which coca cola bottling citys are rare?

First off, I wish to thank those that have helped me here before. I have been ALL OVER THE WEB looking for answers and this is the first place where I actually got them. So, Thanks for then and Thanks in advance for the next question. J I was put in charge of selling off my late mother-in-law’s coca cola collection of around 1000 bottles, 15 wooden case holders, and a couple of other miscellaneous items. About half of it is Commerative 8 oz bottles and the other half is made up of 6 & 6 ½ oz bottles. She also has 2 gold coca cola soda bottles, a small amount of 8 oz, 10 oz & 12 oz bottles and about 10 bottles from Mexico and one from France. I am trying to put together a database which I will then put on a website to sell off the collection. (I started inventorying the bottles a month ago and have it about 75% finished.) I have been trying to gather info on dating and placing a reasonable value on these bottles. The Commerative bottles were easy to find info on and I have that part done in the data base. The rest, (the 6 oz, 6 ½ oz, 8 oz, 10 oz, & 12 oz, with most being code dated on bottle somewhere, with dates that range from 1915 to 1986), I am having problems with placing a value on. I know common bottles are, if you are lucky, worth about a dollar. So, how do you find out if the bottling city is rare or common? I have bottles from the following towns, and while some are easy to guess at, some are not. Can anyone help with this?

Fort Myers, FL – 1925, Charlotte, NC– 1915, Salisbury, NC – 1915 , Laurel, Miss – 1925.

The following bottles all date from 1932 to 1986 -
Aiken, SC , Alexander, Al, Aliceville, AL , Amberdeen, SD , Andalusia, Ala , Annapolis, Mo, Avon Park, Fla , Beeville, Tex , Blytheville, Ark , Bristle, VA , Bryan, Texas , Chattanoogna, Tn , Cleveland, In, Columbia, Tenn , Columbus, GA , Emporia, VA , Fayetteville, Ark , Fayetteville, NC , Fayetteville, Va , Fulton, KY , Hinden, La, Houston, Tex , Knoxville, Tenn , Lynchburg, Va , Lynn, Mass, Mankato, Minn , Memphis, Tenn , Meridian Miss, Mobile, Ala , Natchitoches, La, New Bern, NC, Palo Alto, Calf, Pinebluff, Ark , Portsmouth, Va , Quincy, Fla , Ruskin, La, Sagamore, Mass, Seattle, Wash , Silver Dollar City, NC , Silver Springs, Tenn , Spartanburg, SC , St Paul, Minn , Tarpon Springs, Fla , Tulsa, Oka, Tuscaloosa, Ala , Waco, Tex , Washington, Ga , West Palm Beach Fla , Worchester, Mass

I have some embossed city cokes from Mass, RI, and Conn if anyone is interested.
And yes Rand this is a great site. Glad you enjoy it. Any place I can get prices on those??
Ben

I found a site, (http://coke.7xpub.com/cokebottlersR2W.html). that lists bottling company locations and got this info on bottling plants -

Meridian Miss, Aiken, SC , Amberdeen, SD , Andalusia, Ala , Bryan, Texas , Charlotte, NC , Chattanoogna, Tn , Columbia, Tenn , Columbus, GA , Fayetteville, NC , Houston, Tex , Key West, Fla , Knoxville, Tenn , Laurel, Miss, Lynchburg, Va , Mankato, Minn , Memphis, Tenn , Miami, Fla , Mobile, Ala , New Bern, NC , Pinebluff, Ark , Quincy, Fla, Sagamore, Mass, Salisbury, NC , St Paul, Minn , Tuscaloosa, Ala , Waco, Tex , West Palm Beach Fla - bottling plants still in existence.

Alexander, Al, Aliceville, AL , Annapolis, Mo , Avon Park, Fla , Beeville, Tex , Blytheville, Ark , Bristle, VA, Cleveland, In, Emporia, VA , Fayetteville, Ark , Fayetteville, Va , Fulton, KY , Hinden, La - Minden, La?, Lynn, Mass, Natchitoches, La, Palo Alto, Calf, Portsmouth, Va , Ruskin, La, Seattle, Wash , Silver Dollar City, NC , Silver Springs, Tenn , Spartanburg, SC , Tarpon Springs, Fla , Tulsa, Oka, Washington, Ga , Worchester, Mass, - bottling plant no longer in existence

Now I would like to know if this is correct. also how do I find out the value this places on the bottle?

Ben,
As for prices, I am looking for help with that. [] Let me know what you are looking for and I will see if I have it.

Thanks again all
Randi

I am full of questions today, the more I find out about this, the more questions, I have. []
Most of my bottles are dirty, should I clean them or not? I do not want to mess them up and with my luck, that would happen. []

Thanks yet again
Randi
Randiellison@wildblue.com
http://pageproducer.wildblue.net/EvergladesInsider/coke1.html
(this webpage was thrown together this morning. []
No pictures, just descriptions.)

there is a book available on coke bottles, i know it ranks how common or rare a bottle is, but i don't know if it has value. i believe the authors name is bill porter. the book shows up on ebay every now and then.

Randi

As you have discovered there is a lot to learn about Coke bottles. There is more to just knowing what city is rare for a coke bottle. In some instances the last hobbleskirt produced the 6½ oz. is rare. To know which of the 5 hobbleskirts you have is important. Here is a quick description of each. Hope this helps

1. 1915 - made from about 1917-1928
2. 1923 - made from about 1928-1938
3. Pat. D 105529 made from about 1938-1951
4. 6 oz. made from about 1951-1958
5. 6½ oz. made from about 1958-1965

Ooops should have added this if the embossed bottles.

Actually of the above mentioned bottles I have between 25-50 6 & 6 1/2 oz bottles that are between 1917 and 1965, then about 4-5 cases of 6 1/2 oz bottles between 1966 and 1986. Still have about 7 cases of 6 1/2 oz bottles to date, most of them will be in the 70's to 80's range. I also know they quit making the 6 1/2 oz returnable bottles, just have to find out when.

And I should have mentioned that only have a couple of cases that are not ALC, and are embossed. The date range on those is 1917 to 1959. My ALC's range from the 70's through the 80's

Thanks
Randi

Randi

Here's a site for ypur ACL's

http://www.gono.com/museum2003/paintedlbottles/paintedc3.htm

Richard Mix has a site for the Commemorative's you can google his name to find it, the last time I was ther it was still under construction.

Hey Randi, I think you will find that most of the ACLs aren't worth much unless a collector is looking for that perticular bottle. There are a few that are sought after by local collectors.

Most 1915 bottles you can get $10 for if you take the time to put them in antique shops. On Ebay it's anyones guess. Very small towns, dead towns and towns that are no longer in exsistance will usually bring a bit more.

A 1915 Waco would be a pretty good one and the Avon park and Tarpon Springs, FL bottles {1915 or 1923} would be worth $10 to $15. The towns that have plants that are still in business are only worth a few bucks at best. The plants that no longer exsist, you will have to research to see how long they have been closed. The older the bottle in use when they closed the more they will be worth.

There are always exceptions!!! Keep in mind that a bottle is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. You have a daunting task ahead of you.

Do you have any straight sided Cokes?

Thanks for the info - from the research I have done, I knew that the ALC's wouldn't be worth much. Now, more questions.[]

How do I find out or where do I go to the research to see how long the bottling plants have been closed?
Most of my bottles are dirty, dusty, etc., should I clean them or not? I do not want to mess them up and with my luck, that would happen. []
How do I get a copy of Bill Porter's book? I have emailed him about a month ago asking for it and have heard nothing back, have looked all over the net, ebay, out of print book companies, etc. and can't find it. Is there any other coke collection book(s) focusing primarily on bottles that everyone recommends?

My mother-in-law always talked about straight sided Cokes bottles and said she wanted one, but she never got it. I might add one to the part of the collection we keep. We just aren't sure what we will keep yet. Her whole collection was given to her over a twenty year period by family and friends, although most of the 6 & 6 1/2 ozs cokes, she got - she loved the 6 & 6 1/2 ozs cokes. One time after they quit selling the 6 1/2 coke size, we were going to a family reunion in Michigan, driving from Florida, and we had to go out of way because she HAD to go to the Atlanta bottling plant to get 6 1/2 oz cokes. We wanted to kill her at the time, mainly because we rode to and from michigan amid cases of coke and yes, we stopped on the way back as well. Now, when I tell that story, it makes us all laugh and it tells alot about her, - she was passionate about the things she loved and it carried over into everything she did.

The most unusual bottle in this collection is an clear bottle that says property of coca cola bottling company, min contents 7 1/2 fl oz in the middle of bottle. On the very bottom of the side it says design patent pending. On the bottom it has Key West, Fla with a circled C and a 2 between city and state. It has a version of the hobble skirt design, but is not as rounded as that design. The design starts just above the heel and stops at the beginning of the neck. The bottle script is in a square in the middle of the front side. The bottle is iridescent looking with changing colors at top part, with streaks of blue and purple. These show up in when bottle is in bright light. Also has the numbers 712 on back heel of bottle. You all told me it was an art deco bottle that held flavored drinks in the 20-30's.

As for this being a daunting task, yes, but it also is a labor of love. First, I am doing it for my late mother-in-law and at my father-in-law request - the best in laws you could ask for, and second, it is turning into an educational experience. I am enjoying the research, meeting new people, like all you, and learning something new. I have discussed my findings with my grandchildren and have got them curious about collecting, another added bonus. It also gives me a chance to talk about thier great grandmother with them, keeping her alive in thier memories and passing on her passion for coke and collecting in general. So while this is frustrating at times, the rewards are worth it. []

Well, I am rambling, so am going to go back to surfing the net for info, thanks again.
Randi