# Mini wine bottles?



## Catcat16 (Mar 5, 2020)

I swear everytime I go digging I find about three of these. I’ve got about a hundred at Home. I’m sure they are on the internet somewhere but I can’t find them. They usually have no markings but sometimes they have numbers, but that doesn’t seem to help the search for “vintage tiny wine shaped bottles”  anyone know what these are? I’m trying to sell them and I know they aren’t worth much but the internet usually gives me an idea of a ballpark estimate of where to start and maybe If I knew what to search I could possibly find what they go for. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!


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## CanadianBottles (Mar 5, 2020)

Never seen one of those before, your spot must have had someone going through a massive amount of whatever was in them.  The top reminds me of a peppersauce bottle more than a wine bottle.  Without embossing value is pretty minimal unfortunately... probably a dollar each at best and even then would be tough to find a buyer in my experience.


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## martyfoley (Mar 5, 2020)

They look like miniature milk bottles.  I haven't seen any of those either.  Possibly small product sample bottles, of what I don't know.  Interesting.


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## nhpharm (Mar 6, 2020)

I think they might be bluing?  Honestly I don't think they have much if any value.


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## Screwtop (Mar 6, 2020)

Every small liquor bottle I've seen were samples. There are many types of samples, in many styles, but I've never seen any like that before.

I'm just going to go all out and say it was Ghost Pepper Sauce.


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## sandchip (Mar 6, 2020)

That's a new one on me, too.  Never seen one, at least with that type top, which is what's throwing me off.


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## treeguyfred (Mar 6, 2020)

Hello Cat, first, gotta say wow, glad to see young ppl still into digging bottles! Second your town is Old and rural huh! 
So, Cat do you know what you are digging in? Is it an old community dump or a private back 40 type dump? And lastly do you know if there was an old Hospital in the area? I have dug these also (not as many in one locale like you ) and I was told by the local folks also digging that the bottles were from a long gone hospital and that they were drug bottles used by the hospital (not meant for over the counter sale).
Thanks for posting and good continued luck! -Fred


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## Catcat16 (Mar 6, 2020)

nhpharm said:


> I think they might be bluing?  Honestly I don't think they have much if any value.


Blueing? I’m not familiar with that term.


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## Catcat16 (Mar 6, 2020)

treeguyfred said:


> Hello Cat, first, gotta say wow, glad to see young ppl still into digging bottles! Second your town is Old and rural huh!
> So, Cat do you know what you are digging in? Is it an old community dump or a private back 40 type dump? And lastly do you know if there was an old Hospital in the area? I have dug these also (not as many in one locale like you ) and I was told by the local folks also digging that the bottles were from a long gone hospital and that they were drug bottles used by the hospital (not meant for over the counter sale).
> Thanks for posting and good continued luck! -Fred



Hi Fred! Thanks so much for your reply this info may actually really help me out.

Ok so yes I live in a very rural area, I have a huge and I mean huge area of woods in walking distance to my house where I dig and I find dumps everywhere back there. So at first I started picking bottles right up off the ground. I did this for years off and on for my private collection then I moved away. Well for a year I have been back living at the same house and although you can still find bottles laying on top the ground in undiscovered areas of the woods as I do often. In the front of the woods those are all cleared out. That’s when I decided to try digging. And now I do it hoping to start selling the ones I don’t want. 

I find tons and all over. Like I could dig for the rest of my life, every day of it, and still not find even 50% of what’s back there. So I keep finding these “little wines” all over the woods. But recently I found for the first time in my serious year of digging (meaning I go out almost every day to dig) I think I may have found an old Privy. I’m not sure if that’s what it is or not. My fiancé and I recently went FAR Back in the woods to a location we had yet to discover and we found all these holes. I’m about 5’2 and my shoulders and head can be seen when standing in it. There’s about 4 or 5 of them.  We aren’t really sure how to go about digging it as we’ve never had to dig past the clay for anything which isn’t deeper then maybe 8 inches or so. We believe there was a house back there because it looks like there was a driveway and we keep finding stuff that looks like parts and pieces of a house. It may just be an old dump but if it’s a privy that would be great cause we never thought we would get the chance to dig one.

The woods are in the middle of a bunch of old houses. So pretty much anywhere I go in the woods I can see the line of houses on at least one side sometimes I can see both sides depending where I’m at. I’m not sure if there was a hospital but we recently found out there was a bank here after finding old bank security boxes (that was an awesome find I’ll post a pic) No one I talked to about it knew there was once a bank here so a hospital is possible. I have recently been finding what I believe to be insulin bottles everywhere as well but not in the same spot at where I found the little wine looking bottles. And we’re talking pretty far away like half a mile. I’ll try and take a pic and maybe you can tell me if they were indeed insulin.

ok I added pictures. The numbers on the bottles are just there to help me categorize them


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## Catcat16 (Mar 6, 2020)

CanadianBottles said:


> Never seen one of those before, your spot must have had someone going through a massive amount of whatever was in them.  The top reminds me of a peppersauce bottle more than a wine bottle.  Without embossing value is pretty minimal unfortunately... probably a dollar each at best and even then would be tough to find a buyer in my experience.



thanks for the reply! Yea I figured they woulnt go for much but no one on here seems to know what they are I can’t find them on the internet either... that wouldn't make it rare tho would it?


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## Catcat16 (Mar 6, 2020)

martyfoley said:


> They look like miniature milk bottles.  I haven't seen any of those either.  Possibly small product sample bottles, of what I don't know.  Interesting.


Thanks for the reply. That’s an interesting theory. I do find lots of milk bottles in my area but I couldn’t see the purpose in putting milk in something so small they are only about 4 inches or so. Maybe cream on the go or something? Lol idk


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## Catcat16 (Mar 6, 2020)

Screwtop said:


> Every small liquor bottle I've seen were samples. There are many types of samples, in many styles, but I've never seen any like that before.
> 
> I'm just going to go all out and say it was Ghost Pepper Sauce.



haha thanks for the reply. Well dang someone must be using the heck out of a privy using that much hot sauce lol.The strange thing is I dig all over a huge location in the woods where houses outline all exits from the woods. (Imagin houses forming a huge circle and woods fill the center with a lake that runs directly through the center.) and I find those alllllllll over the woods a stretch of a bit over 1/2 a mile.


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## Catcat16 (Mar 6, 2020)

sandchip said:


> That's a new one on me, too.  Never seen one, at least with that type top, which is what's throwing me off.


 
how so? Like a cork top? Seen what a wine bottle with that kind of top? If so I’m only calling it that because I’m this day and age that’s the shape of our wine bottles but back then I know this was more of a soda/beer style bottle shape.


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## CanadianBottles (Mar 6, 2020)

Catcat16 said:


> thanks for the reply! Yea I figured they woulnt go for much but no one on here seems to know what they are I can’t find them on the internet either... that wouldn't make it rare tho would it?


If you have a hundred of them, they definitely aren't rare.  It doesn't take that many bottles existing for them to not be considered rare anymore.  And rarity itself isn't enough to translate into value.  I've got a bunch of local labeled pharmacy bottles from the 40s and 50s, and those could be one of a kind, but they still only sell for a few dollars each because not many people are looking for them.  Most unembossed bottles (except when they're an unusual shape or colour like your green ink) aren't going to be of much interest to collectors unfortunately.


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## HouTxSoda (Mar 9, 2020)

Those bottles look like what medicine comes in for a Doctor or Nurse to give you a shot with.


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## nhpharm (Mar 9, 2020)

Bluing is for doing laundry.


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## Patagoniandigger (Mar 9, 2020)

Catcat16 said:


> I swear everytime I go digging I find about three of these. I’ve got about a hundred at Home. I’m sure they are on the internet somewhere but I can’t find them. They usually have no markings but sometimes they have numbers, but that doesn’t seem to help the search for “vintage tiny wine shaped bottles”  anyone know what these are? I’m trying to sell them and I know they aren’t worth much but the internet usually gives me an idea of a ballpark estimate of where to start and maybe If I knew what to search I could possibly find what they go for. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!


The miniatures appear pretty common to me


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## Patagoniandigger (Mar 9, 2020)

This is a sort of some different miniatures I found out there all about 1970s 1980s but found 1900 era too. The older ones are clean saved in boxes.


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## Patagoniandigger (Mar 9, 2020)

Your description of the area is fairly interesting. I guess you'll find some good staff in there. By the way the bottle 47 is fanny because the top is so out of proportion with the body


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## Catcat16 (Mar 13, 2020)

Yea, I figured. I just see people selling everything online and I guess hopes it would be 


CanadianBottles said:


> If you have a hundred of them, they definitely aren't rare.  It doesn't take that many bottles existing for them to not be considered rare anymore.  And rarity itself isn't enough to translate into value.  I've got a bunch of local labeled pharmacy bottles from the 40s and 50s, and those could be one of a kind, but they still only sell for a few dollars each because not many people are looking for them.  Most unembossed bottles (except when they're an unusual shape or colour like your green ink) aren't going to be of much interest to collectors unfortunately.


yea I just see people selling them online (just plain non embossed bottles) all the time so I wasn’t sure how that worked you know like how would I even sell them. I was told selling those kinds in bulk would be my best bet. I know it doesn’t mean they will sell but hey a girl can dream lol.


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## slugplate (Mar 14, 2020)

I haven't seen one before and the lip is really throwing me off. I've seen bottles that looked like that and lips that looked like that, but never together.


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Mar 14, 2020)

Cat- great finds. Love the bank deposit box. Goldsboro N.C. bank. Too bad they aren't full of money or jewelery.


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## Patagoniandigger (Mar 20, 2020)

Here are the oldest I saved in boxes.


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## Patagoniandigger (Mar 20, 2020)

The one stand at middle has a tooled finish.
Standing at right are pieces of different but the same shaped bottles found in the same place.
Date 1890 decade or early 1900.


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## Brewster113 (Mar 20, 2020)

QUOTE="Catcat16, post: 724927, member: 28751"]
Blueing? I’m not familiar with that term.
[/QUOTE]
Hi cat bluing was used to make your laundry whites whiter. Your mother may have used it. My mother did, she would just wave the bar of bluing in the wash tub.
Bruce


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## Flasks (Mar 20, 2020)

Catcat16 said:


> thanks for the reply! Yea I figured they woulnt go for much but no one on here seems to know what they are I can’t find them on the internet either... that wouldn't make it rare tho would it?


Keep in mind that rarity has NOTHING to do with value and can actually work in reverse. Be careful handling any of medicinal bottle as viruses and some germs can stay alive over decades.


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## Flasks (Mar 20, 2020)

nhpharm said:


> I think they might be bluing?  Honestly I don't think they have much if any value.


Bluing bottles invariably leave a residue of "blue" adhered to the glass... Bluing was a common household product just before the turn of the 1900's up through about WW2.  Men pants predominantly were a blue denim, much like today Levies and Jeans. The typical wash lady most always used lots of bleach in the wash to enhance the white clothes, kill germs and in a short time the Blue of "hubbies" pants disappeared so it was time to use the bluing in a separate wash tub to make his pants look more like new.


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## Catcat16 (Mar 21, 2020)

Flasks said:


> Keep in mind that rarity has NOTHING to do with value and can actually work in reverse. Be careful handling any of medicinal bottle as viruses and some germs can stay alive over decades.


Really? I had no idea. That blows my mind. Has anyone ever gotten sick that way? Thanks for the tip. I guess I’ll bleach them first from now on.


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## Catcat16 (Mar 21, 2020)

CanadianBottles said:


> If you have a hundred of them, they definitely aren't rare.  It doesn't take that many bottles existing for them to not be considered rare anymore.  And rarity itself isn't enough to translate into value.  I've got a bunch of local labeled pharmacy bottles from the 40s and 50s, and those could be one of a kind, but they still only sell for a few dollars each because not many people are looking for them.  Most unembossed bottles (except when they're an unusual shape or colour like your green ink) aren't going to be of much interest to collectors unfortunately.





Patagoniandigger said:


> This is a sort of some different miniatures I found out there all about 1970s 1980s but found 1900 era too. The older ones are clean saved in boxes. View attachment 203689View attachment 203686


oh cool! Thanks for sharing I woulnt mind having a bunch of those! Mine are all boring clear.


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## Catcat16 (Mar 21, 2020)

Flasks said:


> Bluing bottles invariably leave a residue of "blue" adhered to the glass... Bluing was a common household product just before the turn of the 1900's up through about WW2.  Men pants predominantly were a blue denim, much like today Levies and Jeans. The typical wash lady most always used lots of bleach in the wash to enhance the white clothes, kill germs and in a short time the Blue of "hubbies" pants disappeared so it was time to use the bluing in a separate wash tub to make his pants look more like new.


Very cool I’m really glad I joined this group because I’m learning so much about history. I never payed attention to history class as a kid and I’ve always said it was my least favorite class because it was “boring”... oh how that’s changed as I’ve aged. I really wish I payed attention more haha.
So I find tons of bottles that actually look as though they have a ink stain on them. Like not all over the bottle but just in either one spot or patches. And I see it in allllllll different types of bottles and couldn't figure out how they connected. As crazy as this sounds I even have bottles that have “magically” gotten spots that appear like that after I stick them in warm water and it’s impossible to get out of the bottle. So I guess bluing is what’s in those bottles. Very interesting.


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Mar 23, 2020)

If they were teaching us history thru bottles maybe i would have listened also.


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## Flasks (Mar 23, 2020)

Quite the mass of bottles! I think one of the most important factors that determine value is "EYE APPEAL".  I'm not trying to downgrade you or your fascination with what you're finding but most collectors ignore that particular style of bottle, as that is more than likely because there is lack of or no eye appeal. This being said, who will take the time to research this?...very few if anybody. Without research, knowledge of any bottle would leave us with nothing but guess work. Just your interest tells me one day you will start finding really collectible bottles and then you'll realize what I'm telling you. Having to guess at what the picture shows would suggest a liquid condiment of some type with a paper label, post 1900 and possibly proprietary. Again, guesswork.


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## Catcat16 (Mar 24, 2020)

ROBBYBOBBY64 said:


> If they were teaching us history thru bottles maybe i would have listened also.



Yea haha I just mean I didn’t pay enough attention to big events that happened that actually make a difference in how valuable a bottle may Be considered.


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Mar 25, 2020)

Horrible how tragic events effect the value of a collectable. Nothing like the atrocity of war to really raise the value of a collectable. If you can find any WWI memorabilia at a good price... get it. They should be in for a major increase in value. In the 50s the civil war items skyrocketed. Seems like at about 100 years after a war it happens. In 2040 WWII items will increase in value. Not your thing i understand. Just a thought.


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## Catcat16 (Mar 26, 2020)

ROBBYBOBBY64 said:


> Horrible how tragic events effect the value of a collectable. Nothing like the atrocity of war to really raise the value of a collectable. If you can find any WWI memorabilia at a good price... get it. They should be in for a major increase in value. In the 50s the civil war items skyrocketed. Seems like at about 100 years after a war it happens. In 2040 WWII items will increase in value. Not your thing i understand. Just a thought.



Actually that’s good info because I do have a ww1 water canteen that I found popping up out of the ground in my back yard. It’s in pretty good shape oddly. It was a strange find that still confuses me.  Wasn’t sure what to do with it. Thanks!


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