Pocket Watches and Old Bottles
This nice pocket watch was my favorite find from this week. It was originally silver plated, but being in the ground for at least 100 years has worn away all the plating. That said, it was in fantastic shape, and with a little bit of work I was able to get the front and back hinges moving enough to open the watch. Sadly, it’s not in very good condition inside, with rust having separated the workings inside. The heavy glass face is pretty scratched as well, but still intact.
The logo inside reads:
A.W.Co.
WALTHAM
The American Waltham Watch Company began business in 1850 as the Boston Watch Company. The name was changed, and between 1855 and 1885 the name was the American Watch Company (A.W.Co.) One more name change led to the Pasteurized American Waltham Watch Company (A.W.W.Co.), which was used until the company went out of business in 1957. That places the manufacture of this model between 1855 and 1885, but doesn’t narrow it down further or help indicate when it was lost.
These watches were relatively inexpensive, with a “cheap” model being sold beginning around the time of the Civil War for $13.00. Because of the construction of this piece, it doesn’t appear to be a cheaper model, but I couldn’t find any information on pricing other than that one fact.
I’ve found many other pocket watches over the years, most of which are in varying states of decay though some have withstood the ravages of time better than others relatively speaking. The displays above show an assortment of these timepieces, and a few of my favorite pieces.
Not all treasures found while metal detecting are auditory finds; some are also visual so it pays to keep your eyes open as well as your ears. These bottles are often surface finds, or only partially buried. While a large percentage are broken, occasionally a few are found in good condition as these were. These are most often found on old dumpsites or midden heaps.
Photo 1, small bottles, from left to right, top to bottom:
1. Unembossed medicinal bottle
2. Blue Wyeth bottle with “Poison” embossed on one side
3. Upham Brothers Perfumers, PHILA.
4. Unembossed medicinal bottle
5. Unembossed bottle of uncertain use
6. Edison Battery Oil, Thomas A. Edison, Inc. Bloomfield, NJ, USA
7. Foley’s Kidney Pills, Foley & Co., Chicago
Photo 2, large bottles, left to right
1. Unembossed dairy bottle
2. Unembossed green bottle, probably whiskey
3. McConnellsburg Dairy, Pasteurized Milk
4. Try-Me Soda Bottle, Patented April 24, 1924
These range in date between the late-1800’s to the mid-1900’s, with the oldest bottles being made prior to 1910. You can identify the age of the bottle by where the seam line stops, and I encourage readers to research this online if you are interested in learning more. There is a reasonable market for old or rare bottles among collectors, but otherwise they are just cool reminders of times gone by.
For further reading I encourage readers to visit one of the following sites if you’re interested in dating old bottles:
https://sha.org/bottle/
https://www.antiquetrader.com/collectibles/bottle-trademark-identification
There are many more, but these two provide a good start.
I would like to try a Try-Me Soda!