Oldest ACL Royal Crown Cola Bottle?

[SODAPOPBOB]

Hmmm ... I wonder if my clear RC bottle is a Ginger Ale bottle from the 1930s that's missing it's paper label?

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Or is it a clear RC Cola bottle from the 1930s that's missing it's paper label?

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Final analysis regarding my clear RC bottle ... *

1. Clear Glass
2. Debossed RC inside a triangle on shoulder
3. PROPERTY OF NEHI BOTTLING CO. embossed on heel
4. CONTENTS 12 FL OZS embossed on base
5. LGW 2 embossed on base
6. Most likely had two paper labels - one main label and one shoulder label
7. Produced circa 1936** [1934 1935 1936 1937 1938] ?
8. Most likely one of if not the earliest Royal Crown Cola bottles produced
9. Dug from a dump in South Carolina
10. Overall condition good with scratches, rust stains, small crack on heel
11. Possibly a rare and extremely hard to find bottle in any condition
12. Estimated value in described condition = $20.00 / $50.00 if in mint condition

* Based on extensive research and various other observations
** Circa 1936 date arrived at because this is the only year I could find an image of a similar bottle in the newspaper archives or from any other source. It could have been produced earlier or later than 1936, but doubtful any earlier than 1934

Note: I paid $5.00 plus $8.00 for shipping = $13.00

In a communication with the seller after I purchased the bottle, they said when they found the bottle, and several others like it, that it never dawned on them that it might be the first Royal Crown Cola bottle ever produced.

Attachments:

1. The bottle
2. Paper Label
3. Cropped image from The Evening Sun ~ Hanover, Pennsylvania ~ October 8, 1936

Compare the paper label from the 1936 newspaper ad to the color paper label - Notice the Good Housekeeping seal on the shoulder label of both. Also notice in the newspaper image that the shoulder label is applied on top of the debossed RC.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

13. Estimated value in mint condition with original paper labels still intact = $100.00+

 

[dbv1919]

Sodapopbob I'm as confused as ever oh well, I'll keep looking for Royal Crown ACL's from 36 and back. Heading to florida in a couple days maybe I might run across something as travel through the south. Hell been looking for years until I see an ACL 36 and back Owens Illinois bottle I guess I'll never be sure. Thanks for the great information.

 

[squirtbob]

Bob, I don't know whether this helps or adds to the confusion but I picked this bottle up today because of what I've read on this post. It's a Lime-Cola bottle. The bottom is marked LGW at the top and 1 on the bottom.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Brad: I think the primary confusion is with single-number LGW marks. I'm still looking into that but information is sparse at best. The snippet below is from 1952 and indicates the number of bottle making machines Laurens Glass Works had at the time. I am currently trying to find information on the "Lynch" and "Hartford" machines and will hopefully be able to determine how many molds each of them had. I realize that 1952 is about twenty years later than the focus of this thread, but at this point anything I can find is considered a plus. ~ * ~ Squirtbob: Your Lime-Cola bottle is a huge help! Now we have a complete sequence of 1 through 6. Now we just need to figure out what the numbers indicate - and if mold numbers as I now suspect - to confirm that. 1952 ~ Seven Lynch IS Machines and Five Hartford IS machines (At least I think that's an IS ???)

 

[dbv1919]

Sodapopbob and Squirtbob I got a bottle with LGW markings that's very similar to yours but its different from my LGW 6 bottle. The good thing about this particular bottle is I have two identical bottles from the same year, 1938 that are OI bottles. I am 99.99999 percent sure this bottle is from 1938 by ACL and neck embossement. I just don't think it's a number one after looking closely. Looks to me like more of a rectangular shape than a #1. Also the placement seems odd. The light in the pic does look like a #1 but in person it doesn't.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Brad: I think because it's a single-digit LGW is enough to suggest that it's the same type of mark irregardless as to what the actual number might be. Good information and very helpful. Speaking of helpful, I hope this sheds some light on things. Even though it's inconclusive*, it is at least one example of a six mold bottle making machine from the 1930s, and possibly typifies the type and size of machines used during that time period. Sometimes coincidences lead to connections! [light] Filed: August 19, 1929Patented: July 31, 1934Invented By: Edward G. Bridges / Assignor to the Lynch Corporation. * Inclusive as to whether Laurens Glass Works actually used a machine of this type. But based on the 1952 snippet I posted, we know they did use Lynch machines. Patent Link: http://www.google.com/patents/US1968777

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Although inconclusive, I just took a crash course on bottle making machines and looked at more patents than I can count from the early 1900s and well into the 1950s. The bottom line is, six mold machines were very common in the early days and in the 1950s the majority of the machines I saw averaged no more than about ten molds. Based on this quick search of mine, I think it's safe to say there is a very strong likelihood that the single-number LGW marks 1 through 6 are mold/cavity numbers and not dates.