A Nice Privy Finally Releases Some Treasure, Its Been Awhile!

[jgas]

A Nice Privy Finally Releases Some Treasure, It's Been Awhile!

Hello everyone it's been quite some time since I last posted. Man has it been a tough season so far for us privy diggers. Just could not seem to get anything good to show so far, until this pit showed up. Looks like it's going to be a huge privy by our standards. Most of the time they are around 4 feet by 4 feet by 6 feet deep. This one appears to be around 5 feet wide, 6 feet deep and around 14 feet long. It was used by 3 families by the looks of the maps. The ground was as hard as concrete for the first couple of feet. I really don't know how we probed it. But we did and it worked out to be a nice 1860-1890 privy.
Started out with a very nice wax seal fruit jar with FA & Co embossed on the base. There were several other broken ones as well. Then a few medicines and the usual broken plates, bowls, ceramics and pipes. Then Don pulls out our first Doyle Hop Bitters patent 1872 Cabin style bottle. I've never even seen a piece and all the pits we have dug. So finding a whole one was great. Found a couple champagne bottles as well. A lot of slicks but one was embossed S.H. Wilson's Superior Bird Tonic. That's a first as well. That one might be a little more of a scarce bottle. A couple of pharmacy bottles from Chicago as well as Pittsburgh. A Seely's bottle, a couple of R.E. Sellers, a Halsey Brothers and a Wm. S Merrell chemical co. bottle.
Then the almighty CRYER came to light. A beautiful double eagle flask from Pittsburgh. A very nice Olive Green one too. Ouch those hurt. But at the end of the day it was a pit full of decent finds. And whats great about it is that we only did maybe half the pit before darkness set it. We plan to hit the rest next week in hopes of letting some more glass see the light of day for the first time in 150 years! Hopefully I will be posting a bit more in the near future, until then be safe out there and good luck with your treasure hunting! jgas

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges - Grab it through Amazon!

[pepperj]

Great pit dig, and good read on the method you do for digging it out. Very nice recovery method for digging in the back yard.

"Ah" the days of digging and I still get the urge to do it again, liking the probe as memories come back as does the memory of blisters that were on the hand from the countless hours of probing sites for bottles.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges - Grab it through Amazon!

[granthansen]

Very cool! That looks like some really physical work.

 

[The Rebel]

Those are some pretty cool finds! What do the owner think most of the time when you show up?

 

[jgas]

Most people are pretty receptive even though we do dig big holes. But like I said really its just a larger hole than what I would do to find a coin. They see the results and get to keep some finds. A win win for all. Going out tomorrow for some more. Hope to have a nice report. But it is what it is. Ha ha. Thanks for the replies everyone. Jgas

 

[Sovereignelite]

Always wanted to do that. Used to buy all the bottle hunting mags when I was a kid (late 70's early 80's)

 

[surf]

Hey jgas,

Love that psyk Fahnestock & Albree wax sealer! I hope you'll show us some apres bath photos down in the Bottles basement.

"F. A. & CO……….Fahnstock, Albree & Co., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (c.1860-1869). Glass researcher Dick Roller (Standard Fruit Jar Reference, 1983) reports that this glass manufacturing firm was listed in the Pittsburgh city directories from 1861 through 1869. However, Julian Toulouse promoted the belief that they were in business only for about 2 years (1860-1862), renting the factory of Lorenz and Wightman. I believe it is very probable they were in business during almost the entire decade, since bottles and jars seen with this maker’s mark are relatively plentiful. Roller also states the actual location of their glass manufactory was the Eclipse Glass Works, Temperanceville (SW Pittsburgh), PA. Evidently they made glass at both locations at times during their existence." GLASS MANUFACTURERS' MARKS ON BOTTLES

That dig & your excellent treatment of the homeowner are a credit to the bottle digging community. A large wave of the spade to you, sir!

​

 

[PikesPeakCharlie]

GAS !!! dont know how I missed this post ? enjoyed seeing one from ya again !! Sweet wax sealer,and everything else,looked like a fun pit ! Hope the Chief is giving ya enough time off to dig ! looking for the next one. PPC