One of the best places to find old bottles is on land that had their own trash pit and burn barrels. Bottle values stated with age of bottle, then condition and glass color. Embossing on glass bottles is more valuable than paper labels, things like special bottle shape raise value (syrup bottle that is shaped like log cabin - big winner). Most collectors look for a specific type of bottle, in fact 70% of most bottle collections are of a specific type . My collection is mostly beer and soda bottles. I have some pretty old fruit jars and medicine bottles. Value as with any type of collection is determined by what an individual wants, needs or desires and is able to pay to have it! Bottle values or way down from what they were in the 80's. Some of the most valuable bottles are old poison and drug bottles, any bottles that has "Cocaine" on it jumps way up in value (our sick minds). Bottles are a part of manufacturing, merchandising and american history. The United States was the leader in the development and use of bottles for products, especially 19th and 20th century, with almost anything and everything available in a bottle.
determining the age of the bottle starts with how the bottle was made. The first bottles were hand "free" blown, having no pontil or mold lines, ending about 1860. Pontil bottom bottles go from 1618 - 1866 and modern hand blown still!. Embossed raised lettering started in 1790 and still used, The three part mold bottles 1806 - 1889. Sheared lip bottles 1800-1830 (first machine use for bottle making). Crown top bottles started in 1895 (just like todays soda & beer bottles). Machine made bottles started in 1903.
Cleaning a old bottle can raise it's value and make it much easier to sell. Improper cleaning can make a bottle worthless! A nick or broken bottle has almost no value to a serious bottle collector. I have a small library on bottle collecting and so so on determining value. My best bottle is one I found on a private high school, we were putting in a new water main. I was watching my backhoe crew whlle they were trenching. I noticed a lot of broken glass on the most recent dirt pile. Stopped the digging, got down into the trench, looked into the dirt, about five feet below the surface, found a old "trash vein". We discovered a old dump site, found relics from the early 1800's. I salvaged a old (about 1840's) hand blown beer bottle. The only artifact I kept, we stopped working for about a week. The school and a museum hand dug that entire dump site finding many artifacts. The delay cost us money, but it was the legal, responsible and the right thing to do.
Post some pictures of your bottles, I'll help you with them or I can direct to the people who can! Don't try to clean them until you find out the proper techniques (very important).
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