What's your 'holy grail' ?

[NJKLAGT]

After looking at E's latest Paterson thread, I was wondering what the guy still needed. Then I started wondering about what everyone else still wanted, and what everyone's "holy grail" was.

Is there some seemingly unattainable glass/pottery holy grail out there waiting for you? Is there a bottle or jug you've only heard rumors of, or only saw in books, and can't seem to find or acquire? What's your holy grail?

I'll start. Being fairly close to Brantford, this is basically the most local an old soda can get for me, so I'd have to choose this H.F. Whitham, Brantford, C.W. pre-confederation (1867) soda. I've found the broken remains of one before, and that was a sad day. These lack a pontil and are usually some shade of aqua, but I would love to be stunned by finding an iron pontiled variant (probably impossible) in a different colour, a dark forest green or something (unlikely, but possible). There are some earlier stoneware Whithams as well, and that'd be pretty cool too. The old soda factory still stands today, it's been converted into a big house.

Here's one from online, it's the one on the left. This one's pretty beat up though: http://www.mapleleafauctions.com/au...3/LotImages/A43_MS018_Whitham_Brantford_1.jpg

And here's the broken one I found :


So, let's hear about your holy grail!

 

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[smokeythecat]

I think a Washington Inaugural Button. However for me, even the little things get me excited.

 

[GB1]

any gold item

 

[SD51]

It would have to be a cache of gold and silver coins!!!

 

[Tpmetal]

gold coin or spanish silver

 

[NJKLAGT]

I think a Washington Inaugural Button. However for me, even the little things get me excited.

Yep, those GWs seem to be on everyone's list! That's no surprise though, because they are beautiful buttons in every way.

 

[NJKLAGT]

It would have to be a cache of gold and silver coins!!!

A cache of gold, wow. I'd love to find them in an old crude fruit jar. There's such a cache out there, no doubt!

 

[Mackaydon]

Finding coins, jewelry and relics by sweeping my coil over a Mediterranean Sea port city beach (French,Spanish or Greek--I'm easy) that has never been machine detected.
Don.....

 

[Bass]

For me, the “holy grail” would be finding a pot of gold coins with my detector. If we are talking about bottles, I don’t really have a particular bottle I’m seeking but I can think of several I would like to dig. I’ll throw in this one simply because I dug a broken one several years ago and I would like to redeem that event by finding a whole one.
O. O. Woodman, Billings Syrup, Vicksburg (MS). This bottle had a really nice open pontil and aqua in color

It was a pre-civil war bottle

 

[NJKLAGT]

For me, the “holy grail” would be finding a pot of gold coins with my detector. If we are talking about bottles, I don’t really have a particular bottle I’m seeking but I can think of several I would like to dig. I’ll throw in this one simply because I dug a broken one several years ago and I would like to redeem that event by finding a whole one.
O. O. Woodman, Billings Syrup, Vicksburg (MS). This bottle had a really nice open pontil and aqua in color

Shoot, Bass, that's a stunner! 'Can't say I've heard of that one. I know what you mean about finding a broken one and wanting to get another chance. It's such a tease! I still can't seem to get my first Warner's Safe Cure, even though I've found 3 or 4 busted...

 

[Goldenplug]

I took this picture at the Springfield bottle show last Summer. If I dug this I would probably need a change of underwear. [emoji106]

 

[bottlehunterofcoscob]

There was a dandelion bitters company in my town (Stamford). Advertising has been found and I’ve seen the listings of the business in the old newspaper archives. No embossed bottles have ever been found. Likely the company wasn’t that big and sold the bitters out of unembossed labeled bottles. But I can still dream of embossed bitters from my hometown...

 

[sandchip]

This would be my heart's desire. It was found years ago in a tiny community maybe 25 miles from me. Probably blown at Keene and one can only imagine how it must have found its way down to south Georgia. Only three examples are known to exist, one colorless and another in light amethyst which resides in the Corning Museum of Glass. Sucks when the pockets only go to the first knuckle!

 

[NJKLAGT]

View attachment 1548534I took this picture at the Springfield bottle show last Summer. If I dug this I would probably need a change of underwear. [emoji106]

Now there's a beauty. Such a nice mix of embossing. I love the leaves (birch or alder?), and that font is so simple and beautiful, so classic. 'Looks like a big bottle!

 

[NJKLAGT]

There was a dandelion bitters company in my town (Stamford). Advertising has been found and I’ve seen the listings of the business in the old newspaper archives. No embossed bottles have ever been found. Likely the company wasn’t that big and sold the bitters out of unembossed labeled bottles. But I can still dream of embossed bitters from my hometown...

Yep, it's likely that it was a paper label - but you never know! Go find an embossed one and change bottle digging history forever. Man, you never post vids on YouTube anymore. I know it's winter now, but take us along if you get out in the spring, I really enjoy your videos, you find some killer stuff.

 

[NJKLAGT]

This would be my heart's desire. It was found years ago in a tiny community maybe 25 miles from me. Probably blown at Keene and one can only imagine how it must have found its way down to south Georgia. Only three examples are known to exist, one colorless and another in light amethyst which resides in the Corning Museum of Glass. Sucks when the pockets only go to the first knuckle!

View attachment 1548595 View attachment 1548596

Wow, if you can find a picture of the colourless one I'd love to see it, I love colourless historical flasks. I just did some searching around now and saw the price this one sold for - might as well not have any pockets at all! If I'm not mistaken, these never have the branches around the bust of Lafayette, right? Anyway, it's a searing beauty!

 

[Joe-Dirt]

Fayetteville or Richmond rifle musket lock, I would die a happy man

 

[sandchip]

Wow, if you can find a picture of the colourless one I'd love to see it, I love colourless historical flasks. I just did some searching around now and saw the price this one sold for - might as well not have any pockets at all! If I'm not mistaken, these never have the branches around the bust of Lafayette, right? Anyway, it's a searing beauty!

Here you go, brother. I think you're right about the branches and as far as I know, the GI-89a is the only flask period, with herringbone ribbing on the sides. Hell of a piece of early American history. The colorless example was found just a couple or so years ago, so it's great to know that good stuff can still turn up.

 

[NJKLAGT]

Here you go, brother. I think you're right about the branches and as far as I know, the GI-89a is the only flask period, with herringbone ribbing on the sides. Hell of a piece of early American history. The colorless example was found just a couple or so years ago, so it's great to know that good stuff can still turn up.

View attachment 1548884

Gobsmacking! I have to say, I like that one a lot more than the aqua one. There's something so beautiful about a colourless historical flask, it's almost otherworldly. You always just expect the aqua...

 

[bottlehunterofcoscob]

Yep, it's likely that it was a paper label - but you never know! Go find an embossed one and change bottle digging history forever. Man, you never post vids on YouTube anymore. I know it's winter now, but take us along if you get out in the spring, I really enjoy your videos, you find some killer stuff.

Hey thanks man I appreciate that. I know it’s been a while, and it’s not for lack of trying. Most times the situation hasn’t been right and I didn’t get good/enough footage. And yeah the weather has been a factor. Hopefully this spring it’ll be back to the old ways. I did find some decent stuff this fall, maybe I’ll get around to making a post here.