# Finally found a bottle dump!!!!



## photolitherland (Jun 29, 2009)

After searching the creeks and rivers around my area for 6 months and finding rarely any bottles, I finally located a bottle dump with tons of bottles dating from the late 1800s I believe. I would have missed em but there was a beer bottle sticking halfway out of the dirt along a creek. I had to do a double take because I thought I was seeing things. I got up to the bottle and realized it was a pulled top. It took me a good while to get it out since the dirt is caked from the sun but looking along a layer thats around 200 ft long, I saw tons of bottles sticking out. Medicines, beers, sodas, hutchinsons, oh my! I only had time to get the one beer or whatever it is out, but its in pretty good condition, Ill have to buff out the scratches and such. Im going back tomorrow to rape and pillage the site and I cant wait!  

 Can anyone id and date this bottle though? I think its from the 1870s maybe. I have yet to clean it so its still pretty dirty looking.


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## cyberdigger (Jun 29, 2009)

That could be an iron pontil mark, which could be as early as 1840's I think.. if that isn't just mud stuck in the base..


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## photolitherland (Jun 29, 2009)

1840's, I dont know. The first people to really settle here came in the 1830s and the town really didnt get established until the railroad came through in the late 1870's. Thanks for the info. Ill go back tomorrow and take photos of the site and of some of the bottles if I can get anymore out of the hardened sediment. 

 Oh and yeah, thats just mud on the bottom.


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## cyberdigger (Jun 29, 2009)

Well, anyway i think it's an IP.. the bottle is a wine bottle, and that design was pretty standard from the mid1800s until.. today. If the dump (BTW congrats!!) illustrates a more specific time period, a wine bottle can easily be 20 years older than the rest..


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## appliedlips (Jun 29, 2009)

I'd say it a late 1800's wine, I think it's mud packed around the push up that looks like a pontil,Charlie.

      Anyway it's a good age to be digging in, congrats and good luck.


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## cyberdigger (Jun 29, 2009)

Just making sure everyone's on their toes.. []


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## athometoo (Jun 29, 2009)

looking forward to the rest of the story . been trying every creek within a 30 mile radius  , at least one a day without much success , its always 40s to 60s.   they are doing alot of construction in downtown dallas , trying to get close enough to checkout the backfill is tough ,( thanks osha  thanks lawyers) , i was tresspassing on this land looking to steal bottles the dozers dug up and i sprained my ankle , i need a million dollars or a plantations bitters . thats what wrong with the legal system today .      thanks    sam


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## photolitherland (Jun 29, 2009)

Yeah, up till now all the crap I found pretty much was from the 50s-80s. Every now and again on the bottoms of creeks I find bottles but most of the time they are broken. I did find a nice silver berry spoon last week c. 1910. Cleaned it up and was able to get the silver finish back to almost original condition. You just never know what the hell you might find walking around in creeks and such. It helps though that Im not living in a big city, instead its predominately rednecks and such and they usually could care less about old stuff lying in creek beds.


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## cyberdigger (Jun 29, 2009)

I was a creekwalking fool as a kid.. I really miss the freedom I had as a cute little carrot-topped boy splashing along the stream in his rubber boots, carrying a pillowcase full of bottles freshly mucked out of the banks.. man I miss those days....


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## jays emporium (Jun 30, 2009)

I agree, that is a late 1800's wine bottle.  Let us know if anything else whole comes out of that concrete hard ground.


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## glass man (Jun 30, 2009)

WAY TO GO! YES I MISS CREEK WALKING ALSO! FOUND SOME REALLY COOL STUFF DOING IT. PLUS I LOVE BEING IN THE WATER. WISH I COULD AFFORD AND LEARN TO SCUBA DIVE ROUND HERE. GOOD LUCK TO YOU AND LET THE PICTURES FLOW! JAMIE


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## pyshodoodle (Jun 30, 2009)

Don't always bash the 40s-60s sights. You never know what you're going to find. War milks are always nice! We're digging a dump right now that was an old farm dump that was used for a very long time. I found my first squat soda (aqua with a lip chip)... also found one of those 70's plastic gumball machines - just the bottom. Besides the trip down memory lane remembering how much I always wanted one and never got one, when I shook it I heard noise! It was all I could do to wait until I got home to pry the plastic apart. Inside, 18 pennies. One was steel, so that one caused a nice rusty mess on my other pennies, but I have 17 other wheaties now! 2 oldest are 1914 & 1917. Not bad for a 70's piece of garbage. Both items were just found yesterday. 

 Although - sounds like your newfound dump is a good spot. Can't wait to see pictures!

 Kate


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## Lordbud (Jun 30, 2009)

I work in a retail establishment and always keep my eyes peeled for wheatback cents, and silver dimes and quarters. In the past week I've found two mercury dimes in change -- one came out of a woman's change purse as she gave me exact change for a purchase. You'd be surprised what is still out there in circulation. These aren't worn smooth AG grade coins either.


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## photolitherland (Jun 30, 2009)

Went back today and only got about 5 more bottles. Most of em I found in the stream since I couldnt really get any out of the stream bank since it hasnt rained here forever and the sediment was pretty much as hard as cement. I walked up and down the stream though and found some nice bottles so that bank must be loaded with bottles. The oldest one I found was the one from yesterday, and then I found another one which I dont really know what it was used for but I think its from the 1800s also. 







 The only bottle I really dug out today. It was about at the same level as that wine bottle I dug out yesterday. On the bottom its embossed with Hunyadi Janos Bitterquelle. I think its also from the late 1800s.





 The rest of the bottles I just found downstream from the site. This one is a Califig syrup, I think its from the 20s or so?





 1930s?





 Found this one about a mile downstream, its pretty dirty but it will clean up good I think. I believe it to be from the late 20s. 





 I also found another berry spoon from the 1910s. Its the second one Ive found in this area. Its pretty rusted but it might clean up good. 











 Now I just have to wait for it to rain good in order to dig in the bank.


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## photolitherland (Jul 1, 2009)

Heres one more I found downstream yesterday and it cleaned up quite nicely. Its a pretty old bottle and I love the embossment on this one.


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## dollarbill (Jul 1, 2009)

Hey Photo  that last one is really cool .p-p-p Sorry don't know anything about it .I do know I still dig those 1900 dumps too,looking for those green Jumbo Peanut butters and good sodas and milks .
  bill


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## jays emporium (Jul 1, 2009)

That site is lookin good.  You are right about the dates on the machine made medicines and Bitterquelle.  The PPP looks like a hand blown TOC bottle so the dump probably is 1890-1920's time span.  When it rains and the ground loosens up you can probably dig some good bottles there.  It might be a lot of work, depending on how thick the trash layer is and how scattered the bottles are.


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## RED Matthews (Jul 1, 2009)

Hi phorolitherland,  Nice location find. I decided to comment about the little wine.  Clean it cautiously in the empontilling area.  A lot of these push-up bottles were made with an iron punty rod that had hot glass applied to the heated end; when the applied the hot glass was picked up from the glass in the next progressing crucible, they got flass with floating gaul .  When this happened it created some neat color variations around the punty end application.  This was because the top glass melt hadn't been skimmed and the colors are a good sign of when they were made.  Good luck with your bottle finding.  RED Matthews


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## athometoo (Jul 1, 2009)

HEY , CRIS ITS GREAT YA FOUND A GOOD SIGHT  . I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE GOING TO YELLVILLE  ,TROUT FISHING  , THIS WEEKEND . WOUND UP HAVING TO WORK SUNDAY . MY FATHER AND UNCLE ARE STILL GOING  . ( WHITE RIVER BELOW BULL SHOALS LAKE) WE ARE SUPPOSED TO GO BACK IN AUGUST , MAYBE I CAN DRIVE THROUGH TAKE SOME PICS AND SHOOT THE S##T . FOR AN HOUR . IF YA EVER GET DOWN TO DALLAS JUST HOLLER .   BTW LOVE THAT  P . P . P  NOW ALL YA NEED IS AN SSS TONIC .     THANKS       SAM


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## photolitherland (Jul 21, 2009)

Finally rained tons today so the soil was soft enough to dig in. Got two really nice bottles out of the pit I dug. My first intact Hutchinson bottle. A very rare one at that. Ive talked to most bottle collectors and antique dealers around and nobody has ever seen the Hutchinson Russellville bottle. I almost hit it with my shovel too and destroyed it. Right before I struck down I saw it and I felt like I had won the lottery when I found it. A few hours late I found a medicine bottle. Its really weird. The bottles are very spread out and they are hard to find. Its about a 1000 ft long area where I have found the bottles, but I only find one about every 5 ft across or so. I dont know whats up with that. 











 Not cleaned yet. 






 This is the bottle that got me into bottle collecting. I was looking for fossils in a creek here in town and found this bottle rolling on the creek bed. I was very interested in it so I found out what it was and ever since, Ive been hooked. That was about 6 months ago.


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## cyberdigger (Jul 21, 2009)

Those are some nice finds.. but it's also a lot of digging between bottles.. might be more like general refuse washed up on the bank than an actual dump.. or the trail end of a dump.. you should at least be hitting a lot of shards and other stuff when you're in an actual dumpsite.. riverbanks can be weird..


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## photolitherland (Jul 21, 2009)

Yeah, there are tons of glass shards and a lot of marbles too. I found about 6 marbles today, all were pretty old looking but I dont know much about marbles. I know the dump is somewhere in that general vicinity. Im just going to keep pushing the dig to the right along the bank to see if I cant start finding a higher concentration of bottles somewhere along the way.


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## madman (Jul 22, 2009)

im in heaven! dump diggers unite! hey guys im happy to see all these digs going on,  its like an explosion! great finds ! i d try to move back away from the water,  theres a dump there some where, it may be deep! what you need is a probe, if yer finding hutches and such like the ppp bottle,  ya need to find the source and your doing the right thing , move back a little from the creek and dig ya a test hole its there somewhere  beautiful!  mike


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## madman (Jul 22, 2009)

post a pix of the marbles


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## cyberdigger (Jul 22, 2009)

A probe is an excellent idea.. a good one might set you back 40 bucks, but it's payback time when you don't have to do a whole lot of unnecessary earth moving!


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## madman (Jul 22, 2009)

ya know cyb hit it on the head, i never  used a probe, now i cant live with out it.when i get into the layer i use it to dig with also,  sound wierd just try it  mike


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## #1twin (Jul 22, 2009)

Great digs. You dig into those banks deeper and you might even come out with some jugs. I dug some of the same stuff lately like the Bitterquille and the Boye Needle co. Love the hutch and blood bottle. Keep sharing the digs with us and good luck with the rest of your digs. Your doing great,  Marvin


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## photolitherland (Jul 22, 2009)

Some of the other relics I found today

 Some marbles, dont know at all how to date them or how to id em. Im guessing they are all from the 1890s-1930s











 Another one I found today, an old Kilmers med. 





 The cleaned Hutch


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## Penn Digger (Jul 22, 2009)

An aqua Kilmer's cure is always nice to find.  You're a bird person too???

 PD


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## photolitherland (Jul 22, 2009)

Yeah, before I went to college I was all into birding but then I went to college and now I havent the time for it really anymore. Also, I had seen pretty much every single bird in north america for my life list lol


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## photolitherland (Jul 22, 2009)

Went back again today and dug a whole bunch more, found nothing but a ton of broken glass. So I gave up and looked around the woods above the creek. In a little side ditch I found a whole ton of 1930s-50s bottles. A few nice Little Rock Coke bottles, a heinz ketchup, a bunch of generic medicine bottles and a nice embossed Nehi Soda. 






 A little purity medicine bottle. 





 Obviously, nobody has ever walked back here otherwise there wouldnt be all of these semi nice bottles just sitting around. 





 Map of the area where Ive been finding the bottles

 1 is where I first saw the wine bottle. It was hanging out the side of the riverbank, way too high above the creek for the wine to have been deposited by it. 

 2 is where I dug and its where I found the Hutch and the kilmers. Those may have been deposited during a flood and that would explain why they were so spread out. 

 3 is where there were a bunch of bottles just laying around in the creek, obviously washed out. 

 4 is where all of the 40s bottles were, the heinz, coke, etc. All in a very small area. 

 5 just shows where I found that PPP bottle. 

 So does anyone kinda know where I should look for the real old bottles? On the left side of the photo is where the old 19th century lumber mill was located.


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## bottlebryan (Jul 22, 2009)

Hey that PPP bottle is a nice one and I am trying to collect bottles with the names of plants on them so if you want to sell that one let me know.

 Bryan

 bd4jays@verizon.net


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## madman (Jul 23, 2009)

well without being there its hard to tell, have you tryed to dig in the area pictured below? you really need a probe, for an area like that!  the woods could be the source of the dump, from what youre showing us theres many different ages of bottles coming out, so they were dumping somewhere for a long time,  another thing is it could have been bulldozed around at one time, how long has the creek been there? when you dig in the woods do ya hit clay right away? it may be capped?  probe !   mike


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## athometoo (Jul 23, 2009)

I THINK YOUR ALL RIGHT ON , IT COULD BE WASHOUTS FROM THE ROAD AND CULVERTS UNDER THE ROAD ,THEY LOOK NEWER THAN THE BOTTLES.  TRY PROBING AROUND THE ROAD AND JUST TO NORTH OF IT  . LOCAL HARDWARE STORE WILL SELL 1/4 OR 5/16 STEEL ROD . BEND A 4 INCH   L  ON ONE END USE IT AS A PROBE  . WOULDNT GO OVER 2 1/2 OR 3 FT FEET CAUSE IT WILL BEND EASY . MIGHT HELP UNTIL YOU GET A PROPER PROBE . GOOD LUCK . THE PARKING AREA BETWEEN 2 AND 3 MAYBE PART OF THE DUMP AND THE REASON FOR THE MIX AND WASH PATTERN OF THE BOTTLES (DURING CONSTRUCTION) . GOOD LUCK    SAM


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## photolitherland (Aug 1, 2009)

Rained a whole ton again a yesterday and went back to dig again today in that area and I found a bunch of awesome bottles! I couldnt even believe one of the bottles I found, I almost had a heart attack when I dug it out of the river bank. Im getting closer and closer to finding the main part of the dump. I am just digging further into the bank and I think still some of the stuff Im finding was just washed in but other bottles are actually part of the dump that I believe is located somewhere in that forest. Im finding some amazing stuff already though and I cant wait to locate the gold mine of bottles located somewhere around there and the bottles overall are in really good condition, not even hardly any mineral staining or scratches. Ill just show you guys some of the highlights from todays dig. 

 First one I pilled out of the bank today and its not even scratched. 





 1920s? Heinz Ketchup





 bottom of the ketchup bottle, does that number mean 1925? 





 Found this one in the creek bed, need to clean it. 





 No idea what this was for, probably 1890s though. 





 Beautiful 1870s? Blackie Liquid Grate Polish bottle, cleaned up perfectly, almost looks mint! YAY





 Now for the heart attack bottle, was digging and almost missed it, saw it out the side of my eye in a pile of dirt I just shoveled out. 










 The bottle says Oxien Pills, The Giant Oxie Co., Augusta ME, Sole Proprietors. 





 Any info on that last bottle would be amazing! Until the next dig...


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## pyshodoodle (Aug 1, 2009)

funny - when you google it, it brings you right back to this forum!

 https://www.antique-bottles.net/forum/m-25459/mpage-1/key-/tm.htm#25459
 Note that the price quoted is from a book from 1986.

 Nice finds! Looks like you have a really great spot to spend a lot more time!  I would be thrilled to find a bottle like that!

 Kate


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## madman (Aug 1, 2009)

VERY NICE! SUPER FINDS!


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## photolitherland (Aug 1, 2009)

Yeah, I googled it too and it came to this forum lol It says on the forum that the oxien bottle is only worth 20 bucks or so but I find that hard to believe. Oh well, if thats so its still an awesome little bottle.


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## athometoo (Aug 1, 2009)

HELLO CHRIS ,  I LIVE IN THE DFW AREA BY THE AIRPORT . IF YOU EVER GET DOWN THIS WAY I JUST BUILT 2 PROBES ( 3 FTERS) YOUR WELCOME TO HAVE ONE . THOUGHT ABOUT THREADING THE ENDS AND WELDING A NIPPLE INTO A PIPE HANDLE SO IT WOULD BE A 2 PEICE JOB , AND IT COULD BE INTERCHANGED WITH A 4 OR 6 FT PROBE . 3 IS EASY TO CARRY AND ALL I USE THEM FOR ARE DUMP . SHARDS ON THE SURFACE PROBE 3 FT . ANYWAY THE SPRING TRUNK RODS WERE ONLY A BUCK APEICE AND THE WELDING AND PIPE WERE DONE AT WORK  , REALLY CANT BEAT THAT PRICE , WRECKING YARD DOWN THE STREET FROM MY JOB .           SAM       ( PLUS A THREADED ROD AND NIPPLE HANDLE COULD BE SHIPPED ALOT EASIER .


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## photolitherland (Aug 1, 2009)

I dont know if I can get down there anytime soon but could I order it from you? I need a probe so bad. Thanks so much for the offer. PM me if you would be willing to do that.


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## athometoo (Aug 1, 2009)

DONT GOTTA ORDER IT  , YA CAN HAVE ONE  . JUST DONT KNOW WHAT TO SHIP IT IN OR HOW MUCH SHIPPING WOULD BE . THATS  ALL IM ASKING . ANYBODY EVER SHIPPED A PROBE? WHAT KIND OF CONTAINER? PROBE 3FT HANDLE 18 INCHES . I WILL PM YOU , CHRIS


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## photolitherland (Aug 1, 2009)

I went back again today and Im finding tons of Heinz Ketchup bottles, must have been the dumping spot for some of the restaurants in town back in the early 1900s. Then I found a few Coke patented 1915 bottles and thats about it for today.


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## pyshodoodle (Aug 1, 2009)

You will find tons of Heinz Ketchup bottles in any 1900's dump! If you find a broken one, that may be rare! [8|]
 I still haven't found a good 1915 coke (have a cracked one, though)

 Kate


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## photolitherland (Aug 1, 2009)

Why would there be so many of them? It would seem that they would send them back to get refilled at a factory somewhere and not just throw them out.


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## pyshodoodle (Aug 1, 2009)

People ate lots and lots and lots of ketchup. That's all I know.


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## cyberdigger (Aug 1, 2009)

You will find a seemingly disproportionate amount of ketchups in dumps because they were usually not refilled. Ketchup was all the rage back then, and the food on which it was used did not come in bottles, so there isn't much evidence of it, except bones.. same goes for sauce bottles.. it's one of the cool aspects of digging a dump, I think; trying to re-create the lifestyle that was evident from the trash..


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## photolitherland (Aug 2, 2009)

You will never believe what I found today out there. Didnt find any bottles because I spent about 2 hours digging this thing out of the ground. I have no idea how it ended up at this dump and I dont know the age on it, Im guessing around the 1930s. The sign is 6ft long and weighs at least 100 lbs. I thought it was just a giant chunk of scrap metal but then I quickly realized it was more. Anyone else ever found a railroad crossing sign like this and or know how to date it?


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## ktbi (Aug 3, 2009)

Hey Chris..you may be able to just slap a shipping label on the probe and send it unwrapped - via UPS anyway....Ron


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## daeldred (Aug 3, 2009)

Hey Photolitherland, 

 Congrats on your success.  I little bit of info...You're going to need a probe a might bigger that 3 feet. I would say that 5 feet is a minimum and 6 feet is ideal. We have to pull out the 9 footer every once in a while. Free is always good. Don't get me wrong. But if you want to probe anything other than a shallow trash pit, you'll need a longer probe. Check out our website at www.thememphisdiggers.com and look at the photoalbum. You'll see some pictures of some of the probes we use. Good Luck.


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## photolitherland (Aug 6, 2009)

Got some new stuff from the dump today and some stuff I got a few days ago is on here too. A nice Little Rock, 1915 patent Coke, circa 1927-28. Theres one bottle I dug up today that is exactly the same as a bottle I found a few months ago that was just sitting on a sidewalk. Its says NYAL Quality in the stamp and I believe its a bottle from around 1910-20. I have never seen this bottle on ebay or anywhere and cant find any info on it and I would surmise that its a fairly common one since I have found two of them now. 





 Unfortunately the coke has some bad case wear but I havent cleaned it at all yet and it even has a small plant growing out the top. 










  Cool little hand lotion bottle that was just sitting at the base of a tree, 1920s too maybe? I love little bottles like this. 





 The NYAL Quality bottle, any ideas on this one?





 I know these Nehi bottles and other stuff from the 1920s isnt as awe inspiring as the stuff from the 19th century but still, I think they are pretty cool in their own right.


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## JGUIS (Aug 6, 2009)

> ORIGINAL: daeldred
> 
> Hey Photolitherland,
> 
> You're going to need a probe a might bigger that 3 feet. I would say that 5 feet is a minimum and 6 feet is ideal. We have to pull out the 9 footer every once in a while.


 Take it from a guy who only owns a 6 footer, it will kill you, and your hands, and your wrists, and your shoulders, and your back.........  Longer probes are needed for feeling once you get inside a hole, but if you don't start those probe holes with a shorter probe, your body WILL suffer.  In the best condition, a 4 footer with an additional 4 foot thread on extension would be great for those of us who hike to alot of their spots.  A 4 footer and a solid rod 8 footer should be all you really need in most privy situations.  I also find useful a 5 foot beater probe that is 3/8", and a small sledge will bust through the hardpack with a big enough hole to get the regular probe in.  Concrete stakes work well also, but since their shorter, it's harder to get them back out of that crap.  So, why after all of this do I still only have a 6 footer?  I'm a glutton for punishment, just ask anyone.  Good luck out there.  Deeper and uphill, you'll find it.  Killer sign.


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## photolitherland (Aug 7, 2009)

Didnt find much today but one of the bottles I dug today was awesome the other was a crier.






 A very rare Atkins Arkansas Hutch  Hardly any of these are ever found and of course the one I did find was broken in half uhg. But the next find made up for it. 










 This dump keeps on giving me some pretty sweet stuff but its hard digging because there are just so many roots and the mosquitoes are terrible! Ill probably have to wait until the winter and let the bugs die down to really start digging it.


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## kastoo (Aug 7, 2009)

Great finds!  Excellent dump!  I hope your location photos don't bring a bunch of dudes to dig you out.  I wish you well!


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## tristian bottle (Aug 11, 2009)

dont mean to sound dumb, but what exactly is a probe? [&:]


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## sw arkansas (Dec 5, 2010)

chris   hi   i am in sw arkansas near de queen   i am intrested in soda arkansas bottles .seen the russellville hutch in the picture  what would you take for it?  brian in arkansas


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## lil digger (Dec 13, 2010)

The first bottle you found it is called a kip up. I have found 3 , two broke , and one came out fine. they usally come in green like the color you have but i found one in Dark teal , one green and one brown.. the brown one is the only whole one.


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## beendiggin (Dec 14, 2010)

Didn't realize this is an old post.


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## VA is for Diggers (Dec 16, 2010)

Nice bottles, especially that local Hutch. It seems like the majority of the ones you are digging are from the late teens  era, but the fact that a few hutches have been dug means this site dates back to at least the 1890's. Seems like there could be a housesite in the woods. Metal detector will help locate the dumps.


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## hunter2000 (Dec 17, 2010)

Photo
 You finding a dump like this one is like when my son and I went bass fishing and he caught 15 bass in on day I said son enjoy this day there wont be many days that will be like this one. great dumps are far and few between.
 You have a real nice spot as you have been told say 20 times already i would be real carefull digging theres gonna be some more real nice finds if you keep going. And to be able to dig all year SWEET lucky you.
 I need a pick ax to break trough the first 3" of frozen dirt right now and its gonna snow monday that will be it till spring april.
  poisons,  bitters, pepper sauce, agusta maine bottle man whats next. By the way you take great pictures that something that seems to be very difficult for me to do.
 Dennis


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## hunter2000 (Dec 17, 2010)

old post still nice finds


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## bottleguy2081 (Dec 18, 2010)

I have dug many of those bottle in my area I dig here in Oklahoma. To me they are common bottles but they are early. I believe 1870's to around 1890's. Somebody told me they were champagne bottles.


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