OUT hOUSE

[Boxtopp]

Can someone explain to me "what is it like digging treasure up in a old out house hole

[goldhart]

I am sure 925bill will post a "short" reply to your question! ;D

Basically you are just digging a hole in the ground. Mostly bottle diggers are after bottles that were made before 1900 and the older the better. The dirt in the hole is just that-dirt after a century or more. The outhouse in the old days was an area to dump trash as well as a catch all for dropped coins, guns, etc. Sometimes it was also a hiding place for valuables (who would look under the boards where the seat was for a hidden shelf or nail holding a small bag?)

I confess that I have ventured over to the "dark side" a few dozen times over the last 40 years. The 1989 earthquake reclaimed about 300 bottles that I had dug.

Antique bottle collecting is now the third largest collecting area after stamps and coins. A bottle dug in in a 6 holer in San Fransisco a couple of years ago sold at auction for $62K (it was only one of three known of that type) and a another cracked bottle of the same type from the same dig went for over $11k.

Somewhere I have a picture of a two story outhouse in the high mountains of Colorado. When the snow got too deep they used the second story. HH Dan3

[925Bill]

Hi Boxtopp! Good question. Goldhart. Was that a sarcastic comment?
Or was that a sideways kinda' compli.......Oh. Nevermind. I laughed anyway!

Boxtopp. That bottle that Goldhart mentioned was pretty darn rare at that.
It was unearthed at 4th & Bryant sts. S.F.
I think it was 1998 or 1999.

Forever I'll be kicking myself "you know where!"
I had just met my "honey". And only talked with her a few times, and I said. "Well." "Sooner or later you are going to find out." "I'm a Treasure hunter". "Yes I'm one who swings those detectors around looking for things", and.......she stops me. "Oh that's cool." "I got one of those!" "What!" O.K. That in itself is another story. (Goldhart is right. Look what's happening)

Anyway. She tells me she's on her way to the dentist. (in the city) and walks by this big ol' lot. She tells me. "I saw these guys"..."and they were lookin for stuff.
"Whaddaya mean?" "They were kinda lookin' in down in a hole." "They were lookin', for stuff." Well I barely knew her. And I was positive it was some construction crew or P.G&E guys drilling a hole for a power pole, or something like that.

She couldn't tell exactly what they were doin'.
Why would I think it was anything "but "a crew, doing some kind of work. Besides I just met her and she couldn't possibly know the difference between bottle hunters............or deer hunters!

Well. Needless to say. I missed out on one of the biggest, most unbelievable digs in my recent memory, anyway.
Bottles you only wished to dig someday. Were poppin up in multiples. I'm feling queasy thinking about it.

My good friend got to it. He's been digging for about 35 years. He said people were camped out there.
They were ordering pizzas and food to the site.

The location had been a Bottle repository from the 1860's or 70's I think. I gotta stop now or I'm gonna barf. Sorry.

My collection would have benefitted greatly.
And the multiples of rare ones. Would have sent me on few, very nice vacations. Not to mention a few bucks in my pocket... Argh! I'm ending this now!

Why'd you have to get me going? Oh. well. You asked for it! 925Bill.

[goldhart]

925Bill said:

Hi Boxtopp! Good question. Goldhart. Was that a sarcastic comment?
Or was that a sideways kinda' compli.......Oh.

That was a sideways compliment Bill! I just knew you would jot down a couple of words on the subject! I heard from one of the diggers of that project that they took $500,000 worth of bottles out of that dig. One of the two owners of the property granted permission for them to dig and after they found out how much they got out the other owner tried to sue the diggers with no luck. Pays to have permission! ;D Dan3

[Boxtopp]

THanks Goldhart & 925Bill, I was thinking more in the detail of learning the direction of I want one!
I always get excited when I hear bottle storys, but I have lots to learn

[mickfin]

Box Were are you? I haven't heard you out there in a long time dude.

[Boxtopp]

Mickfin give me a land line!!!!!!!!