Royal Crown Beverages Bottle

[SODABOB]

I couldn't find a soda bottle with a 16S1 mark, but I did find this Coca Cola bottle from Norfolk, Virginia that was described as being marked with 1651 on the heel. I acknowledge that the attached photo of the heel is not very clear, but I am taking the seller's word that it is accurately described.

The following link is to a study about dating early Coca Cola bottles. The only thing I found in it that might explain the use of a four digit number on the heel of early Coca Cola bottles is on Page 63 involving the Southern Indiana Glass Works. The attached snippet is from Page 63 of the study. According to the study, Southern Indiana Glass was in operation between 1906 and 1912. If the mark on the Crown Carbonating bottle, as well as the mark on the Norfolk Coca Cola bottle are both 1651, this might provide us with a clue or two for future research, and possibly narrow down the date of manufacture for the Crown Carbonating bottle from Marion, Ohio. Please stay tuned because I will be posting some additional information about the Coca Cola bottling plant located in Marion, Ohio.

Link to dating early Coca Cola bottles - Bill Porter & Bill Lockhart

DatingEarlyCocaColaBottles.pdf (fohbc.org)


Question for Lori;

Does your Crown Carbonating bottle have the contents embossed on it? If not, it was very likely made before 1914. In 1913 the "Gould Amendment" was added to the 1906 Food & Drug Act that required all food and beverage containers to clearly show the amount of contents on the package or the bottle. The Amendment was strictly enforced starting in 1914.

I'll be back

Bob


Notice the similarity of the two bottles

Described as 1651 -- Likely a style or glass house catalog number

 

[arkansas@1972]

At one time I did have a Coca Cola bottle from Marion O. that looked like the Crown Carbonating bottle. Sadly, it got broke not to long after I found it. It was with the Crown Carbonating bottle I found, so they prob are all intertwined together one way or another. I also fould another bottle that says "Upper Sandusky Bottling Works, Doyle & Schlicher" This bottle also has an "S" on the side near the bottom. It just amazes me how these bottles made it to the samll area of Newton County, Arkansas. My grandparents opened their store in the late 40's. It was called Sain's Grocery at that time. And again thank you for all the info, wondering reading & leaning about the bottles.

 

[arkansas@1972]

And no, the Crown Carbonating bottle does not have the amount of contents on the bottle, but the second one I posted does. It says Contents 7 1/2 Flu Oz

 

[SODABOB]

Thanks, Lori -- very helpful and interesting

Even though we may never be able to narrow down an exact date for your Crown Carbonating bottle, I think it's safe to say it was likely made sometime between 1903 and 1913. Leon had a good point regarding whether the bottle was hand blown (tooled finish) or machine made. However, that in itself can be a little misleading because some glass houses produced hand blown bottles well into the early 1920s. As for machine made bottles, the earliest likely date for those is around 1903-05 when Michael Owens introduced his first semi-automatic and automatic bottle machines -- all of which (hand blown and machine made) fall within the 1903-1913 time period. Two of the best ways to determine the difference between hand blown and machine made bottles are as follows ...

1. Check the mold seams on the sides. If the seams stop just below the top (finish) it is likely hand blown. If the seam goes up and over the top, it is machine made. Hand blown bottles often have striations or streaks on the neck that were caused by a finishing tool. - which spun around the top to smooth it out. (see attachments)

2. Early machine made bottles often have what is generally referred to as an "Owens Scar" -- which are easy to see and look like a large, sometimes off-center circle that often has "feathered" edges around it. (see attachment)

Does your Crown Carbonating bottle have an Owens scar? And what about the seams and/or striations around the neck?

More to follow

Bob

 

[arkansas@1972]

This is the top of the Crown Carbonating bottle. It looks like the seam stops before it gets to the top.

 

[SODABOB]

Thanks -- it looks hand blown to me -- hence a circa 1905 to circa 1915 time period

Last but not least ...

Guess who was involved with the first Coca Cola Bottling plant in Marion, Ohio in 1915-16? Our buddy S. L. Birch (and son) who bought the Crown Carbonating Co. from W. H. Jenkins in 1918

William H. Jenkins
Sylvester L. Birch

 

[arkansas@1972]

Wow...thats all so neat. I wish I stil had that Coca Cola bottle but glad of what I do have. It still puzzles me how the bottles got all the way down to Newton County, Arkansas from Ohio.

 

[SODABOB]

I was looking through my bottles and I also found this one that I have. It says "Crown Carbonating Co W.H. Jenkins Propr.
Marion.O. then a little lower down it says"Registered This Bottle Never Sold."
I found this bottle when I was a kid. My grandparents owned a store in Newton County Arkansas & I found it in a field across the road from the store. I found several different bottles so I figured that was where they dumped them. If you have any info on this one that would be great SODABOB. Thank you for the info on the other bottle too.

Lori

Because you found the bottles when you were a kid, it's hard (impossible?) to say how they got from one state to another, but I suspect it was probably by some traveler. Because your bottles appear to be in great shape, it could be that someone tried to return it to your grandparents store, who realized it wasn't a local bottle, so they disposed of it in the "dump" across the street.

Bob

 

[arkansas@1972]

Yes, that could be. I am 49 now and I was about 10 or 11 when I found the bottles. It's just crazy but your right, I'll never know how the bottles got there. Again, thank you so much for all the info you found.

 

[SODABOB]

It was fun - Thank you!

Bob