WesternPA-collector
Well-Known Member
On Friday I went to check out a local spot that was a bottle dump many years ago, and is known for mostly only producing shard fragments of bottles when I look there. I hoped that recent high waters from two tropical storm remnants might wash out a few intact bottles but wasn't expecting much. To my surprise I saw this Coca Cola amber straight side bottle cradled between rocks. It is a miracle it didn't get smashed into pieces by fast waters, and didn't get washed completely out of the area. It is embossed with Coca Cola script on the shoulder and PITTSBURG, PA. near the bottom. On the base it has D.O.C. 1186. That was the Dominick O. Cunningham Glass Company that operated in Pittsburgh, PA from 1882-1931. The unusual spelling of Pittsburg on this bottle is because in 1890, the United States Board of Geographic Names ruled that all cities ending in ‘burgh’ must drop the ‘h’ to help bring uniformity to city names. I need help pinpointing the exact date of this bottle because the seam stops about an inch from the lip. The timeline for that style of seam does not add up. Generally that type is from 1860-1880. But Coke was not even invented until 1886. Plus the Pittsburg name means it has to be 1890-1911. Also how much would a bottle like this be worth? From what I've researched the straight-side amber Coke bottles seem rare.

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