Dr. Pierce's Golden Medical Discovery

[robertk]

Bottle Vitals​

Embossing	Date	Color	Shape	Size (Height x Width x Depth)	Value*
Dr. Pierce's Golden Medical Discovery	1871	Aqua	Rectangular with tall neck	8.5" x 3" x 1.75"	$25.00

Bottle Views (click to enlarge):

Front	Side	Side	Bottom
Dr Pierce's Golden Medical Discovery	Buffalo N.Y.	R.V. Pierce, M.D.	36

Dr Pierce was an actual doctor, and his "Golden" medical discovery was a cure for all sorts of things. Originally developed in the mid 1860's, he actually sold it out of the back of a wagon for a while before moving his business to Buffalo, New York in 1868. Production of his Golden Medical Discovery was resumed in 1871, and that is the era this bottle is from. Supposedly, the original formula was licorice flavored, and contained quinine, opium, and alcohol.m It was advertised as giving men “an appetite like a cowboy’s and the digestion of an ostrich.” Dr. Pierce denied that the medicine contained alcohol and even advertised it as such, claiming it would cure various blood and skin disorders and "Scrofulous diseases", but not cancer. (After all, only a quack would claim it cures cancer. His reasoning, not mine.)

Dr. Pierce got in early to the patent medicine business, and had great success. By the early 1900's, he was the biggest name in the business. That business continued up until the 1960's, with lots of changes and formulas over the years.

And just for grins, here's the same bottle in lousy lighting before and after cleaning.




*Value is a rough estimate based on sold listings on EBay for the same size and color as of the date of posting. Value varies widely based on color and condition.

 

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[xr7ator]

Nice glass.

 

[Limitool]

Great information Robert. How did you further clean it up like that? Now if you do ALL the different bottles as this one your going to have your own bottle forum...! Again great job sir.

 

[robertk]

How did you further clean it up like that?

It was a multi-step process. First a plain water soak, then a soap and water wash, then a soak in white vinegar (diluted 50/50 with water), and finally a short tumble in a parts tumbler with resin (plastic) media and a handful of walnut shell sandblasting media, then a clean water rinse and air dry. It got a little clearer after each stage of the process. I'm pretty happy with the result. To get it completely clear, I'd probably have to go with muriatic acid and/or a polishing agent, but I don't think it needs to go that far. Too risky for a novice like me.

 

[achanceforgold]

View attachment 2202978

Bottle Vitals​

Embossing	Date	Color	Shape	Size (Height x Width x Depth)
Dr. Pierce's Golden Medical Discovery	1871	Aqua	Rectangular with tall neck	8.5" x 3" x 1.75"

Bottle Views (click to enlarge):

Front	Side	Side	Bottom
View attachment 2202978	View attachment 2202979	View attachment 2202980	View attachment 2202981

Dr Pierce was an actual doctor, and his "Golden" medical discovery was a cure for all sorts of things. Originally developed in the mid 1860's, he actually sold it out of the back of a wagon for a while before moving his business to Buffalo, New York in 1868. Production of his Golden Medical Discovery was resumed in 1871, and that is the era this bottle is from. Supposedly, the original formula was licorice flavored, and contained quinine, opium, and alcohol.m It was advertised as giving men “an appetite like a cowboy’s and the digestion of an ostrich.” Dr. Pierce denied that the medicine contained alcohol and even advertised it as such, claiming it would cure various blood and skin disorders and "Scrofulous diseases", but not cancer. (After all, only a quack would claim it cures cancer. His reasoning, not mine.)

View attachment 2202982


View attachment 2202984


Dr. Pierce got in early to the patent medicine business, and had great success. By the early 1900's, he was the biggest name in the business. That business continued up until the 1960's, with lots of changes and formulas over the years.

View attachment 2202983


And just for grins, here's the same bottle in lousy lighting before and after cleaning.

View attachment 2202985 View attachment 2202986

it's gotta work if Dr. Piece recommends it.

great find and ads too

 

[ToddsPoint]

It was a multi-step process. First a plain water soak, then a soap and water wash, then a soak in white vinegar (diluted 50/50 with water), and finally a short tumble in a parts tumbler with resin (plastic) media and a handful of walnut shell sandblasting media, then a clean water rinse and air dry. It got a little clearer after each stage of the process. I'm pretty happy with the result. To get it completely clear, I'd probably have to go with muriatic acid and/or a polishing agent, but I don't think it needs to go that far. Too risky for a novice like me.

A friend of mine has a bottle tumbler. He’s been a collector for years. One of the tricks he uses is to tumble with inch long pieces of copper wire. He tumbled this quart bottle of rye whiskey my wife found. Dated 1954 on the bottom. Found deep in the woods and likely discarded by coon hunters.😝🦝He used several grits on this one. For my taste, old bottles that are tumbled look much better than stained and crusty looking specimens.

 

[robertk]

For my taste, old bottles that are tumbled look much better than stained and crusty looking specimens.

I tend to agree, but it kinda depends who you ask. It seems like it's kinda like cleaned coins. Some people don't mind, some people think it's awful. Tumbling the bottle is basically a light polish. Polishing removes the outer layer of the glass just a tiny tiny amount. Some call that "cleaning", some call it "damage". I'm just trying to err on the side of "too little", you know?

 

[Limitool]

I bet it will be real hard to come up with a "proper" value for each one. I'm sure those bottles will be like everything else in life.... only worth what someone is willing to spend.

Probably just taking an average value of sold ones is as close as you'll get. Good job with this first one Robert. Now just follow the "template" you've developed. I bet the ones with no writing / numbers will be harder to ID...? Maybe try one and see ....? And how would you ever enter data of one of those to possibly find a value...?

Have fun... YOU SIGNED UP FOR THIS. We all expect a full report on remaining bottles by suppertime tonight...! Get busy.

 

[pepperj]

Good results and information on the medicine bottle.
Enjoy the rabbit hole of bottle history.

 

[glass half fool]

Yes I like it and would be proud to call it mine NICE

 

[robertk]

We all expect a full report on remaining bottles by suppertime tonight...! Get busy.

Oh wow. I'm way behind schedule then. 😱

 

[CreekSide]

I love finding old cork tops

 

[robertk]

I gotta add this one here, in the "can't believe this happened" department.

So, my wife took me to a flea market the other day, and they had part of it set up like an old time general store or something. Shelves filled with antique canned goods, bottles, tools, and so forth. In one corner of a lower shelf, I spied a box with Dr Pierce's name on it. I checked, and was stunned to find an unopened bottle of the Golden Medical Discovery inside. It's a newer one, made during or after prohibition when they had to remove the alcohol, but there it was. The whole bottle, unopened, still in the box, and even still had the package insert. And all they wanted for it was five bucks! So it has been added to the collection.

Click to enlarge photos

Box

Front	Back	Side	Side

Bottle

Front	Back	Side	Side

Package Insert (1 sheet, 3 panels each side)

 

[Limitool]

What the hell are the odds of that happening...? If you hadn't had the bottle collection and done the research you have you would not have made the connection. But great addition Robert...!

 

[pepperj]

What the hell are the odds of that happening...? If you hadn't had the bottle collection and done the research you have you would not have made the connection. But great addition Robert...!

Robert has fallen victim to the bottle....

Good one Robert on the bottle purchase.
Always liked embossed medicine bottles.
They're really played a big part of our history.

 

[robertk]

Always liked embossed medicine bottles.
They're really played a big part of our history.

Agreed. And I also find the history educational. Back in the day, while assuredly some were just out to make a buck, others really thought they were curing various ailments. They were the healers of their day -- they were just wrong. That has happened many times in history. So today, we look back on those former times as quaint and uneducated, and we call them all quacks and charlatans. I can't help but think that in another century or two, people will look back on our medicine and science and think the same thing.

 

[pepperj]

Agreed. And I also find the history educational. Back in the day, while assuredly some were just out to make a buck, others really thought they were curing various ailments. They were the healers of their day -- they were just wrong. That has happened many times in history. So today, we look back on those former times as quaint and uneducated, and we call them all quacks and charlatans. I can't help but think that in another century or two, people will look back on our medicine and science and think the same thing.

Seriously now I have to believe that today kind if mirrors 100-150 yrs ago.
Today it's OxyContin back then there was heroine/Cocaine in the mixture.
Both relieved something, and hooked the person also making them dependent upon the mixture.

 

[robertk]

Seriously now I have to believe that today kind if mirrors 100-150 yrs ago.
Today it's OxyContin back then there was heroine/Cocaine in the mixture.
Both relieved something, and hooked the person also making them dependent upon the mixture.

Totally agree. I saw this happen with my mother-in-law. She was on a common medication (sorry, the name escapes me at the moment) that supposedly has hardly any side effects and is not habit forming. Yet every time she had to stop taking it (for a surgery or whatever), she began having withdrawal symptoms, including visual and audible hallucinations, within 24 hours. They would immediately stop when she resumed taking it. I think there is still an awful lot we don't understand about the body, how it works, and why sometimes it doesn't. And even more so about the brain and mind.

 

[pepperj]

Totally agree. I saw this happen with my mother-in-law. She was on a common medication (sorry, the name escapes me at the moment) that supposedly has hardly any side effects and is not habit forming. Yet every time she had to stop taking it (for a surgery or whatever), she began having withdrawal symptoms, including visual and audible hallucinations, within 24 hours. They would immediately stop when she resumed taking it. I think there is still an awful lot we don't understand about the body, how it works, and why sometimes it doesn't. And even more so about the brain and mind.

Novocaine, also known as procaine hydrochloride, is a local anaesthetic commonly used in dental procedures such as cavity fillings, tooth extractions, and root canals. This common local anaesthetic acts swiftly to numb sensations in the treatment area.

Last time I had an moler extraction the dentist kept injecting me.
"Finally he said that makes 14 and 5 were my best.
So I'll book you into the hospital for a general."
I could still feel everything in my mouth, but the back of my head was frozen solid. 🤣

 

[Limitool]

Novocaine, also known as procaine hydrochloride, is a local anaesthetic commonly used in dental procedures such as cavity fillings, tooth extractions, and root canals. This common local anaesthetic acts swiftly to numb sensations in the treatment area.

Last time I had an moler extraction the dentist kept injecting me.
"Finally he said that makes 14 and 5 were my best.
So I'll book you into the hospital for a general."
I could still feel everything in my mouth, but the back of my head was frozen solid. 🤣

Well hell he wasn't putting the injection where the problem was...! Did you tell him your bad tooth was in your mouth not behind your ears...? Or maybe you were sitting in the chair backwards..?