# Young collectors



## Wheelah23 (Oct 29, 2011)

I know there's plenty of collectors still in high school on this site. And some folks still in elementary school... And some adults who act like they're in kindergarten... [8D]

 Anyway, let's show those old fogeys how numerous we are! Those fuddy-duddies always say the hobby's dying off, let's prove them wrong! Who here's still at school like me?


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## botlguy (Oct 29, 2011)

I'm one of those "old fuddy duddies" and would enjoy knowing how many youngsters are on this terrific forum. I ALWAYS encourage young collectors, I have given away or sold REAL cheap, hundreds of bottles and insulators. I can not think of a better hobby and hobbies extend ones life.


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## carobran (Oct 29, 2011)

lets just say i aint exactly ready for retirement[8D][][]......


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## bamaboybottles2 (Oct 29, 2011)

I'm a freshman in highschool and I've been collecting since I was about 7.


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## accountantadam (Oct 29, 2011)

I think I may have a future collector on my hands. I've noticed my 3 year old looking at some of my jars and crocks recently, and she wants to sit and look at the redbook with me from time to time. Keeping my fingers crossed she shows an interest in it!


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## mr.fred (Oct 29, 2011)

Well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!---I'm  a Sr. in life[8D]----and i encourage  younger ones to find an interest in anything ----other than getting into trouble!


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## tigue710 (Oct 29, 2011)

I'm only 33, pretty young by collecting standards...  There are a lot of younger people interested in the hobby, but i do feel there is a gap emerging that stifles the hobby a bit.

 For example I started as a kid like most collectors digging bottles I found on the farm I grew up on.  I think quite a large amount of collectors started by chance, just one of those things that you happened upon as a kid... The problem with that is it seems kids play outside and in the woods less, and those easy to find surface dumps are disappearing...  I think that might be part of why the hobby might seem to be waning... .


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## JohnN (Oct 29, 2011)

I'm 16. I never knew other young people would be interested in bottle collecting and digging. I'm interested because my yard has broken glass (and some bottles) everywhere.


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## Bottles r LEET (Oct 29, 2011)

I'm young. I have tried to get some of my friends interested in it, but they are only interested in the $$$ part of it.[&o]


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## RIBottleguy (Oct 29, 2011)

I'm not "young" young, but 23 is pretty close.  And I started collecting bottles 11 years ago, so I did start when I was 12.  I must say it was nice when you went to yard sales and bottle shows and everyone would give you good deals []


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## carobran (Oct 29, 2011)

yeah,im trying to get as many locals now while people have sympathy on me[8|][][][8D]


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## cyberdigger (Oct 29, 2011)

I still get carded sometimes when I try to buy cigs.. does that count?


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## KBbottles (Oct 29, 2011)

Started when i was very young after stumbling on a small toc-1930s surface dump while raking out a little bike path with one of my school friends.  I got obsessed and dug every little bit of that dump.  Only found common bottles but still have my first favorites that I dug.  

 25 now and having a car, independence, time to explore and research, a job, etc... Has helped me expand my collection and digging time tremendously.  I am very hopeful for the future of this great hobby.


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## ncbred (Oct 30, 2011)

34 here which is pretty young compared to alot of the NC collectors I run up with at auctions and shows.  Been collecting bottles for around 5 years now.


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## Poison_Us (Oct 30, 2011)

I will always be a Toys 'R' Us kid....  [&:]


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## beith_2005 (Oct 30, 2011)

I'm 36 been collecting since I was about 12 but got really serious about it around 10 years ago.


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## Wheelah23 (Oct 30, 2011)

25? 30? You guys are OLD! [][][8D]

 Well, I know there are more YOUNG people like me... Show yourselves!


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## cyberdigger (Oct 30, 2011)

Probably most people your age are too busy trying to pull their jeans over their ankles to post on this forum..[&:]


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## Blackglass (Oct 30, 2011)

I'm 17, so I guess I'm still considered a "Kid collector", heh. I started collecting about 4 years ago, a many hours have gone into this hobby. I've collected other things in the past, but this is one hobby you can't really grow out of. 




> ORIGINAL:  cyberdigger
> 
> Probably most people your age are too busy trying to pull their jeans over their ankles to post on this forum..[&:]


 

 LOL


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## JOETHECROW (Oct 31, 2011)

53....been digging since I was 12. I once had an old pickup truck (63 chev) that my high school friends made a bumper sticker for, It said "I brake for bottles!"[]


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## baltbottles (Oct 31, 2011)

I'm 30 now. Was 22 when I joined the forum about 19 when I made my website and started collecting when I was about 12. I hope I have another good 50 years of collecting and digging in me...

 Chris


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## Jim (Oct 31, 2011)

I'm also 30, and started collecting bottles when I was 11. I've always liked old things- old coins, old cars and old buildings are a few of the things that have fascinated me since I was old enough to know what "things" were.

 I started out with whatever bottles I could find, have given to me or buy dirt cheap as a kid. My first serious collecting interest was poison bottles, which I built a nice collection of. I have since moved away from those, but still like them. Since 2007, I have concentrated on early local beers, sodas and medicines, and have now built the best and most complete collection of pre-1900 Lewistown bottles anywhere.

 I remember trying to get my friends into bottles when I was a kid. After one dig, they were like "Why the hell do you want to do this?!?" [] ~Jim


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## Dugout (Oct 31, 2011)

Hey Connor......I think there has been more old fuddy duddies respond here than you school age guys.


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## mr.fred (Oct 31, 2011)

Hey!!!----i resemble that remark[sm=rolleyes.gif]


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## Dugout (Oct 31, 2011)

So Do I!


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## carobran (Oct 31, 2011)

yeah,i know theres moe young collectore here............wheres peejrey,Lildigger,thehamman,crowntopking???[8|][8|]


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## Dugout (Oct 31, 2011)

I bet they are getting their costumes ready for Halloween!


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## carobran (Oct 31, 2011)

i dont think there anyone _THAT _young on the forum[8|][]


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## botlguy (Oct 31, 2011)

> ORIGINAL:  carobran
> 
> i dont think there anyone _THAT _young on the forum[8|][]


 I could send pictures of my 47 year old Daughter in the costume she went to a party Saturday night in but it would scare you. Some folks are never too old for Halloween.


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## carobran (Oct 31, 2011)

i never really cared too much for it[8|].............except for the candy part[8D][8D]


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## Wheelah23 (Oct 31, 2011)

Due to all the snow, they "postponed" Halloween until Friday! Kind of funny if you ask me. I ain't gonna bother with the trick or treating crap. I'm too old... [8D]


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## RED Matthews (Oct 31, 2011)

Hi all, this thread only made me smile - at 82 that is about all I can do.  RED Matthews


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## Dugout (Oct 31, 2011)

Thanks for warning us Red  []  .


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## Brandons Bottles (Oct 31, 2011)

I started when I was 12 (7th grade), joined the forum when I was 13 (8th grade), and now am currently a freshman and 14 years old. I also did coins and metal detecting in 6th grade (11 years old).


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## Stardust (Oct 31, 2011)

Red, You make us all *SMILE* ~ You are such a valuable member to have on this forum ~ I was just reading some of your newsletter and comments that people had written ~ You always try to help any new member get into the hobby, help any regular member find info even if you don't have it yourself, and you just have a kind heart always remembering to mention your wife to others when thinking of others here also ~ You are a JOY ~

 Age to me does not matter here..We are all young at heart..It is what we all bring to the table so to speak. I learn from all of you and maybe you learn something from me  ~ How boring it would be if we were all the same. Who I'm I? I'm a woman who loves my bottles in the sunlight of the day and looks up at the stars at night. The same stars everyone else does. Only I make a lot of wishes on them, [] that we all have peace and happiness in this world of ours ~ and may we find new collectors of any age come here and add to our fun ~ star ~ *


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## carobran (Oct 31, 2011)

> ORIGINAL: Wheelah23
> 
> Due to all the snow, they "postponed" Halloween until Friday! Kind of funny if you ask me. I ain't gonna bother with the trick or treating crap. I'm too old... [8D]


 you cant trick or treat here if your over 12(of coarse,how many people do you think pay attention to that?[8|])


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## NCdigger5 (Nov 1, 2011)

I'm 19.  Sophomore at NC State.


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## beendiggin (Nov 2, 2011)

I'm 357 in bottle years.


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## Wheelah23 (Nov 2, 2011)

Sounds a lot like dog years... [:-]

 That gave me an interesting idea. Imagine combining the ages of every bottle you have. How old would THAT be? Staggering...


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## sandchip (Nov 2, 2011)

Here's my son, Luke.  He's 16.


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## barrelsofbottles (Nov 2, 2011)

Well I am brand new to this forum and so far I find it amusing. I won't give my age but if I combined bottles for age....not good!  I have about 22  drums (55 gallon) full of bottles that I picked up at an auction.  This is why I have joined.  I know nothing about these bottles so I imagine you will all have some answers for me.  I picked the right place!  Thanks in advance.

 Liz


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## Wheelah23 (Nov 2, 2011)

> ORIGINAL:  barrelsofbottles
> 
> Well I am brand new to this forum and so far I find it amusing.Â I won't give my age but if I combined bottles for age....not good!Â  I have about 22Â  drums (55 gallon) full of bottles that I picked up at an auction.Â  This is why I have joined.Â  I know nothing about these bottles so I imagine you will all have some answers for me.Â  I picked the right place!Â  Thanks in advance.
> 
> Liz


 
 Well, from your description, I think you have... Bottles! [] We're going to need a bit more description to figure out what you've got. Maybe some pictures.

 Welcome to the forum! If you're as nuts as the rest of us, you've certainly found the right place... []


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## barrelsofbottles (Nov 3, 2011)

Thanks!  I will be uploading some pictures soon.  I have soda bottles, medicine bottles, liquor bottles, brown bleach bottles, and so on. I would like to sell the majority because I really don't have room to keep them.  I don't know anything about vintage bottles but I am sure that these forums will help.  I have been doing a little research and have found it very interesting. I'm sure I will keep a few [] as I have plenty!

 Liz


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## lil digger (Nov 3, 2011)

im 14 and im in 8th grade and i love this hobby!!!


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## Plumbata (Nov 3, 2011)

Good to see the younguns getting into the hobby.

 I think the hobby will last for a good while. As long as kids still play outside, explore creeks and woods, and stumble upon interesting old items then the hobby will be safe.

 Stamp collecting, which as far as I understand really started to die in the '70s, is probably a result of the fact that paper items are far less durable, and the old attics and estates with stamped letters became fewer and fewer as they were cleaned out and thrown away. Good luck finding a trunk of untouched 1850s letters nowadays. Bottles and stoneware are far more durable, and since the hunt is half the fun (or most if the fun, in my opinion) then the interest will likely be maintained for at least another century.

 My parents tell me stories about how when i was 3 and 4 I would go under people's sinks and pull out the bottles, proudly naming the contents. "Murphy's Oil Soap!" "Fantastic!" []. Something about containers in general seemed magical to me; how they sequester and preserve the contents from everything external. I dug my first bottle a month before my 6th birthday, using my dad's metal detector while looking for coins in my yard, and bought my first 2 around the same time at a flea market in Baltimore. I still have the one i dug on one of many shelves. [] I When I was 5-8 I was mostly interested in collecting old coins and books, but by the age of 9 I had gotten serious into bottles as well. I'm 24 now, with dozens of different collections and interests. It makes life interesting.


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## OsiaBoyce (Nov 4, 2011)

> ORIGINAL: Plumbata
> 
> Good to see the younguns getting into the hobby.
> 
> ...


 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJriOurLLzI

 Needs to be my theam song[]

 Stamp collecting..................#1 collectible.

 Ever been to the post office or noticed how many different stamps there were?

 Any idea why?

 As far as the 'undiscovered trunk' most people in that area of the hunt are looking for 'covers'. 
http://www.stamps.net/posthist.htm

 .................................. speaking of  "young collectors", started when I was 8, that was 44 years ago.


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## Leasacks (Nov 4, 2011)

Im 33 and I just started really getting into it.  My 39 yr. old hubs likes it as well as my 10 yr. old stepdaughter seems interested.  The 13 yr. old step thing... nah.. she just likes boys and her ipod.  Even my cats like my collections.


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## Plumbata (Nov 4, 2011)

> ORIGINAL:  OsiaBoyce
> 
> 
> Stamp collecting..................#1 collectible.


 
 A solid argument can be made that they are, or at least were. Years ago I got a small but rather packed stamp album which was printed in 1907 (some real goodies were included; 1840s european stuff, 1st belgian issue, etc.). Back then, before the radio, TV, or the intarweb i bet the stamps helped people to connect with distant and strange lands and were a fun and dynamic item to collect.



> ORIGINAL:  OsiaBoyce
> 
> Ever been to the post office or noticed how many different stamps there were?
> 
> Any idea why?


 
 Yes, hundreds of times, and yes; to make money by selling intrinsically valueless paper and adhesive to silly people who like motorcycles, nascar, or disney charcters. They are banking on the customers hoarding them away instead of using the stamps in exchchange for actual services. 




> ORIGINAL:  OsiaBoyce
> 
> As far as the 'undiscovered trunk' most people in that area of the hunt are looking for 'covers'.
> http://www.stamps.net/posthist.htm


 
 In this modern day, yes I agree. When i can find them, i collect the stamped covers/envelopes and their contents too, including inked/wax sealed ones from before 1847. The thing is, back in the heyday, the stamps were the main interest, not the covers or letters inside; which were thrown away. Some sad stuff really, as the envelopes and letters are far more historically valuable now. I have one letter, from 1877 I believe, sent from the Netherlands to Boston describing a misunderstandfing about a fine cured ham which was thought to have been stolen. A drunken brawl and gunfight involving irish laborers and natives ensued and 3 men died, several more injured. The ham was later found unmolested in a closet, placed there by the hotel porter.[] Personally, i'd want everything; stamp, cover, and especially the letter within. 



> ORIGINAL:  Leasacks
> Even my cats like my collections.


 
 Cats are great and all, but I hope they don't like your bottles _too_ much. When I was younger, my cats broke a few nice items, and my sister's cat has urinated on hundreds of dollars worth of antique books and ephemera. [] My former dog in her youth liked to chew up my valuable antiques and papers too []. I have since learned to tke better care of my collections, lol.


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## cyberdigger (Nov 4, 2011)

> intarweb


 [sm=lol.gif]


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## OsiaBoyce (Nov 5, 2011)

> ORIGINAL: Plumbata
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
  Cool, you collect covers too. I'd really like to see a pic of the 1847s. European covers are not my favorite nor forte, but still I like to look.

  Here's a really nice one.  1899 Havana, Cuba. Dealing w/ a murder involving US Navy  ".........nigger stokers."


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## OsiaBoyce (Nov 5, 2011)

Sweet cover, huh?

 Ok, back to the young collectors.


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## OsiaBoyce (Nov 5, 2011)

Before John Gary Evans was  a cop in Cuba, he was Gov. of S.C..


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## Plumbata (Nov 5, 2011)

The script/calligraphy on that piece is fantastic, nice find! Glad that you appreciate such material.

 I while back i bought a big box full of 1880s-early 1900s letters, checks, bills, etc and seem to recall some correspondence regarding the Span-Am war. Oughta look through the pile again.

 In an 1836 family bible I bought, i found a civil War letter to the wife of a soldier, mailed from "near Bowling Green Kentucky" describing the death of her husband from some fever. Not as dramatic as a murder but still interesting.

 I don't have any series 1847 stamp covers, lol, but letters prior to that date. I am in Philadelphia currently but can dig through my stuff if you are truly interested. Many european items aren't too interesting to us americans, but i have some belgian congo stuff and nazi covers which are pretty cool.


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## Wheelah23 (Nov 5, 2011)

Hey, you old paper collecting geezers... If you find any of these, let me know! [8D]


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## OsiaBoyce (Nov 5, 2011)

Nazi Germany huh? Might be interested in that.

 Found a cashe of Nazi memorabilia beside the hi-way one time. Cop shows up on a blood run at the county line.

 He saw me..............and to make a long story short. Got my ass beat. Went to jail. The cop got all the Nazi stuff.


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