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Jim Phillips is a treasure hunter, collector, appraiser and enthusiastic story teller and has a Master of Arts degree in educational media from UAB, graduate studies in motion picture production from San Diego State and a Bachelor of Arts in broadcast communications from the University of Alabama. As one who was always fascinated with hi
Jim Phillips is a treasure hunter, collector, appraiser and enthusiastic story teller and has a Master of Arts degree in educational media from UAB, graduate studies in motion picture production from San Diego State and a Bachelor of Arts in broadcast communications from the University of Alabama. As one who was always fascinated with history, Phillips, took up metal detecting several years ago and opened a whole new world of historical videography. Phillips started finding many historical objects: old coins, store tokens, buttons and eating utensils from the 1800s. Each object he found had an interesting story behind it about early Birmingham and antebellum Alabama. The deeper he dug, the more interesting the stories became. After discovering old dumps in Birmingham, he found medicine, soda and ink bottles from the 1800s that taught him about Birmingham’s early bottling history. “Bottles are beautiful. You find them in different shapes and multi-colored glass,” he said. Many say that Birmingham has one of the richest soda bottling histories in America, said Phillips. He said that from the late 1800s to 1915, there were over 50 bottlers with home offices in Birmingham. A professional videographer since 1983, it was only natural that Phillips would combine the skills he’d learned in the corporate world with his passion for history. He’s now filmed histories of Jefferson County, St. Clair County, Southern Aviation, Old Tannehill Furnace and Birmingham-Southern College. His brother, Dr. Doug Phillips, is also a noted Alabama naturalist who produces the Alabama Public Television series Discovering Alabama. One of the most interesting projects for Phillips was the History of the Old Tannehill Furnace. “That video was fascinating because it dealt with the Civil War back in the 1860s,” he said.
Jim welcomes the opportunity to speak to any group interested in old Alabama history, artifacts and folklore. The individual items he presents each have their own story that Phillips can recite from memory, and even more stories roll off his tongue about items he has either sold or come in contact with through other collectors and buyers.
Jim welcomes the opportunity to speak to any group interested in old Alabama history, artifacts and folklore. The individual items he presents each have their own story that Phillips can recite from memory, and even more stories roll off his tongue about items he has either sold or come in contact with through other collectors and buyers. While Jim gleans all kinds of knowledge about Alabama that most people don’t know, he also gains enjoyment from his pursuits. “It’s the pursuit of history that’s the thrill,” Phillips said.
In this pursuit he has learned how medicines used to be made with ingredients that are now considered illegal. Through his passion for collecting bottles, he has learned a great deal about the history of Coca-Cola and the evolution of its bottles – from the “Hutchinson” bottle, to the straight line bottle, to the now famous contoured bottle. Even though Phillips hasn’t become rich through the treasure-hunting, history-seeking world, others have – because there are many people willing to pay big money for rare bottles, coins and other artifacts. It would be easy for Phillips to rip naïve sellers off – and he said he has seen it done – but Phillips said he strives to maintain his honesty and integrity in the business.
Phillips said that he is more than happy to appraise items at a person’s request steer people in the right direction.
Listen in as Jim talks about his adventures in exploring Alabama looking for old coins, gold, silver and bottles. Jim also talks about the people he meets everyday as well as the stories they have to tell. He gives valuable information and tips about metal detecting, digging, appraising and will keep you entertained on each podcast! As
Listen in as Jim talks about his adventures in exploring Alabama looking for old coins, gold, silver and bottles. Jim also talks about the people he meets everyday as well as the stories they have to tell. He gives valuable information and tips about metal detecting, digging, appraising and will keep you entertained on each podcast! As with any explorer, Jim also has what some might call "strange" things happen to him from time to time so you never what each episode will bring. Listen to "Searching For Truth and Treasure in Alabama" on your favorite podcast platform or on YouTube.