bottles i have found while diving in lake minnetoka the last 40 years....

[minnesota outdoors north]

ok fellows, here are the bottles i have found in lake minnetonka over the last 40 years or so, these are my keepers but have found over 800 or so...most of these were buried in the silt and muck about 20" deep and deeper....we call it mucking.....i have over 1500 hours in the lake alone...enjoy and let me know if you have any questions...also have alot of anchors, horse weight, chamber pot, for those of you who do not know what that was is a pot you went to go to the bathroom in...also last but not least but was able to salvage a 387 lb. prop (wheel) off a boat...sorry about all the pics.

thanks,
Gary

 

[surf]

Hello Gary,

You've "mucked" some marvelous stuff from Minnetonka, sir.

I really admire that Rose's lime juice. Does it have a backwards "S"?

What is that dark green, bulbous necked Malta Tonic (?) all about?

You might send a photo of the Miller & Co, Ashland beer bottle to Mr. Bottles to see if it is the unlisted one: Wisconsin Antique Blob Beer Bottle Gallery | mrbottles.com - Wisconsin Antique Bottle Collectors Resource

Is there wording moulded into the base of that jug?

Details will show much better, if you take photos in natural light, and eliminate the flash...

 

[Harry Pristis]

Hi, Gary . . . I was a little surprised to see the collapsible anchor you found in Minnesota . . . I somehow thought that the design was local, southeastern at least. I've recovered three such hand-forged anchors in SE rivers. I guess a good design spread widely . . . OR, one or more forges were making and distributing the anchors commercially.

​

I've never encountered a 'horse weight' used as a boat anchor, though I've recovered many, many anchors in rivers. Oddest I can think of were a pick head (I hafted it, and use it rarely) and two ingots of lead connected by the sprue.

You didn't provide any scale for the prop in your image. Is that the prop that weighs 387 pounds!? The only brass prop I've found weighs only 5.25 pounds (it was from a river that must have been in flood . . . even so, the prop must have been from a shallow draft vessel).

​

Show us some more of your finds. It's difficult to read the embossing on bottles in images. It would be great if you added that information to your text.

----------------Harry Pristis

 

[Bass]

Excellent finds and i can't decide which is my favorite. The miller's is great and so is the ayars sarsaparilla. I also like the clear springs water company as well. All are nice finds and thanks for sharing

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[bottlehunterofcoscob]

Cool stuff! I imagine many of the best bottles are sitting at the bottom of a lake, where most people can't reach them. Show us some more and anything else you find interesting.

 

[nsdq]

that is a sweet collection

 

[Army of 1]

Thats a real nice collection of artifacts , congrats on your many finds .. cheers mick

 

[Bass]

Been thinking about the large prop you found and the more i think about it the mire i realize that it has some good potential as far as value goes. 1. Could possibly be refinished/resurfaced and sold. 2. Could be sold to a restaurant as decor (such as a fish house). 3. Could be sold as scrap for current metallic value. 4. Could be kept by the finder as conversation piece

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[RelicDude]

That is awesome array of bottles you have there. Bass assassin is right about that old brass propeller. Years ago I used to run my fathers antique shop in sears port Maine and people went crazy for those old brass propellers esprcially the boat builders that live up there. They always told me you cant top the quality of the old stuff. Iit has a good value I just don't know how much.

 

[JohnnyFlake]

Super nice collection, so many goodies!

 

[mattfink]

cool finds I live in St. Paul and to think all that was found in Minnetonka gives me hope of the good stuff is still out there. The wheel/prop must have been off an old steam vessel that cruised the lake?

 

[MT_Joe]

Nice! My wifes family goes way back on lake minnetonka!