# Chero Bottle - Columbus, GA



## p964 (Apr 26, 2015)

I am new to bottle collecting and just got a bottle from an estate sale that I can not find any information on.  The front of the bottle just reads "Chero" but does not have the word "Cola" after it like most of the bottles I have seen have.  The bottom of the bottle has "DSN.PAT'D FEB 16-24  LCW" written on it.  Is this a soda bottle or just an unusual cola bottle? (not on my personal computer now or I would attach a picture of it). Darryl


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## Johnnysoda (Apr 26, 2015)

Does your bottle say "Chero Cola"? If so that was the name Royal Crown cola renamed the company to in 1910 before it was renamed "Nehi" in 1925. When you get to your main PC could you post a picture? Id like to see how your bottle looks ) Austin


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## MichaelFla (Apr 26, 2015)

I believe they stopped using the word 'Cola' about 1921, changing from Chero-Cola to just Chero, due to a lawsuit from Coca Cola.
Somebody please correct me if this is inaccurate.


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## Johnnysoda (Apr 26, 2015)

You are correct! I did some more research on Chero and found out that in the early 20s Coca-Cola forced them to name change into just Chero. This caused a company decline and which caused the soda to be discontinued. Then it was brought back in 1924 as "Nehi"


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## iggyworf (Apr 26, 2015)

Check out this about Royal crown - Chero cola  http://cecilmunsey.com/in...101&&Itemid=34 Go to search and type in Royal crown to find the article. Could't get a direct link to it for some reason.


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 27, 2015)

[attachment=Chero Cola Bottle Timeline.jpg] [attachment=Chero Cola Bottle Timeline.jpg]                               The following are quotes from the Cecil Munsey article regarding the history of Chero-Cola / Nehi ... "In April of 1914, Chero-Cola Company filed application in U.S. Patent Office to register its trademark" "In 1920, the court battle with Coca-Cola forced Chero-Cola Company to capitulate and drop the word "cola" from its label." "By the time all of the trademark lawsuits were over, the Chero-Cola Company had already become, in 1926, Nehi Inc."                                                                                  ~ * ~ I am by no means a Chero-Cola expert and won't pretend to be. And yet I cannot help but wonder if Cecil Munsey's account, and numerous others just like it, are accurate. The reason I say this is because of the attached newspaper article. Notice it clearly uses the words Chero-*Cola*. Also notice it is dated *1928*. Also notice it mentions the "Twist" bottle. So how do we explain the accounts that claim the word "Cola" was dropped in 1920 and yet they continued to use the word well into 1928? In fact, the latest use of the words Chero-*Cola *I have seen in various ads is *1930*. And that was a good four years after they changed the company name to Nehi Inc. [ Attachments ] 1. Chero-Cola bottle chronology with timeline dates 2. Ad ... The Portsmouth Daily Times ~ Portsmouth, Ohio ~ May 11, *1928* _<Edit:  One image removed at the request of the copyright holder>_


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 27, 2015)

P.S. Especially notice the last bottle in the timeline is marked Chero O and is dated 1927. And yet the bottle in the ad I posted is marked Chero-Cola and dated 1928. I guess that particular bottler, and many others just like it, didn't get the 1920 memo from the U.S. courts.   ???


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 27, 2015)

Wait a minute, I get it now! Apparently they just dropped the word "Cola" from the actual bottles that were being sold in the marketplace. But if that was the case, then why don't the various histories, such as the Cecil Munsey account, say as much? Hmm, I'm confused! []


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 27, 2015)

But that can't be right either! If they were ordered to drop the word "Cola" in 1920, then why does the 1923 twist bottle have Chero-*Cola *on it? Hmm, maybe the twist bottle wasn't introduced in 1923 after all but possibly earlier. Or was it later? Like I said, I'm no Chero-Cola expert, I'm just a guy who has a lot of questions about what I consider to be some very confusing dates, wordings, and historical accounts.


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 27, 2015)

I'm not trying to rewrite history nor discredit Cecil Munsey - I'm just trying to make sense of some of the dates. As I pointed out earlier, according to the Cecil Munsey article and other similar accounts, most of them claim ...        "In April of 1914, Chero-Cola Company filed application in U.S. Patent Office to register its trademark" But when we take a look at the actual patent records, we find something different. The attached snipped is cropped from a 1914 U.S. Patent document and list patents/trademarks filed for and registered in 1913. As it turns out, the name Chero-Cola was actually filed for on *September 29, 1913 *and not in April of 1914 as most of the accounts claim. A simple Google search will confirm this.


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 28, 2015)

p964 said:
			
		

> The bottom of the bottle has "DSN.PAT'D FEB 16-24  LCW" written on it.   Darryl



 p964/Darryl Welcome to the forum. I don't intend to get too far afield with the Chero-Cola history  - I just had a few observations I wanted to share. As for your particular bottle, based on the information you posted initially, the LCW is actually *LGW *for *Laurens Glass Works *who made the bottle. The DSN. PAT'D FEB 16-24 stands for *Design Patented* on* February 16, 1924*


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## sunrunner (Apr 28, 2015)

I find Chero-Colas ( the twist bottle ) marked Columbus Ga . in a late 1920s dump so I think they were still putting theme out well in to the 1920s.


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 28, 2015)

Darryl It's starting to look as if your bottle is a misprint in that it was actually patented on February 16, *1926 *and not in 1924. Here's the original patent - notice the dates ...


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 28, 2015)

But yours is not the only one that's mismarked - here's another example ...


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 28, 2015)

I apologize for the confusion and poor pictures, but I just post it as I find it and let the bottles speak for themselves. Here's a bottle with the correct patent date on the base - February 16, 1926 - Except this particular bottle is embossed Chero-Cola and not CherO like the previous example ...


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## SODAPOPBOB (Apr 28, 2015)

Regarding the Coca Cola vs. Chero Cola court case ... According to the information in this 1921 publication, the decision was on *June 6, 1921 *and not in 1920 as some accounts claim ...                                                           *http://tinyurl.com/phyvzqo *


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## p964 (Apr 28, 2015)

Thank you for all of the replies - so is a bottle with just Chero on it rare or are they pretty common?  I would post pictures of the bottle but I have not yet figured out how to attach a picture as a "URL" yet. Darryl


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## p964 (Apr 28, 2015)

Thank you for all of the replies - so is a bottle with just Chero on it rare or are they pretty common?  I would post pictures of the bottle but I have not yet figured out how to attach a picture as a "URL" yet. Darryl


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