# Coke Thermometer



## acls

I picked this up in the early 1980s at the monthly flea market here in Memphis.  I was hoping someone here might know something about this thermometer.  I am assming it was new when I bought I bought it, but I am not sure?  Anybody familiar with these?  age? value? anything else?


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## acls

Base...


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## epackage

$26.55....You're correct on the age....Jim

 http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-COCA-COLA-DONASCO-THERMOMETER-TIN-BOTTLE-/200609204577?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eb53d8961


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## celerycola

> http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-COCA-COLA-DONASCO-THERMOMETER-TIN-BOTTLE-/200609204577?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eb53d8961


 The acl Cokes with "Coke" on the neck and Coca-Cola on both sides were the first acl Cokes in the early 1960's. If this is from the 1980's it must be a repro.


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## epackage

There are 3 on e-bay now , one is claimed to be from the 1950's and they're asking $95, the other two which are exactly the same are both unbid on at $9....I didn't even search coke thermometer just the Donasco Name...


 This is from another site on Coke...

 I WAS LEAD TO BELIEVE THAT THE ROBERTSON VERSION WAS THE ORIGINAL VERSION MADE IN THE 50'S AND 60'S. KEEP IN MIND THAT IT'S AN A.C.L. LABELED BOTTLE NOT AN EMBOSSED. A.C.L. BOTTLES WERE INTRO'D AROUND 1955-56 AND REPLACED EMBOSSED BOTTLES COMPLETELY BY THE EARLY 60'S OVERALL. 

 I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT WHILE THE DONASCO VERSION IS NOT SO MUCH A REPRO, BUT A NEWER VERSION (70'S-80'S) OF THE ROBERTSON ORIGINAL. ANY DONASCO BOTTLE THERMOMETER I'VE SEEN IS ALWAYS PRACTICALLY MINT. I HAVE SEVERAL THAT I BOUGHT BACK IN THE EARLY 80'S IN THEIR ORIGINAL BOX. 

 THE THERMOMETER IN QUESTION DOES NOT EVEN SHOW UP IN THE PETRETTI 12th EDITION UNDER THERMOMETERS (ROBERTSON OR DONASCO).


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## SODAPOPBOB

ACLS ~

 My 2-cents worth ...

 Personally worded definitions:  Re: Coca Cola Collectibles.

 1.  Original:  Self explanatory for the most part. Can usually be determined by various means.

 2.  Reproduction:  Intentionally reproduced. Not necessarily intended to deceive. 

 3.  Fantasy Item:  Often produced - licensed - distributed by The Coca Cola Company.

 4.  Fake:  Attempt to pass off reproduction/fantasy item as original.

 5. Vintage:  Often confusing. Can mean either original as well as reproduction/fantasy. 

 I did some additional research and discovered that one of the companies who were licensed by and made original tin thermometers for Coca Cola was a company by the name of "Robertson, Inc." You can Google the name and find lots of refrences for them, as well as the many other products they made.

 The thermometer shown below is from e-bay and is an example of a Robertson, Inc. product, which is described as vintage. Notice the difference between it and your Denasco thermometer. Especially the hanger flange on top. The name Robertson is located on the bottom. It has "Coke" on the neck.  

 E-bay link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Coca-Cola-Thermometer-Sign-Coke-Soda-Antique-/350279533576?_trksid=p4340.m1374&_trkparms=algo%3DPI%26its%3DC%26itu%3DUCC%26otn%3D5%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D179360280017344624 

 SPBOB


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## acls

When I researched this online I ran into the same problems you guys are having.  Like you pointed out epackage, ebay isn't very helpful because the listings seem to give a lot of conflicting info. Bob- my Donasco actually has a flange that I bent down to hang it and "Coke" on the neck.  Mine is identical to the Robertson except for the company name identification.  I did read online last night that Donasco was licensed by Coke in the 70s to reproduce some of their items.  I was hoping someone could confirm or deny this.  Thanks for the efforts fellas.  Maybe someone will know for sure.


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## digdug

I think yours is an authorized repro from the 1980's.  The newer ones show the Celsius reading as well as Fahrenheit (like yours)
   The older 'original' ones only had Fahrenheit on it.


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## SODAPOPBOB

acls ~

 The following is not to suggest that your particular Coca Cola thermometer is an original 1950s or 1960s item. I honestly can't say one way or another in that regard. It appears to be a reproduction, but very likely made by the same company who at one time also made originals. 

 By Googling variations of ...

       Denasco Inc. - Denasco, Inc.Tin Sign Company - Denasco Signs - Denasco Thermometers, etc; etc.

 ... I discovered that Denasco, Inc. was in fact around in the 1950s/60s and was a manufacturer of various tin products. They also made products for Royal Crown Cola - Teem - and numerous others.

 Below is a copy/pasted comment I found that may help in some regard. See if it connects in any way with your thermometer. And please let us know if the back side of yours is unfinished tin or a greenish color like the example shown below.

 Thanks,

 SPBOB

 Copy/Pasted Comments ...

 Here is a vintage advertising thermometer featuring a Coca Cola bottle. These were often found hanging in the local gas station or supermarkets. Originally had a glass thermometer but it broke (though I still have it) Stands 17 inches tall x 5 inches wide at the middle of the bottle. Made by Donasco Co. in the U.S.A. This is an Original and NOT a reproduction. Probably from the 1960's. The older Coca Cola signs have Coca Cola in red on the top of the bottle cap and the numbers are also in same brown color as the cola. Condition is very good except for the broken glass thermometer and a tiny bit of rust on the bottle cap and a few pit spots on the back and white part around the glass thermometer.

 [ Back side of Denasco sign described above ]


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## SODAPOPBOB

P.S. ~

                                           My personal conclusion is that you have ...

                            A "reproduction" thermometer made by an "original" company.

 SPBOB


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## Eric

I wouldn't consider this a repro.. this is just a continuation of the same thermometer under a different
 maker... It's a licensed product through Coca-Cola. It says nothing on it about â€œlimitedâ€ or â€œreproduced
 under the athourity of Coca-Colaâ€, etc. Which if it were a reproduction would HAVE to have or
 Coke would shut them down!.... There are even versions of this same thermometer using 2 sided
 glue/foam when they discontinued wiring the glass thermometer in place.. I have the Robertson version,
 this version and others... It's a great thermomter to have and still can be found in great shape at a fair price. 
 The paints or â€œinksâ€ they use now on signs fade. You have a nice clean, original 1970s/80s thermometer.


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## SODAPOPBOB

edit/correction ...

                    In my Google post I incorrectly spelled "Donasco" as "Denasco" with an 'e'

                                                          Sorry bout that! [8|]

                                                                 SPBOB


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## SODAPOPBOB

Eric ... 

 I agree and think we are bascially saying the same thing. You say "continuation" and I say "later re-make/reproduction." Different signs - Same company.

 The closeup below is of the front side of the green backside of the thermometer I posted moments ago. It is described as an original "Donasco" from the 1960s. What I am attempting to establish is that the Donasco company was making Coca Cola and other brands of thermometers back in the 1960s, and "continued" making them throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

 SPBOB


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## Wolfdog

Here is one i have. It hung in my parents house for a long time. Im over 50 and i remember it from when i was young. It has no company name as to who made it .  I figure this is an original.


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## SODAPOPBOB

> ORIGINAL: acls
> 
> I picked this up in the early 1980s at the monthly flea market here in Memphis.  I was hoping someone here might know something about this thermometer.  I am assming it was new when I bought I bought it, but I am not sure?  Anybody familiar with these?  age? value? anything else?
> 
> acls ~
> 
> Based on your initial inquiry, I realize your primary interest is with information pertaining to your specific Coca Cola thermometer. I apologize for getting slightly off track here, but I thought it would benifit everyone concerned to try and establish a history for the Donasco company itself, which you'd think would be easy to do. But as it turns out, I can find no detailed information on the company itself. Lots of pictures of their various products, but no company history. I even found one reference which stated the name actually stands Don Asco, but I found nothing else to support this. My main hope here is to point out that just because various thermometers or tin sign says "Donasco" on them, doesn't automatically mean they are some kind of reproduction or an item made only in the 1970s and 80s.
> 
> The best example I have to support that the Donasco company goes back prior to 1960, is the Hires Root Beer sign shown below. On the page following this one I will post a closeup of the sign showing the "Donasco" name ... and possibly a date when it was made. I say "possible date" because I have yet to fully confirm that these numbers are in fact dates. However, I have found other references for these numbers, including a Royal Crown thermometer marked 5-59 (May 1959 ?), which strongly support that these numbers do in fact indicate the dates the items were made.
> 
> If someone knows more about "Donasco, Incorporated," and the dates they were in business, especially a starting date, please share it with the rest of us.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> SPBOB
> 
> [ Hires Sign Full Image ]


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## SODAPOPBOB

[ Hires Sign Closeup Lower Right Corner - Marked 2-48 - Very Possibly for February, 1948 ]  ???


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## SODAPOPBOB

P.S. ~

 I forgot to mention I also found a reference stating that some of the Donasco thermometers, and possibly signs, are supposed to be listed in Allan Petretti's "11th Edition" book. I only have the 12th Edition. If someone has the 11th Edition, please share with us what you find.

 Thanks again,

 SPBOB


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## SODAPOPBOB

acls ~

 I had some time to do a little more research today, and found the following from some guy who collects thermometers. His response was in regards to a similar discussion as this one. He sounds pretty confident and seems to know what he is talking about. This is the only reference I have found from dozens of searches which indicates the Donasco company did in fact exist in the 1940s and was manufacturing thermometers at the time. If what this guy says is true, then it appears the thermometer in question is just one of a long line of products made by the Donasco Company. 

 But where in the heck was the Donasco Company located, and why can't I find any history on them?      

 SPBOB



 "Donasco made a variety of advertising thermometers dating back to the 1940's. Most of you should be familiar with some of their more common 26" x 10" thermometers featuring RC Cola, Dr Pepper and Barq's Root Beer. The Coke bottle thermometers can be found in 12 or so different versions and have been used over the last 80 years for the purpose of advertising. This is an extremely common thermometer. And because it can be confused with the other versions of the same thermometer, this is the reason people mistake it for a reproduction. I don't believe this thermometer was intended to be sold in Kmart. This thermomter was made in the USA. The tab on the top is more expensive to incorporate into the sign than drilling a small hole in the top. Where the thermometer indicates "Trade Mark" in a circle (R), it could not be older than 60s. This is just my opinion and I would love to hear any opposition."[/align][/align] [/align]


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## BMac

Donasco is short for Donaldson Art Sign Company, you can do a internet search on the name. I have several signs with Donasco on them.


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## SODAPOPBOB

Barry ~

 Kudos!  You're the man!  Things have gone from zero to zoom in sixty seconds. And just when I was about to give up the search and thinking Donasco was a 1940s company ... man, was I off a few years. 

 Thanks a million on behalf of myself and everyone concerned. I'm surprised that in all of my search attempts for Donasco that the following never once popped up ...

 I'll be back!

 SPBOB

                                                  Donaldson Art Sign Company

 The Donaldson Art Sign Company in Covington and the Donaldson Lithography Company in Newport can be traced back to a partnership between William M. Donaldson and Henry Elms. These two entrepreneurs began a small lithography business in Cincinnati on August 10, 1863 . By the end of the first year of operation, the firm owned and operated seven hand printing presses. With the death of Mr. Elms in 1872, the business became the sole property of Donaldson. The company was officially incorporated as the Donaldson Lithograph Co. in 1883. 

 The company moved to the City of Newport, Kentucky in 1898, and was housed in the old Duber Watch Case Company facility (6th and Washington Streets). The company flourished in its Newport location. By 1913, plans were underway to expand the firm. William M. Donaldson acquired the old Central Covington Stockyards at 21st and Banklick Streets. Plans called for a 50,000 square foot building that would eventually employ 200 workers. The dimensions of the building, designed by architect Bernard T. Wisenall, were 160â€™ x 140â€™. The cost of construction reached the sum of nearly $100,000. Work on the new plant was begun in August 1914. At the Covington facility, lithography work was done on iron, tin, glass and other metals. The Newport location continued in operation and did lithography work on paper and muslin. 

 William M. Donaldson died on October 22, 1931 at the age of 91. Despite this loss, both the Art Sign Company in Covington and the Lithographic Company in Newport continued to operate. Ownership of the company, however, remained in the family until 1981. That year, the company was purchased by Robert McLaughlin, a former company vice president, and James Keller. In 1987, the Donaldson Art Sign Company ceased operation. The owners of the company declared bankruptcy. The bank which held the mortgage on the property also went bankrupt. The building remained, however, and quickly deteriorated. The companyâ€™s facilities were littered with asbestos, solvents, fuel oil, and other hazardous wastes. With no owner to be found, the United States Environmental Protection Agency spent $300,000 in 1988 cleaning up the site. 

 In January 1990, the ramshackle structure was severely damaged by fire. A 15-year old was later charged for setting the fire which resulted in an estimated loss of $100,000. At that time, the City of Covington , the EPA and the IRS held liens on the property.


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## SODAPOPBOB

Wow!  All of a sudden I feel like a kid in a candy store. I'll try not to get too carried away with this, but I just couldn't help myself from sharing the following. It's the earlieast soda pop related "Donasco" sign I've found so far. 
 (Thanks to Barry, of course).  []

 SPBOB

                                                            Item Description

 3 3/8 x 19.5" c. 1936 by Nehi, Inc. Made by the Donaldson Art Sign Co. Covington, KY. Has nice art image of pyramids in distance. Lower right has small "Good Housekeeping Bureau" logo. Trace of lt. scattered wear across top edge, mostly just visible in reflected light. A few minor bends at left and right sides. Bright and VF. Wonderful design. 
 (G - $100 to $200 )


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## SODAPOPBOB

Please pardon my indulgence with just one more before I call it a day. This one is a Buffalo Rock thermometer. It is described as having  "Donaldson Art Sign Co." on the bottom edge. It dates to sometime in the 1940s.


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## SODAPOPBOB

acls ~

 We haven't heard from you lately, and I sure hope you don't mind my highjacking your thread like this. Things just kind of snowballed. But since this may be the first time that a connection has been made between the Donaldson Art Sign Company and Donasco, I thought it would be of interest for future reference. What I am attempting to do now is ...

 1.  Show a somewhat chronological order of tin signs and other items the company produced.
 2.  Try and determine when the company started using the name Donasco, and if the name is actually
     an extension of the original company or something else?  Based on the evidence so far, it appears 
     the company was totally defunk by 1990.
 3.  Try and determine if the Donasco thermometers like yours and others were actually produced while
     the company was still in business or later by someone else using the name?

 Although the tin sign shown below is not soda related, it is a beautiful example of what the Donaldson Art Sign Company was doing in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Prior to the 1920s, it's starting to look as if the company primarily made paper litho signs and posters. This 1920s/30s "Queen Quality" sign is the earliest tin I have been able to find made by them so far. I realize it uses the word "glass" in the discription, but the main heading said "tin."  Maybe it's a combination of glass over tin. ??? 

                                    Here is the text that was associated with the auction sale ... 

                                                             Sold For $2,400

 [/align]1920s/30s Deppen "Queen Quality" Beer - Reading, PA - Advertising sign with original wooden shipping crate. Printed glass font with Queen Quality banner and beer bottle under the Deppen stag, and the Deppen Brewing Co. Reading Pa. Signed lower left corner Donaldson Art Sign Co. Cin., O.  Mold frame with splayed sides and notched out back for light fixture. 25 1/4" H x 13 1/4" W [/align](Very good condition). [/align]


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## SODAPOPBOB

I found the following by searching ... "Donaldson Lithograph Company." It is typical of the kind of things the Donaldson Company was doing around the turn-of-the-century. In fact, they seemed to specialize in items that were circus and magician related. In my recent searches I have seen dozens of these types of litho advertising items. This one is especially cool because it has the following story connected to it ...

             Wood, William. "Wood's Great Sensation Edna." Newport, Donaldson Litho Co., circa. 1900.[/align] [/align]One-sheet (27 Â¾ x 41 Â½") color lithographed poster depicting a fiery scene from Wood's show replete with a devil, lightning, the magician dressed in tails, and a gorgeous girl. Some wear and chips in margins not affecting image. Linen backed. Good condition. Scarce. [/align] [/align]Edna was a levitation illusion invented by Wood, which he patented in 1889. Kellar and Alexander Herrmann featured the illusion, but only Kellar paid Wood for the rights to use it. In 1908, while touring Mexico, Wood and his daughter Bertha perished when the tugboat they were riding sank off the coast of the Yucatan. Though the tugboat's crew survived and Wood's props and trunks eventually washed ashore (along with many of his lithographs), the $14,000 in cash he had been carrying was never recovered, prompting an investigation into his death. According to magic historian David Price, Jr. "Edna Wood was informed by the American consul that a member of the crew told the awful story of Wood begging the crew not to leave him and Bertha to drown. At the end, he begged only for his daughter's life, but his plea was not heeded by the crew members intent on saving their own skins.[/align] [/align][Circa 1900 Lithograph][/align]


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## SODAPOPBOB

Back to the future ...

 Green Spot Tin - 1950s - Marked "Donaldson Art Sign Co." ]


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## SODAPOPBOB

[ Teem - Thermometer - 1960s - Donaldson Art Sign Co. ]


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## SODAPOPBOB

[ Royal Crown - Thermometer - 1950s - Donaldson Art Sign Co. ]


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## splante

bringing this back up again because I believe some hae eluded that the danasco is a reproduction. Donasco produced Coca cola thermometers for Coke to distribute to vendors. Here is a picture of the one I have it looks just like the robertson, and the tca who also produced them. The tca is the later version 70's and 80's while the Robertson and Donasco are usally earlier here is a picture of the one I own (see the note on the second picture) Mine was produced in 1956.


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## splante

here is a picture of the "hidden" date code you have to tilt the thermometer to see it its is mostly hidden behind the glass thermometer this picture shows athe area I have been told that the newer 1960's on up do not have this marking
  sorry its hard to get a good picture since its mostly hidden behind the thermometer. This is mine I have seen other with a 54 and 55 date code but none before or after that Ive heard some exist from 1948 but not sure


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## splante

the 1948 date code are the embossed version, didnt mean that it was the acl version


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## SODAPOPBOB

splante ~

 I'm not saying your thermometer isn't from 1956 ... I'm saying its references like the following that "confuse me."

 SPB

 Link:  http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/ETclanSETH114/bottlehistory.html

 Evolution Bottle #11 - Years: 1957 - 1959 
 Important Words On Bottle: "Coca-Cola" script logo 
 Description: Hobbleskirt, 6 1/2 oz. painted label, half raised letter, crown sealed, returnable 
 Historical Notes: Officially called "Applied Colored Labeling" or A.C. L. This was the first use of ACL on Coke bottles. Coca-Cola script appears on both sides.


 Evolution Bottle #12 - Years: 1960 - 1961 
 Important Words On Bottle: "Coke Trade Mark" 
 Description: Hobbleskirt, 6 1/2 oz., 2/3rd's painted label, 1/3 raised letter, crown sealed, returnable 
 Historical Notes: First use of the term "Coke" on bottle. First use of bottleneck for information. Coca-Cola script on both sides. 1960 - Bottle granted Trade mark status. 1961 was Coke's 75th Anniversary.


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