It’s always wonderful to discover something intriguing on the beach, but most people don’t expect to unearth an antique that is more than a century old.
Someone on social media believes they’ve unearthed the oldest message ever.
User @asmythco posted the discovery with her TikTok followers, expressing her amazement at her good fortune.
She remarked, “On July 3, I discovered a message in a bottle on the beach.” The note inside stated, “Yacht Neptune off Atlantic City, New Jersey, August 6-76.”
“The outside of the bottle reads Barr and Brother Philadelphia.”
“The outside of the bottle reads Barr and Brother Philadelphia.”
Although August 1976 makes the bottle quite old, it cannot be the oldest, you may assume.
You’re correct; that’s why the TikTok user looked a little farther.
She was able to identify the bottle’s age and use period after analysing it.
She went further: “The hunt for another Barr and Brother bottle ended today with the help of a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter.”
Then she pointed to the date and said, “Look at it,” implying that the bottle was likely created before 1900. This suggests that the communication was probably sent in 1876 rather than 1976.
She concluded the film by stating, “This makes this the oldest message in a bottle ever found.”
She concluded the film by stating, “This makes this the oldest message in a bottle ever found.”
In another TikTok, the user explained how she found the boat and determined its year of production.
The user came across a digital copy of the 1874 Philadelphia Inquirer, which had a notice announcing the ship’s construction.
The newspaper item from April 24, 1874, stated: “Captain Samuel Gale, of Atlantic City, New Jersey, has just built a splendid yacht, which he has christened ‘Neptune’ after the Neptune Club of this city.”
Social media users were shocked by this finding and commented on how different things would have been in the past.
One person noted, “They were commemorating the nation’s 100th anniversary only a month prior. Is this the oldest message in a bottle ever discovered? I’m lucky to have come across you; this is simply amazing.”
Another person observed: “As someone who collects/digs for antique bottles, those squat sodas are pretty iconic to the 1860s-80s period.”
While a third wrote: “On the centenary, incredible.” Imagine you’re celebrating the Fourth of July in 1876. Drinking with buddies on a boat. Not even dreaming we’d be doing the same over a century later.”
Well, you never know what you might find at the beach, do you?
