
Water
Hunting for Antique Bottles
Water
Hunting
Any river, lake, pond or mooring area that has seen
human activity prior to 1900 should contain a wealth of
submerged bottles. The older and more popular the area
the more antique bottles should be found. Don’t just go
to the local creek and expect to come home with an
entire bottle collection. A little advanced research at
the local library will pay off greatly. Look through
historical maps and books on the area. Look for old
hotel sites, grist mills, for rivers or lakes adjacent
to old townships even old carnival sites. After locating
a few possible locations. The next step is to visit each
area and see if you can find access the site. Many times
new building, or fences may prohibit access. Other times
you will find that the area is now dredged and bulk
headed. Eventually you should find a site that can be
accessed. Now you just have to find and recover all
those submerged antique bottles.
Many people that work or recreate around these areas
find and recover antique bottles almost by accident. One
example would be commercial clammers. Whether digging by
hand or dragging with a boat they can unearth bottles
buried deep under the mud while harvesting clams.
Another example are treasure hunters that use metal
detectors. These treasure hunters often look for old
areas like hotel sites and old swim beaches. When they
wade into theses shallow waters in search of lost coins
and jewelry they often stumble over old bottles. They
then use their long handled scoops to recover the
bottles and decide if they are worth keeping. With this
in mind antique bottle hunters can also walk around or
wade into almost any shallow area and look or feel
around, with their feet for bottles. Water hunters can
also work the tides. Often antique glass may be exposed
during the extreme low tide of a full moon.
Bottle collectors can also look for construction sites
along old waterways. Whenever bulk heading is being
replaced or dredging done, old bottles are often
exposed. Most often no special equipment is needed but
waders, wet or dry suits, as well as wet suit boots are
often highly recommended for thermal protection and to
prevent cuts from broken glass. My friend Ed Slater told
me an interesting story about one of his secret bottle
sites. On one side of this lake he found hundreds of one
breweries blob top beer bottles and on the other side
dozens of pontilled medicine bottles. This type of
accumulation is not at all uncommon. Basically the guy
that lived on the east side of the lake liked beer and
his neighbor was a little sickly. For years both tossed
their bottles into the lake behind their homes. Its the
water hunters job to find and explore these sites and
recover the submerged antique glass often hidden beneath
only a couple feet of water.
Water hunters can also probe for bottles. When the
bottom composition is muddy we sometimes use a long
metal rod to stick through the mud. When the probe hits
glass it makes a distinct noise. The bottle can then be
recovered with a clam rake or with your feet. Just be
carful, using to much force with the probe or rake which
can damage or even break bottles. Some collectors cover
the rake tongs with duct tape to reduce possible damage.
The down side to water hunting for bottles is that much
of the glass, especially bottles found in the salt water
environment, will have a dull sand blasted finish. This
is a result of the glass being exposed to tides and
currents which carry particles of sand and slowly blast
the glass causing tiny scratches. Sometimes if the
bottle is buried in mud and therefore protected from the
elements it will have little or no damage. Some
collectors choose to have all of their bottles
professionally polished to remove the sand blasted
damage. Others including myself embrace some bottle for
what they are. My feeling is to leave some of my
collection of bottles as they are found. I even tend to
leave some marine encrustation, barnacles or coral in
place. This way the bottle is immediately visually
identifiable as being recovered form the ocean. Unlike
perfect bottles bought at an antique stores, these
bottles have character that visually tell the story of
where they were recovered and how long they have been
submerged.
Most water hunters quickly realize that they are just
scratching the surface. By wading into the shallow water
or even snorkeling in search of antique glass. Many
antique and possibly valuable bottles certainly lie in
deeper water than most can reach by walking. Without a
doubt, the best ways to find these deeper submerged
antique glass bottles is become a certified scuba diver.

Scuba
Diving for Bottles
Scuba is an acronym for (self contained underwater
breathing apparatus). Scuba offers a wide variety of
options to bottle hunters. In fact many scuba divers
become bottle collectors by chance. They basically just
start to save the old bottles they collect as they
explorer the underwater world. It is very important to
have the correct training, equipment and experience for
the conditions you plan to dive. For example some beach
dives into freshwater lakes may be as simple as swimming
in a pool but the same depth dive in a river or near an
inlet may be considered advanced due to tides, currents
or poor visibility. Learning how to scuba dive is
relatively easy and fun. Just contact your local dive
shop for details.
Tricks of the Trade: Many times you will find antique
bottles sitting exposed on the bottom, in other areas
antique glass will be mixed amongst modern bottles and
at other times you may have to dig to find and recover
buried bottles. A simple hand rake is the tool I use
most often while hunting for bottles. I keep it in my
hand as I scour the bottom. I can use it to scratch the
surface, listening for the telltale sound of metal on
glass. Or I can use it to help dig out and uncover
bottles that are partially exposed. Remember many times
you may be able to fill your bag with bottles but unless
you are a little selective on the bottom you may end up
with nothing but junk. I use the rake to help flip over
each bottle so I can see the type of top and if the
bottle is embossed or not. I recommend familiarizing
yourself with basic bottle types. As a general rule, I
usually look for blob top, cork top, and embossed
bottles while underwater. I collect all of these and
then more selectively sort through them once on the
surface. Many times visibility and marine growth may
make it a little difficult to see mold marks and seams
while underwater so occasionally you have to bring a
bottle to the surface to determine if its worth keeping.
Looking at the top is a quick easy way to weed through
the junk. For example if the bottle has a blob top you
know its late 1800’s. If its a crown top most likely its
no older than early 1900’s. As a general rule we usually
look for bottles with applied tops which mean they date
to before 1903.

Depending on the location and conditions divers will
usually want to carry a mesh bag to transport their
glass treasure. This bag can be folded and clipped off
to any D ring on the divers harness or Buoyancy
compensator (BC). Once a bottle is found all the diver
has to do is unclip the bag and insert the bottle. If
you only have one or two bottles keep the bag partially
folded. That is, insert the bottom corner of mesh back
over the to and into the handle. This keeps the bag
compact and prevents the bottles from dragging or being
damaged or broken. The problem is when you find more
than a just couple bottles. Now the bag has to be open
all the way and bottles can drag on the bottom. One
solution is to clip the bag to a waist belt or low on
the side of a BC. Then flip the heavy bottle filled end
of the bag over the back of your legs. It may seem a
little awkward at first but with a little buoyancy
control your bottles will be kept from dragging along
the bottom and breaking. Some divers actually take two
bags into the water when they search for bottles. They
keep all of the common bottles in one bag and save the
smaller bag for more delicate finds. On some sites I
have to use the exchange technique. Basically, I collect
bottles until my bag is filled then if I find another
good bottle I discard one of lesser value to make room
in the bag. This is the type of problem you want to have
as a antique bottle collector!
Tools: Their are several ways for divers to dig or
excavate the bottom. In most cases you will only dig
when you know a spot is productive. For example if
working the cargo hold of a shipwreck or an area that
you already recovered a good quantity of exposed antique
glass. A simple hand fan works quite well. This is
actually my favorite method of digging because it's
cheap, easy to make, can be carried on every dive and
without too much effort produces fine results. Divers
can use any number of designs ranging from a ping pong
paddle that was first used by treasure hunter, Teddy
Tucker, in the 1950's to my own design. My digger is
made from a curved piece of 1/8 plate steel, stainless
if it's available. Then a piece of 1 inch pipe has a
hack saw slot cut through one side. The steel can be
curved by bending it around a 4 inch diameter pipe, is
pressed into the slot. A spot weld assures security
between the two components but is not necessary. The
finished item can be clipped onto a BC weight belt or
carried in a mesh bag. It's held in the palm and can be
used to dig or gently fan silt or sand. By always
digging in the same direction the current will usually
carry any sediment away, leaving decent visibility in
the hole. The curvature of the digger's blade allows
more material to be moved with less effort and reduces
drag on the back swing.

To move more material you could use a propulsion device
and hold it backwards so the thrust blows away the sand.
Using an underwater propulsion vehicle as a excavation
tool is not exactly a scientific or manufacturer
approved method, but since these devices have become
affordable, they have not only helped divers to get to
where they want to go but also fan away the sand in
order to search for artifacts. By turning a propulsion
device away from you while holding its front end against
your chest and the propeller pointed down, a diver or
team of divers can dig a large hole very rapidly. I
prefer to use a model with an adjustable pitch
propeller. This way I can run on a low speed. Otherwise,
as learned from experience, instead of digging a hole,
the diver is simply propelled backwards across the
bottom. Two divers working as a team is the best way to
use this method. As a word of caution, this equipment
was never designed for this function. Mud, sand and dirt
could get caught in the trigger mechanism, causing the
unit to stay on. Depending on the units design I
recommend Installing a pin that can be used to pull the
trigger out in case of binding. If the unit does jam in
the on position, you can aim it downward so that it runs
itself into the bottom, allowing time to pull the
trigger to the off position. Another good idea is to
secure the propulsion unit to the wreck, so it can't
swim away if the trigger does get stuck. If the unit is
secured correctly, it will also reduce the effort of
holding it in place and, therefore, reduce your air
consumption.
Even more elaborate would be an air lift, water dredge
or water jet. These are all powered by topside
compressors or pumps. They require quite a bit of work
to set up but can move mountains of sand very quickly.
Other than the hand fan these devises are for the
advanced diver. Most often we only resort to using a
lift when excavating the cargo of shipwrecks in search
of artifacts.
Depending on the location, antique bottles could be
lying out in the open or buried deep under sand, mud or
clay. I have listed below a few examples of the best
locations I have found to search while scuba diving for
antique bottles.
Shipwrecks: One of my favorite places to explore are the
remains of old shipwrecks. Most vessels carried bottles
either as cargo or part of their supplies. These
artifacts may not be exposed and visible to scuba diving
sightseers and require some digging to get to. Many
times it is the bottles that are recovered from a
unidentified shipwreck that actually allow us to date
the site and eventually identify the shipwreck. On that
note antique bottles can also be a little miss leading
when it comes to shipwreck research. Realize that many
wrecks were heavily fished from the day they went down
until the present. This is because shipwrecks provide
structure for marine organisms on an often barren sea
floor. They basically quickly become artificial reefs.
Many of the bottles divers recover can be younger than
the wreck because they are from fisherman and not the
ships cargo. When divers can access a cargo area its not
uncommon at all to fill your bag with some very unique
antique glass. For historical information and images of
any shipwreck listed in this book please refer to the
authors web sites www.aquaexplorers.com and
www.shipwreckexpo.com
Harbors and Mooring Areas: Any area that had human
activity during the time period of the bottles you are
searching for should be good to search. Mooring areas
and old harbors are the perfect example. Think about it,
even back in the 1800’s people sat on their boats drank
soda and beer and then tossed the bottle overboard. A
perfect example of this is the Garvies Point Mooring
area on Long Island, NY’s south shore. When I first got
certified back in 1979 a friend Jerry Barski took me to
this spot. We found hundreds of late 1800 vintage blob
top bottles. Over the years scores of divers have also
explored the area. Although you might not fill your bag
on each trip anymore by probing the soft mud or by
visiting the area after a storm bottles can still be
found. The reason is divers have only scratched the
surface. Many antique bottles still lie buried and out
of sight, waiting to be uncovered by Mother Nature or be
found by divers willing to work a little bit. One trick
for soft mud bottom mooring areas is to swim down each
moored boats mooring chain after a storm. Strong winds
often cause each large mushroom anchor to drag a few
feet. Divers can sometimes find a collection of bottles
basically plowed up by the effects of mother nature. As
a side note: One of the most interesting bottles I ever
found at Garvies was a late 1800’s vintage Hutchison
with a clam inside it. The clam had thrived inside the
bottle and was now much larger than the bottles opening.
Unfortunately the bottle was a little sand blasted.
Although I generally like to leave my bottles as found
this is the perfect example where professional polishing
enhances the artifact display greatly.
Ferry Pier: Years ago, with a little research, we found
the location of an old ferry pier. All that was left
were a few exposed wood pilings protruding through the
surface. What we found underwater was just amazing the
entire area was littered with blob top beer bottles,
flasks and even a few bitters bottles. These types of
areas are still out there. Sometimes it just takes a
little research and sometimes just a little luck.
Dump sites: Any old area that people dumped trash should
be good for finding bottles. As a scuba diver this means
you may have to do a little research or go out and
explore new areas. Over the years we have found
accumulations of bottles behind old chemist shops, in
lakes and ponds where locals would deposit trash on the
ice during the winter which would then sink to the
bottom each spring when the ice melted.
While scuba diving for bottles please make sure you
obtain the required equipment and experience for the
depth, currents and location you plan to dive. Many
areas have conditions that require local knowledge. Be
safe, have fun and remember it’s not just about how many
bottles you can find its about the fun and adventure you
have doing so.
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