about 1 bottle I see in the pictures ? its immediately  right of the coke's , 5th bottle down , is that a local bottle ? but doesn't appear much paint is left


----------



## RCO (Sep 28, 2018)

also I watched some of your video's to get a better idea for what your up to. think your on the right track but keep in mind a lot of these locations have already been searched by now . 

I know for certain the Brockville area was searched , as there is a man at the Toronto bottle show from Brockville and he searched / scuba dived that area years ago and has a large collection of bottles that he found , he even wrote a book about it 

so I wouldn't get too obsessed about a specific area even if the history books say something was there . the reality is a lot of time has passed by now , things might of already been found or they could be buried deep in the sand and mud . 


but I think your on the right track and are very likely to continue finding interesting items and bottles during your dives


----------



## scubacanuck (Sep 28, 2018)

RCO said:


> for the coca cola's , you need to check the bottom's and see if they have dates . the ones with coca cola painted in white likely won't have one . its only the older embossed ones that do . the old ones also say " coca cola company of Canada Limited " and by the 50's they just say  "coca cola ltd "
> 
> I don't think the Canada dry bottles hold much value in that condition . myself I find those fairly often as well , just found one of the clear ones last week along a road here
> 
> ...



Mission of California


----------



## CanadianBottles (Sep 28, 2018)

scubacanuck said:


> Exactly the advice I was looking for, thanks BottleDragon. Went and looked at the Coca-Cola embossed bottles and didn't see any 19  I saw a 57 at the bottom of one, another has no markings at the bottom. I'll do a bit more research to find out what they are worth. I know I won't get rich with these, but at the rate I'm collecting, no point in keeping all of them. Haha
> 
> Cheers
> André
> https://www.youtube.com/c/AndréConstantineau


The D19 Coke bottles aren't marked on the bottom, they're marked on the lower part of the hobbleskirt.  Since your bottles here are mostly from the 50s-70s you probably don't have one, but I'd have a closer look at that one without anything on the base if it's embossed.  Every embossed Canadian Coke bottle I've seen with no base embossing was one of the early ones because they started dating them in the 30s and didn't stop until the ACL years.
Most of your bottles here will have minimal value, the only one that really stands out to me is the green Fanta, which tend to be hard to find.  The Wishing Wells are also common but nice enough that you could maybe get five bucks a pop for them.  What I'd do is put an ad on Kijiji selling them for a dollar or 50 cents a piece and say that you keep getting new ones in.  Some of these might be hard to sell even for a dollar though, unfortunately.  You could also try setting up a table at the Raceway flea market, or hold a garage sale, but it can be hard to make enough to justify the time really.


----------



## RCO (Sep 29, 2018)

scubacanuck said:


> Mission of California





have seen that brand before , Mission of California was a mass produced drink but not sure who distributed it in Ontario 


though maybe it was a local bottle , as a few local bottlers in eastern Ontario used a similar bottle , not in Ottawa but some of the smaller towns had there own bottlers . like Petawawa , Smith Falls , Hawkesbury etc 



yard sales could be an option to sell bottles but your in Ottawa , and yard sales might be more of a small town thing than a big city . at least I see more of them in smaller towns and such than urban areas


----------



## CanadianBottles (Sep 29, 2018)

You may just not be in urban areas early enough on Saturday mornings to see garage sales, but they're very common in cities.  In prime garage sale season you can find one on every second block or so.  I go to garage sales on my bike most Satuday mornings in the summer.

And that Mission bottle was a proprietary design, it's not quite the same as the Dominion generic design.  I got one like that in BC as well, I think that design was used after Mission faded in popularity since I don't see them as often as the earlier black and white ones.


----------



## nostalgia (Sep 29, 2018)

I just found this thread and man I love watching bottle diving videos!  Thanks for posting them and yes, I've also subscribed 

And I sent you a PM ;-)


----------



## scubacanuck (Oct 1, 2018)

nostalgia said:


> I just found this thread and man I love watching bottle diving videos!  Thanks for posting them and yes, I've also subscribed
> 
> And I sent you a PM ;-)



Glad you enjoyed the videos and happy you subscribed  Replied to your private message, hopefully we can dive together one day. Cheers


----------



## scubacanuck (Oct 1, 2018)

CanadianBottles said:


> The D19 Coke bottles aren't marked on the bottom, they're marked on the lower part of the hobbleskirt.  Since your bottles here are mostly from the 50s-70s you probably don't have one, but I'd have a closer look at that one without anything on the base if it's embossed.  Every embossed Canadian Coke bottle I've seen with no base embossing was one of the early ones because they started dating them in the 30s and didn't stop until the ACL years.
> Most of your bottles here will have minimal value, the only one that really stands out to me is the green Fanta, which tend to be hard to find.  The Wishing Wells are also common but nice enough that you could maybe get five bucks a pop for them.  What I'd do is put an ad on Kijiji selling them for a dollar or 50 cents a piece and say that you keep getting new ones in.  Some of these might be hard to sell even for a dollar though, unfortunately.  You could also try setting up a table at the Raceway flea market, or hold a garage sale, but it can be hard to make enough to justify the time really.



I did look at the side and no D19, but I'll make sure to look for it in the future. Didn't know the green fanta was rare, this forum is aweson for what I'm doing. I think I'll keep the bottles for now, clean them during the winter and think of what I want to do with them next summer.


----------



## scubacanuck (Oct 1, 2018)

CanadianBottles said:


> You may just not be in urban areas early enough on Saturday mornings to see garage sales, but they're very common in cities.  In prime garage sale season you can find one on every second block or so.  I go to garage sales on my bike most Satuday mornings in the summer.
> 
> And that Mission bottle was a proprietary design, it's not quite the same as the Dominion generic design.  I got one like that in BC as well, I think that design was used after Mission faded in popularity since I don't see them as often as the earlier black and white ones.



Maybe I'll get my daugthers to sell them in a garage sale  Thanks for the info in the Mission bottle, too bad the label is almost all gone.


----------

