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Unopened Coke bottles & crate

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Posted 3 years ago


(1 item)

Howdy. A friend gave me this old wooden crate full of unopened Coke bottles. He said it had been in his mom's basement for 30 years or so, and he didn't want it anymore. He thought it was cool that it says "Grand Forks, ND" on the crate, which is where he's from.

After doing some online research (I have yet to crack open some books on bottle collecting...I've been a bottle researcher for all of an hour now), here's what I've been able to find out:

- Several of the bottles are from the 1951-1958 era, where they're embossed with "US PATENT OFFICE/MIN CONTENTS 6 FL OZS" and a city embossed on the bottom.

- A couple of the embossed ones are from the 1958-196? period, where the embossing is changed to "US PATENT OFFICE/MIN CONTENTS 6 1/2 FL OZS." These ones have a single copyright on the bottom, with no city name.

- Of the remaining bottles, which I haven't been able to date yet, the majority have the script logo on one side, with "Coke" on the other. Both sides have "TRADE-MARK (where "Mark" is underneath "Trade"), then the Registered symbol, then "6 1/2 FL. OZ." all in white ACL.

- Some of the other bottles have the script logo on both sides, with "Trade-Mark" and the Registered symbol on one side, "Contents 6 1/2 Fl. Ozs." on the other. Also, on the neck, centered between the two side logos, there's "Coke" and below that "Trade-Mark" and the Registered symbol. Again, all in white ACL.

The crate is actually in decent shape. As I said, on the short end it says "GRAND FORKS, N.D." Some of the cities on the bottles include "Jamestown, ND," "St. Cloud, Minn," "Kansas City, MO" and "Long Pine, Neb." I haven't looked at them all, but I'm sure it's primarily Midwest cities.

I've included some photos. They're from my phone's camera, so please excuse the poor light. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Unsolved Mystery

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  1. Cozmo, 3 years ago
    I should add that some of the later bottles with the white ACL logos on them have cities embossed on the bottoms, so it's not just the older bottles.
  2. cocacolakid97 cocacolakid97, 3 years ago
    The crate doesn't match the date of the bottles. That crate is from the 70's. The bottles are as old as 1960's. The bottles are awesome. can't see caps so I can't tell if the were refilled, cause that would make it worth less. If they orginal, then they could be worth 10-15 bucks for the 50's bottle. 60's bottles are only worth 3-5 bucks a bottle.
  3. Cozmo, 3 years ago
    Yeah, sorry, they only let me upload 4 pictures. The caps are all red and have "Coca-Cola Classic" on them. So that must mean they're all rebottled, right?
  4. cocacolakid97 cocacolakid97, 3 years ago
    Yeah, they're rebottled. So there only worth what the bottles worth, $2-$3 bucks at the most. 60's bottle are $1 each. I think that Many people will think, "well, there 80's bottles because they have the coca cola classic on it" that might be true for reproduction christmas coke bottles "Pat'd Dec 25, 1923" but for the "reg in u.s pat office" bottles are from the 50's. Genuine bottles, artifically filled. The crate's worth around 5-10 bucks.
  5. corey, 3 years ago
    thats a very nice find. you got a nice collectable
  6. Richey , 3 years ago
    Do you guys know how to tell if the original cap is still on the bottle? Just started collecting and have a bunch that say coca cola Carmel on the top, just curious if these where refills or not. Thanks! Nice find btw..
  7. edith , 3 years ago
    hi there i have a whole lot of vintage coke bottles and crates , a whole wide assortment and variations of dates. any interest out there for the whole lot? some are opened most are unopened. i also have lots of tin coca cola trays .I need to move therefore I am quite motivated to sell . thank you
  8. Pop_abides Pop_abides, 3 years ago
    edith, we don't buy or sell on here !
  9. confessed, 3 years ago
    i have bottles that saytrade mark regrisered in us patent office on one side, the other side says trade mark registered with contents 6 fl.ozs. best I can figure they are 1950's-1960's. but I cant find any pictures to match them.on the bottom morristown-tenn. incenter of bottom is circled c. each bottle has a different county and state help me. I have 20-24 in a wooden case and also a metal case each holds 24.

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