Amateur Bottle Digger in NC

NCprivyDigger

Jr. Member
Apr 8, 2010
25
2
North Carolina
Hi, I am new to privy digging and bottle collecting. I started off finding soda bottles, marbles, canning jars, white glass cosmedic jars and white and clear canning jar seal caps hiking in the creeks of areas I have lived. I only recently discovered privy digging. I have found my first privy and cleared out everything that wasn't dirt or rock. Though I feel that this one was one of the newest privies with a abandoned house dating back to 1802. I found depression glass (broken of course) dating between 1930-1936. Plenty of soda bottles, window pane glass, Ball and Mason canning jars, ketchup or hot sauce bottles and white glass cosmedic jars. I have managed to identify most of my finds and date most of the finds no older than 1930. I know there has got to be other privies on the property somewhere, I just haven't had any luck locating them. Anyway I drift from my main question for bottles. I found on the highest layer of this privy a whole pile of brown/amber bottles. On the shoulder are the words "NO DEPOSIT * NO RETURN" and "NOT TO BE REFILLED". I have been searching for 2 months now and can't find anything on the net to identify these bottles. Posted is a pic of the bottles in question. I currently misplaced my cable to connect my camera to my PC, so I'm using the one and only pic I could find on-line. The pic came from another gentleman looking to identify the same bottles he found on his property in another state.
As soon as I locate or purchase another cable for my camera I will upload more pics of my cleaned up bottles and the markings on the bottom if needed to further help identifying these bottles.
 

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NCprivyDigger

NCprivyDigger

Jr. Member
Apr 8, 2010
25
2
North Carolina
These bottles are only 6.5" tall. I have found several websites and even books showing very similar bottles with the exception that my bottles have only a single ring not a double or even triple ring on the neck/mouth. All the other bottles I locate on the web or in books the neck/mouth looks like the soda/beer bottles of today with double rings, one large ring with small ring on top. These bottles are Owens-Illinois (large "O" with "I" in the center) with "Duraglass", and several numbers listed on the bottoms. Numbers vary from bottle to bottle and even "Duraglass" is gone from some of them, but the Owens-Illinois logo remains.
I am going into town today to purchase a cord for my camera so that I am able to download my pics to my PC. I will post some pics tonight showing the neck/mouth in better detail along with several of the bottoms of a few select bottles. A lot to go through for a few beer bottles, I know. But it just kills me that I can't seem to date these bottles at all so far.
Thanks, Bill
 

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NCprivyDigger

NCprivyDigger

Jr. Member
Apr 8, 2010
25
2
North Carolina
Wow, I really want to thank everyone who has helped me date these bottles.

No, really I want to know if anyone can recommend any other blog sites or websites to where I can get better answers. I am laid off and unemployed and cannot afford to keep buying books that everyone wants to recommend for bottle id and dating. I was hoping to find help here. But I guess my bottles aren't old enough or worth a comment. Sorry to sound so rude, but it frustrates me to no end that so many people can read a post but do not answer any of them. So many bottle diggers and collectors from what I have gathered reading so many post from other members that not one person can id/date a common beer bottle or make suggestions on locating and digging privies in NC.

Bill
 

ruccello

Jr. Member
Jun 19, 2008
72
0
Detector(s) used
Fisher 1236x2
Hey Bill, I found a bunch of the same bottles at a dump site near me. The area I'm digging has bottles ranging in date from the 1880's to the 1950's. I think a good date range for you bottles are 1930-1950. I'm pretty sure they are beer bottles, and because they aren't rare, or don't have any interesting writing on them, you probably won't find much information about them anywhere. I only have one bottle book, and everything in it is pretty rare and hard to come by, and expensive. I do all of my research online. I don't bother keeping bottles that aren't that old unless there is something about the bottle that I think would make it uncommon.

Treasure net is a great site for getting opinions, keep posting the bottles you find, and don't get frustrated. Here is a link to another great site to help date bottles and other good information, I use it often - http://www.sha.org/bottle/

Happy hunting.

Richard
 

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NCprivyDigger

NCprivyDigger

Jr. Member
Apr 8, 2010
25
2
North Carolina
Bottle on the right has threads. The bottle on the left is shorter and slightly wider than the taller bottles. All of the same shape and color. The pics showing the 3 bottoms are in the same order, left is short bottle and right is threaded bottle. The single bottom shot is of the shorter bottle since it has more on it to maybe date it better.
 

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birdman

Gold Member
Jan 28, 2005
7,458
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Choctaw Beach Florida
🥇 Banner finds
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I just found one of those the other day . Not sure how old but still keepers!
 

swizzle

Sr. Member
May 3, 2003
457
94
upstate ny
I'm pretty sure those are Genesee beer bottles. They had a paper label on them. Very common and not even a deposit on them. You can keep them if you want but if you do you might want to start building yourself a shed to live in because you'll fill your house up quick. If you're still digging that same privy then take a good whiff. If it still smells like poop then you can get very sick digging it in. Fill it back in and let it cook for 50 more years. Probe around some more and see if you can find an older pit. Swiz
 

BttleDiggerDrew

Full Member
Aug 12, 2010
189
0
Rockland County, NY
Definitely a libation bottle, however the embossing and the tops may through a wrench in it...Embossing on beer bottles didn't take place until after the mid 1800's..and the one top looks like a tooled ringer...never the less, awesome find! :icon_thumleft:
 

Gobpile

Jr. Member
Mar 19, 2010
45
2
Underground
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1960's! Not worth your time,digging this kind of stuff wastes good probing time.I will probe for a couple of hours before I settle on a good hole! Research Research and more research!!
 

ehast

Newbie
Mar 16, 2013
1
0
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Beer bottle

Bottle on the right has threads. The bottle on the left is shorter and slightly wider than the taller bottles. All of the same shape and color. The pics showing the 3 bottoms are in the same order, left is short bottle and right is threaded bottle. The single bottom shot is of the shorter bottle since it has more on it to maybe date it better.

Looks like a Hamms beer bottle
 

surf

Silver Member
Jan 10, 2013
2,832
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Hi'ya ehast,

Welcome to TNet.

Without the label, how can you tell? These were made by the gazillian by Owens Illinois and others. They are called stubbies and they litter the landscape of North America to this day.

hamms.jpg

 

Joshr29

Hero Member
May 23, 2012
827
268
Texas
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I dug a cellar that only had 50's and 60's bottles in it and there were at least a 100 of those exact bottles.
 

PikesPeakCharlie

Bronze Member
Nov 19, 2008
1,789
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Pikes Peak
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I refuse to believe that I'm the only one on here ,that remembers drinkin beer out of these,,,,,,,,,, am I ??? 8-) :occasion14:
 

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