I recently picked up this very crude "Circle Cutter"T-44.It was recently dug in a Western state. While not the rarest Western glob top whiskey, this example has tons of whittle, bubbles, and a super strike with jewels all the way around the crown. The color is actually shaded nicely in backlighting, although it is a darker amber. The mold lines exhibit the crudity that I have seen on many of these. For a mid to late 1870s whiskey it sure has some nice characteristics. Now I just need a yellow, or greenish example with this quality.
old bumstead has dug many a old bourbon and this one dale got thatI dug is a crude one and a green one I dug years ago was even more wittled but had the neck broken half way up,so I'll just have to find hime a green one to go with it,diggin season is all year long,or should I say lifelong,so grab your shovel,history book and old maps and see what happens.
ReplyDeleteKiller example, wow. Must be nice to be digging up in 'bottle heaven'. From what I've heard just about EVERYTHING has come out at one point or another. Probably wasn't much dipping or recycling going on up there also !!!
ReplyDeleteI am fortunate to have dug some hammered out T-43s and 44s over the years, but, for the longest time, they were unwanted and hard to turn. Thankfully, things are lookin' up for these bottles. Finding premier examples is actually a challenge at this time, as the pits don't cough them up in multitudes like they once did.
ReplyDeleteYears ago, one not so far away pit had so many Circles in it that I was literally prying them out with my shovel and tossing them from the hole.
Poor decision on my part, but that was long before advanced digging techniques, and "bottle smarts" took hold. One of them was a T-43 in a smokin' dark moss green, but it had a sizable chip under the base rim so I "donated" it to A. Wilson. Nowadays, that one could easily have been repaired. Maybe old Allen still has it, and, if so, I would like to see it again.
Another privy in Oakland kicked out 30 more T-43s, along with a JVB "Horse". I retained some of the cruder examples and still have them. The early ones seem to have the nicest "jewels", but even the 44s occasionally sport them, too. Regardless, they are fine representatives of Western bottle "art", and thankfully, remain available to all who enjoy them.
M.E. that is a great strike on that T-44. That would be a nice start to a little run of these. Join the cartel!!
ReplyDelete