Trying to date an old camp with this bottle?

[Guest goldstudmuffin]

I'm not a treasure hunter but if I found a treasure while detecting for nuggets... well that would be ok!

I have a tiny bit of interest in a lost treasure story that dates a campsite in the 1860's, probably 1865-1867. I think I have the site pinpointed with this bottle top, can anyone date this bottle? I'm guessing it's a drug store bottle. Is there enough of it left to date it?

And yes it is in a very good placer area.

[homefire 2,579]

Not much to go on there.

Root around in here. http://www.sha.org/bottle/index.htm

[frank c 968]

You will find your answer here do some reading its an old link I use.

http://www.sha.org/bottle/dating.htm

[Rimshot 181]

GSM read about the colorless glass that changes colors. Yours could have been clear at one time.

http://www.sha.org/bottle/colors.htm#Purple to Amethyst

[Gilaoro 318]

goldstudmuffin, In my bottle digging days in New Orleans and other places I have dug a good many bottles (30,000 <>).

This type of neck ( Corker) was generaly used on drug store type bottles and the neck was hand finished. It was most likely a "Blown in Mold"

bottle and could have had emblossed sides, just a fraction of the side panel would tell the tale. From the 1850s to the 1920s just about every drug store had its name and address emblosed in the side panel and they could also purchase standard size bottles and apply paper labels, I have found them with paper labels hand written contents and dosage with intact corks and contents dated on the label in the 1930s. Nearly all of them will exibit the color change due to chemicals used to make the glass. Later the automatic bottle machine came along and the screw top became standard, Owens Glass Co was one of the big manufactuers and used a diamond shape with a O in the center as a trade mark. Next to the square brown Garrett snuff bottle it is the most commom bottle found.

More than you ever wanted to know about bottles but an exact date is impossible, sorry I can,t give you pictures but all my pictures and better bottles burned in a home fire in May this year, Luckly I had sold the best of my collection.

[fredmason 1,135]

From the bit I know about bottles, yours would most likely be pre-1910-ish...purple bottles started their life clear but changed after being exposed to daylight...there should be other bottle-bits laying about that would help get a closer estimate of age...

fred

[Guest goldstudmuffin]

Thanks for the replies, that does help to date the old camp.

[Guest goldstudmuffin]

I hit the old camp site today and found a old tub of lard... boy could I have some fun with that!

I guess with the hand solder seams it dates the can and camp to pre 1880.

The can is stamped...

JACOB DOLD choice refined family lard kansas city Mo

[Nugget Shooter 4,610]

Very cool Russ....

[Gilaoro 318]

That is a rare find, what a story it could tell!

[Guest goldstudmuffin]

I wish it could tell the story. The can has two holes punched at the top to run wire through for a handle... it was either used for cooking over a campfire or used to hold nuggets according to the lost treasure legend!!!

[fredmason 1,135]

maybe both!!! good luck, Russ.

fred

[goldrushexpedinc 0]

Something to look at in dating the camp, its not likely 1880, if the can was used for something besides lard it may have been transported from somewhere else. The hand soldering would be common up into the 1900s, just as most any mine camp had a blacksmith of sorts. Likely that the can was bastardized as a left over and being that there is never an abundance of easy stamped metal, fashioned into a tool that could be used at the site.

My main reasoning is the rust factor, pre-1880s you likely wouldnt have anything left that you could pick up. Just my .02.

BTW.. great forum and a lot of interesting info here! We had a customer recommend the site as they had made some good contacts here, looks like they were right on the money.