HOW TO FIND TREASURE ON YOUR HOMESTEAD
(Page 2 of 5)
Early homesteaders usually had no central dump. They tossed
their bottles and other trash under the house, into
streams, along fences, down ravines or into the outhouse.
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A metal detector is helpful, but not essential, for
locating such refuse today. Just imagine yourself in the
shoes of the original settler and look for the most likely
dump site. Some trash may still be above ground so watch
for broken crockery, amethyst—colored glass and
rusting tin cans with soldered—instead of modern
rolledseams.
A few bottle hunters use long metal rods to locate buried
items but you should go easy if you try such a probe. Old
glass breaks with little effort and it's a heart-sinking
feeling to find you've knocked a chunk from a valuable
bottle.
When you discover a dump, it's best to use a hand
trowel—or even a table knife—to safely loosen
the bottles you find from the packed soil. Take along a box
and plenty of newspapers to wrap around the glassware you
unearth.
Remember, too, to be absolutely sure to get permission
before treasure hunting on any land, occupied or not. Then
check attics and basements, door and window frames, under
the main building, barn and outhouse . . . and find that
dump!
BOTTLES
The value of old bottles and jars depends on condition and
scarcity. Containers common on one coast will often be rare
on the other. Favorites that bring the highest prices from
collectors are historical flasks, bitters, whiskey and
poison bottles. More common and less valuable are medicine,
condiment and cosmetic containers, Mason jars and ink
wells. A Jim Beam centennial whiskey bottle, for instance,
can sell for $60 or more while drugstore
bottles—which may bring as little as
50¢—seem to average from $3 to $10.
HOW TO IDENTIFY A VALUABLE BOTTLE
MOLD SEAM LINES: On newer, machine-made
glassware, the seam line runs all the way to the top. On
older bottles, the lip was applied after the container was
removed from the mold and the seam stops at the lip.
PONTIL MARKS: Many hand-blown bottles will
have a small, jagged spot on the bottom. These were caused
by a steel rod called a pontil which was used to
remove the container from the blowpipe, then broken away.
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