Dug Old Medicine Bottle w/ Original Contents

[ChevelleSS396]

I spent a day last weekend metal detecting the property around my grandparent’s house. It was built in the 1830’s as a stagecoach stop/hotel. I was walking along a creek that was down the hill from the house and saw this laying on the dirt on the bank. I’ve found old bottles before but this is the first one that is still full of its original contents. I couldn’t believe it! From my research, I think it’s old medicine, possibly circa 1930’s or 1940’s. Whatever it is, it has a somewhat sweet smell and must have alcohol in it as the climate in Iowa can be brutal in winter and it never froze.

 

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[Red-Coat]

Cool bottle. It’s a generic medicine bottle from the Owens-Illinois Glass Company (ie would have had a number of customers rather than being for a specific user).

There’s no date code, but you can pin down the date from a combination of clues. Although there are occasional exceptions, that elongated diamond trademark was pretty much dropped in 1954. Owens-Illinois had a number of manufacturing plants and the number 17 at the left is for the plant in Clarion, Pennsylvania which began production c1932. The bottle is also marked ‘Duraglas’, which was first registered as a trademark in September 1941 (but the name first saw use around a year before that).

So, 1941-1954 would be a pretty reliable estimate.

 

[ChevelleSS396]

Cool bottle. It’s a generic medicine bottle from the Owens-Illinois Glass Company (ie would have had a number of customers rather than being for a specific user).

There’s no date code, but you can pin down the date from a combination of clues. Although there are occasional exceptions, that elongated diamond trademark was pretty much dropped in 1954. Owens-Illinois had a number of manufacturing plants and the number 17 at the left is for the plant in Clarion, Pennsylvania which began production c1932. The bottle is also marked ‘Duraglas’, which was first registered as a trademark in September 1941 (but the name first saw use around a year before that).

So, 1941-1954 would be a pretty reliable estimate.

Thank you!