# Old, straight sided Coca-Cola bottle from Canada



## covert- (Jan 31, 2016)

Hi all,

This is my first post about vintage bottles.  I've spent the better part of the last 2 days reading the wealth of information on here.  I hope I am posting in the right location for this.

About 20 years ago I picked up this bottle at an antique market.  The seller had it there for several weeks and I eventually picked it up.

The seller was not a collector and couldn't provide any details on the bottle.  It looks old, is made to a much lower standard than we'd expect today, but is in pretty good condition (in my opinion anyway).

I paid about $50 for it then.  The seller was not sure if it was real or not, so I decided to pick it up and have never been able to find any information on it.

It has a very early "Coca-Cola" script on the top, and "TORONTO, ONT." at the bottom (but not "on" the bottom).

I've been unable to date it, other than it's probably turn of the century.  I don't know if finding information on it has been tough due to it being a fake, or because it's Canadian and there isn't a lot of information on Canadian-specific Coke stuff.

So, what I was looking to answer is,

- Is it real or a fantasy piece?
- What's the age on it?
- Does anyone have any other ones like this?
- Is it rare?

Thanks, Ryan


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## sunrunner (Jan 31, 2016)

it looks real . thou to me it looks to have a neck repair .and if so you paid to much for it. 1910 to 1918.


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## covert- (Jan 31, 2016)

sunrunner said:


> it looks real . thou to me it looks to have a neck repair .and if so you paid to much for it. 1910 to 1918.



Thank you for your input.  I meant to mention that I think it's a bit earlier than you mention, approx. 1902, based on a picture of a very similar bottle in The Illustrated Guide to the Collectibles of Coca-Cola (https://books.google.ca/books/about..._collectible.html?id=-RQ4AQAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y).  Whether or not I paid too much is not relevant in this discussion IMHO, since I'm happy with the bottle, regardless if it has a repair.  I think it's a good cornerstone for a basic collection.


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## 2find4me (Jan 31, 2016)

Neck looks kind of awkward, a picture in the sunlight or white background would help more.


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## Bixel (Jan 31, 2016)

It is real, the Toronto straight sided cokes are not impossible to find but you dont see them every day. I would not call them rare.

The neck does look weird in the photos, maybe just a fold in the glass catching the light wrong though.

Nice bottle!


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## CanadianBottles (Feb 4, 2016)

I'm Canadian and I'm not sure I've ever seen one of those, but for sure it's the real deal.  I'm familiar with the Montreal and unmarked Vancouver ones but don't remember seeing a Toronto one before (which is strange, as Toronto bottles are usually much easier to find than bottles from other Canadian cities.  I think Sunrunner's right on the date range, as it has an Owens scar on the base and the Owens machine was only invented in 1903.  Bottles in Canada generally weren't made on Owens machines until around the First World War, though Coca-Cola was one of the first companies to do it.  Some of them came in crazy colours that you'd never see in the U.S.  I've always wanted to find one of those, but I don't think I've ever lived in any of the cities where they were used.


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## Canadacan (Feb 5, 2016)

Nice bottle!.. and welcome to the site! I have seen a few mid script marked Toronto before. The earliest ad I could find depicting a bottle is 1913....the mid scripts are the earliest and they used the SS right up to around 1919, in fact I have photographs of Delivery trucks in Vancouver in 1919 that still advertised the SS bottle, the following year the first ads depicting the Hobble Skirt appeared. The later bottles have the script at the top,...the last years from about 1916-1919 the script did change or was modified, if you study the bottles carefully you'll see the difference.

Vancouver Daily world, Aug. 1, 1913


This is another ad from The Vancouver Daily World 27 June, 1911.......... note they do not depict or advertise Coca-Cola in bottles yet!


I also forgot to mention there are SS bottles marked on the bottom H= Hamilton, S= Southerland, I cant confirm if that is what the letters mean for sure.


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## covert- (Feb 17, 2016)

Thanks all!

I will try to take some better pictures with a better camera this weekend (those were taken with an iPod).  I also picked up another straight sided bottle on Monday, with the Coca-Cola script at the top and more wording at the bottom.  I'll take pics of that one too.


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