old salt water bottles

[bell47]

I find lots of old bottles scuba diving in a local harbor. They used to anchor schooners here is the 1800's so I get lots of bottles from that time period. They always have a little coral growing on them and have a little sand blasted look to the glass. Not like good sea glass, but just a little worn. Are these bottles worth anything? Here's a pic of three. These are typical of my finds. I probably have 50 similar bottles, but some are not in as good shape.

[bootybay]

try listing them on ebay and see how they do. ya dont know till ya try

[southern maine diver]

Hey Bell47...

The top bottle is a "Hutch" know for the type of seal or top. in this case a Hutchinson type with the metal stopper still inside the bottle. If there is any embossing on it, letters formed into the glass that you can read, you will be able to find more info on the bottle, the maker, the age, the possible value.

The other two bottles are from the late 1800 probably 1890's or newer. They were most likely meds, the bottom one being a 12 sided aqua med... very common.

Where in Maine are you located? I'm from Southern Maine and I dive year round as a commercial diver on the border of NH and Maine. I love diving for bottles in my spare time. Also, you should check out the Antique-bottles.net forum. A great group of people with many experts, thousands of members, terrific information... check it out..

Wayne

[bell47]

Hey, Southern Maine Diver, I live in Thomaston. Thanks for the info on the bottles. The "hutch" has no embossing on it, but it has an iridescent coating of some kind on the inside. Maybe from what ever was bottled in it. Did you find the pottery in Maine? I would probably swallow my regulator if I found that! I have some more bottles but I've given a bunch away to friends and family. I'll post some more pics next time I go. The last time I went I filled a scallop/urchin bag about 1/3 full on half a tank. That was before scallop season, haven't had much time to go lately.