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Above: Site of the
Union's Fort Elliott, where this
collection was found. All bottles and artifacts were dug on private
property with the land owners permission. Fort Elliott was
established 1875, abandoned 1890.
The fact the fort dates from
1875, does not mean that the bottles also date from 1875. The
bottles from this dig many examples of which are circa Civil War
(1861-1865), were sold at the end of the war and thereafter simply
because there was so much left over that could not effectively used.
Rather than discarding the bottles and contents, they were sold,
essentially as surplus. Much remained in the East, while lots went
out to the forts that were for the Indian Wars period. These were
military supplies that had not been sold.
Now, about value... The ones that are worth more are those blown in
cobalt-blue/sapphire, amber, olive green, emerald green, and tints
of these colors.
Some of the smaller cobalt blue cylinders and ovals are VERY weakly
embossed. So much so that a light coating of mud would obliterate
any sign of embossing. Check any cobalt-blue cylinders and ovals
very carefully.
Question: Which of these is
more scarce: The curved USA with the straight Hosp Dept under it ,
or the oval embossed? Answer: Definitely the curved U.S.A.
Hosp. Dept. with the curve/straight. The oval isn't all that common,
but it's NOT a common one.
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Comments above by Mike Russell
Author of: The Collector's Guide to Civil War Bottles, Third Edition
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