Relic Hunting/Identification & Research

Dear Friends, Family, and Readers:

     If you are new to our blog thank you for taking the time to read and learn.  Sometimes I forget that people I have never met read our blog.  While on Saipan, I often struggle to find fun things I can make my own.  Since I don't spearfish, do not have a pole to cliff fish with, and do not have animals to shoot on the island, I must do other things to keep myself busy.  If it isn't embroidery or working on my Bible devotional sports book, I am instead working on research behind relics that I've found.  One relic category that is very common on Saipan (even Managaha) is the search for WWII era glass bottles.
      During WWII, soldiers often drank lots of Coke, beer, and various other spirits.  When they finished these bottles, soldiers would often discard their bottle by throwing it into the jungle or the ocean.  The Japanese also threw bottles into the jungle or buried them as they tried to store supplies or family goods.  Occasionally passing boonie stompers (people who explore the jungle) will come across such dump sites or bottle caches.  Even construction companies and contractors come across such caches when fortunate enough.  In Duluth, MN (my hometown) we often hunt for agates at gravel pits.  I liken the search for bottles and other relics to this same treasurer hunting desire I had as a kid looking for agates in gravel pits.  Here are some of the bottles I've found and the explanations I had to painstakingly discover through research.  You'd be surprised at how many different types of glass, bottle shapes, and identification techniques that exist!  Below the pictures and their explanations are some websites I used in my research that may help you identify your own bottles on Saipan or where you live.  Happy hunting and hobby enjoyment to all!

This is the first thing needed to clean bottles I found it in the toilet section at the local Ace Hardware store. I often put all my glass bottles into a white mop bucket and fill it with water and dish soap.  Do not use Lime Away or other cleaner as it may scorch the glass (found that out the hard way).  I looked for a warning about this but did not see one on the bottle, but then again, I do have terrible eyesight haha

First lesson about relic hunting and hobbies: Don't let your hobby get between you and your wife.haha  These two bottles are made of Duraglas, which was commonly used during WWII.  As the name implies these bottles are "durable" and do not break easily.  Though these bottles look similar they were made by different companies.  The amber bottle on the left was most likely a WWII Beer Bottle.  I know this is WWII era because of the identification stamp on the bottom.  An "I" inside of an "O" with a diamond superimposed over it represents Owen's Illinois Glass Company.  The diamond was removed from bottles made after 1954.  Another indication is how the word "Duraglas" appears on the bottom.  If it is in wavy italics it was made between 1940-1963.  After 1963, the word was made using block lettering.  The green bottle on the right was most likely another type of beer bottle.  I know this bottle is from 1943 because the stamp on the bottom of the bottle indicates this.  The stamp on the bottom also has a "G" inside of a square, which told me this was made by the Glenshaw Glass Company of Glenshaw, PA.  This company existed from (1895-2004).  This company stopped production in 2004 for upgrades and was then bought out several times by various companies including the famous "Anchor Glass Ltd" (they make Pyrex).  It is now known by the name Kelman Bottles.  In the end, I kept the green bottle because I didn't need two WWII era beer bottles. The green bottle also reflects nicely in the window and has the year of production on the bottom, which I think is cool.

This bottle is what the Coca-Cola Company calls a D-Patent Coke bottle.  They are given this name by the large D-Patent numbering below the name Coca-Cola.  The reason that coke bottles were in patent dispute at this time has to do with soda marketing at the time.  Marketing wanted to make drinking soda attractive and elegant.  One of the ways to do this was use thick class, embossed lettering, and adding waves or dimples to bottles.  Interestingly enough I have not found any other WWII soda bottles on Saipan.  Perhaps Coke gave the Saipan troops free soda and so there were more Coke bottles than other types...?  I will keep my eyes peeled now that I know what I'm looking for.  Other soda bottles I saw online that had similar "elegance" were Canada Dry, 7 Up, Crush, among other brands that are both around today and are not around today.

What I would really like to find are some blue Japanese wine bottles form WWII.  In Saipan, you can find a lot of broken bottles in the jungle, but coming upon whole bottles is much more difficult.  If you are interested in doing your own research on bottles here are some of the helpful websites I found in my research that may also help you in your quest:

For identifying glass bottle stamps/embossed marks:

http://www.myinsulators.com/glass-factories/bottlemarks.html

 

For the history and further identification of glass bottles see:

http://www.sha.org/bottle/

For the identification & history of Coca-Cola bottles:

http://www.antiquebottles.com/coke/

I hope you enjoyed learning more and possibly discovering a new hobby.  

Sincerely Yours, Grant 

Time in Saipan (Standard Chamorro Time) is also Guam Time: