Here is one of the strongest embossed examples of the Bear Grass that I have ever seen. These are pretty tough to find as it is, with maybe 12-15 in collections. For some reason these bottles are usually fairly light in the embossing pattern. They
come in this lighter orange amber in most instances, but one was dug broken several years ago in Idaho with strong olive tone. I have also heard that a mint example in an olive color was in a well known collection in Washington many years ago, but it is not known where this bottle now resides.
Of the 7 Bear Grass fifths I have handled, all but two had relatively weak embossing. These are very underrated in my opinion as they have it all...except whittle effect. The base exhibits a large "X" identical to the Fleckenstein & Mayer fifth. I believe the amber Bear Grass was produced about 1884. I have not heard of any examples being dug since the Idaho pit with 5 found.
Definitely one of the nicest Bear Grass fifths out there, of which there are few to begin with. Any time you can afford to pick up a top-end example of a rare and desirable western applied fifth with a super strike is a wonderful thing!
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