# Hires “medals and medallions”



## Csa (Nov 17, 2020)

Can’t find too much on this one. A couple eBay examples and a reference to the medals and medallions advertising campaign apparently from the 20’s in the hiresbook.com. 
Has no mark or maybe a very faint one on base. Nice embossed medals below shoulder. At bottom has Hires/registered on one side and Hires 14 Fld. Ozs on other. Anybody have more info on this one? It’s in great shape compared to the vast majority of my finds which are  studies in how glass breaks down over time.


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## SODABOB (Nov 19, 2020)

Csa - Cool bottle -Thanks for sharing it ... 

Even though I do not consider myself an expert on Hires Root Beer bottles, I have done my share of research on them over the years and have a file of over 100 Hires related items - including photos of bottles, ads, etc.  But regardless of my so called credentials, I think the best place to start is to determine if your bottle is hand-blown or machine made. If you are not sure how to determine the difference, the simplest way is to examine the mold seams on the sides of the bottle and see if they stop on the shoulder/neck area or go all the way up and over the top of the lip.  Even though determining that won't provide an exact date, it will narrow it down considerably.  If it is machine made, it was almost certainly made sometime after 1905.  Once that is determined, it will be a lot easier to attribute an approximate date for it, and possibly even narrow it down within a year or two. Regarding Hires bottles in general, their earliest Crown-top bottles were produced around 1896-97.  Prior to that, they had Blob-tops.  

Thanks again - we will standby and look forward to what you come up with. 

Bob


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## Csa (Nov 20, 2020)

Thanks for the feedback SodaBob, this is exactly the type of guidance I was looking for when I joined up here. As I have mentioned in my earlier posts, nearly all of the bottles I am finding are surface finds or slight unearthing, and only a couple that I am pretty sure are hand blown, or blown in a mold with an applied top.  Most are first half of 1900s medicins, a few milks and a lot of "federal law forbids" drinking bottles fro the 40s. 

Looking at this bottle, it def has seams all the way up and is pretty cleanly finished, so quite sure it's machine made. The hiresbook.com is a great pictorial history of hires. Looking through the chapters, I see ref to the medals and medallions slogan and label in late 1800s, but the bottles obviously are much different. The first time I see a picture like the one I found is in their 1920s listings and ads. By the 1930s adds, the bottle have changes and have art-deco looking horizontal embossing. So as of now my amateur working assumption is a 1920's era bottle. Coincidentally I have a Hires Household extract bottle with a cork top finish, which seems to be a 1920's vintage as well. I'll keep an eye out for more Hires material.  Cheers


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## SODABOB (Nov 20, 2020)

Csa

Thanks for the info - very helpful.  The Medals on the bottle, and on a lot of paper labels, represent awards they won - especially those they won at the World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893.  Notice that the two bottles I'm attaching have different labels. You can rarely date a bottle simply based on the label because there is no way of knowing if the label is original to the bottle or was added later by someone. That's why ads and similar references are a lot more reliable. 

I don't know the exact dates for either of these bottles, but they appear to be the same or similar to yours







Here's a closeup of the center medal on a typical paper label - where you should be able to see the words World's Fair and the 1893





I will be back with more later.

Bob


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## hemihampton (Nov 20, 2020)

The older Hires, hand blown as Bob calls it & Blob will have the Hires embossed on very Bottom of Bottle. What year they moved it off Bottom I don't know but the early Machine Made Hires would probably still have it on the Bottom. LEON.


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## SODABOB (Nov 21, 2020)

If a Hires bottle or label has the word "Registered" on it - as opposed to the words "Applied For" then it is safe to say it was made in 1906 or later - which is when their Wordmark was first granted as seen in this original document.  Notice the date *June 26, 1906







*


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## SODABOB (Nov 21, 2020)

Earlier we said that ads are a good resource for dating bottles. I don't know if either of these bottles have the medals embossed on the shoulder, but it is safe to say that this particular bottle was available in 1921

*Baltimore, Maryland  ~  June 22, 1921*





*If I came across this particular bottle with this particular label, I would be comfortable in assuming the label is original to the bottle - because the ad supports it*


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## SODABOB (Nov 21, 2020)

Although this is still inconclusive, and I don't know if the bottle in the ad has the embossed medals, it does depict a paper label with the medals - which is close enough for me to "assume" that Csa's bottle was "possibly" available in the early 1920s.  I have only been able to find the bottle depicted in the ad from 1920 to 1922.  But whether those are the only years it was available, I cannot say for certain.  Now I'm going to see if I can find anything about the Brehm Beverage Co. that might shed some more light on things.     

*Baltimore, Maryland  ~  July 8, 1921









*


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## SODABOB (Nov 21, 2020)

This is still inconclusive - But interesting - Currently on eBay

BREHM BEVERAGE CO BREWERY GREEN GLASS BOTTLE 1920-1923 BALTIMORE MARYLAND 9.5" | eBay


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## SODABOB (Nov 22, 2020)

I hate to say this is still inconclusive, but it's the embossed medals on Csa's bottle that's complicating things.  I'm starting to think those particular bottles might have been exclusive to a single bottler. If that's true, then it might explain my difficulty in finding others like it.  So instead of looking for identical bottles, I switched my focus to *14 Oz *bottles, which Csa said is embossed on the heel of his bottle.  With that said, this ad from 1925 is the absolute latest I can find that refers to a 14 Oz bottle.  The snippet of the bottles is from the same ad.  The coupon is where you will see the reference to 14 Oz bottles.  I have more to add to this discussion, including a variation of the bottle with the embossed medals that I bought on eBay this morning, but I will need a little time to get my ducks in a row in order to properly present it, which I hope will be sometime tomorrow or Tuesday at the latest.


*Philadelphia, Pa.  ~  May 14, 1925*


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## SODABOB (Nov 22, 2020)

The Brehm Beverage Co. - Baltimore, Maryland

*1921







I don't know how accurate these dates are, but everything I have seen so far supports them



*


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## SODABOB (Nov 22, 2020)

I'm getting ready to head out for the day, and only have time for this teaser about the bottle I bought this morning, but will tell "the rest of the story" tomorrow or Tuesday ...

*6 1/2 Oz*


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## SODABOB (Nov 22, 2020)

"One more for the road"  -  See ya tomorrow or Tuesday

Bob


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## Csa (Nov 23, 2020)

All I can say is wow!.  Great detective work and thanks Sodabob and others.  I had no idea how much written ads, things like court filings played and other historical records played into deducing a bottles age and provenance. The 14 oz angle is a good one, that def seemed strange to me. I'll await your next installment. Interested in your ebay purchase, as I said early on only one example I found listed on ebay and that person also had not seen many comparables? THanks again


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## SODABOB (Nov 23, 2020)

Thanks, Csa

I'm putting together some additional information about your bottle and my bottle, which I hope will provide some reliable dates. In the meantime I'm curious about what appears to be embossing on the base of your bottle.  Maybe I'm seeing things that aren't there or are an optical illusion, but if it is some form of embossing, it might be enough to identify who made your bottle and when. The so called embossing I'm referring to can be seen on the lower edge of the attached photos. If it is embossing, please describe it the best you can.

Thanks

Bob


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## SODABOB (Nov 24, 2020)

Even though I have not received my 6 1/2 ounce bottle yet, and hope there is some way to date it, I searched everywhere I could think of for a Hires' label with 6 1/2 Oz on it, and was only able to find *Two Examples*.  As you can see, they have the medals on them as well as John Kolling of Preston, California.  I couldn't find a Hires/John Kolling ad, but they obviously bottled it at some point.  I did some research on John Kolling and it appears he began his operation in Preston around 1900, and continued until the late 1940s or early 1950s.  In a April 1921 issue of The Beverage Journal it says he added "Soda" to his line at that time. Prior to 1921, it appears his main product was a brand of mineral water called "Barcal."  Please note that I will likely never be able to make a solid connection between my bottle and John Kolling, other than to reiterate that the attached labels are the *ONLY *Hire's labels I have been able to find with 6 1/2 ounces on it.  As near as I can determine, the "Medals" labels were discontinued around 1933 when they introduced their "R-J"  (Real Root Juice) paper label - which I will address in my next post. 

Footnote:  Csa posted the same label 

I'll be back

Bob


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## SODABOB (Nov 24, 2020)

P.S. / Just for the record / My Hires' bottle


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## Csa (Nov 24, 2020)

thanks.  I saw references online to labels saying either 7 oz, or "at least 6 ozs", which seems strange, so your 6 1/2 oz bottle seems fitting!  BTW,  I studied the base and there are no marks around the perimeter those are the images of the "Hires" emboss on the heel being visible through the base. THere still may be a faint mark in the center, will try to decipher it a bit more.  I'm willing to trade or part with this bottle if you like it. You're such an expert with sodas and seem to have an interest in Hires, so let me know.


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## SODABOB (Nov 24, 2020)

Thanks, Csa - I was hoping there were some identifying marks, but not surprised there aren't.  I doubt my bottle has a makers mark either, but will find out in about a week.  Thanks for the offer about your bottle.  Please let me think about it and I will let you know.  A few years ago I sold most of my collection of about 1,000 bottles, and rarely buy them anymore except for research purposes - although I still have about 50 bottles that I kept - which are mostly Big Chief's and a few others. Please let me know what type of bottles you are interested in should we decide to make a trade.  

I'm going to try and wrap this up today, and will continue with the following ...

*1933 Transition to the R-J Paper Label



*


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## SODABOB (Nov 24, 2020)

Things pretty much stayed the same until 1936 when they adopted their new patent bottle ...

*1936











*


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## SODABOB (Nov 24, 2020)

Charles Hires died in 1937 ...


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## SODABOB (Nov 24, 2020)

*Educated Guess  /  Inconclusive*

As the title implies, the following dates for the two bottles in question are an educated guess based on what I believe to be very close approximates. Probably the only way we will ever know for certain is if one of these particular bottles turns up that has some type of makers mark or date code embossed on it. Even though I have scoured the Internet without success in search of one with some type of identifying mark, that doesn't mean that one won't turn up eventually. Maybe my bottle has something on it that will help, but I'm not holding my breath that it will. I will let you know after it arrives. 

*Csa's Bottle  ~  14 Oz  ~  circa 1920 to 1925






My Bottle  ~  6 1/2 Oz  ~  circa 1925 to 1930





Thanks to everyone who participated and/or took an interest in this discussion.   

Bob*


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## SODABOB (Nov 24, 2020)

P.S. 

Even though this bottle was not a part of the original discussion, it often popped up in my searches and I though I would share it with an accompanying ad.  Some collectors refer to it as the Bowling Pin or Ten Pin bottle. I do not know when it was first introduced or how long it was in production. 

*1912







*

This particular bottle also has Coca Cola embossed on it and sold on eBay in 2013 for $2,000


*

*


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## SODABOB (Nov 24, 2020)

Csa

Even though this bottle is not for sale or trade, I thought I would share it and give you an idea what I am into.  Its currently my favorite and most valuable bottle, estimated at about $250 in near mint condition.

*Navajo Land Fine Beverages  ~  ACL  ~  Gallup, New Mexico  ~  1940s



*


Speaking of ACL bottles, this pdf is to an article that Bill Lockhart and I did in 2019 - which took us a full year to compile.


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## SODABOB (Nov 26, 2020)

*Happy Thanksgiving*

I received my bottle yesterday - but there is no makers mark or other marks on it to indicate when it was made or where it came from. But that's ok, its in fairly good shape with only a few flea bite. The thing I like best about it is that I think it and Csa's bottle - both of which have the embossed medals - seem to be on the rare side. I put this group of bottles together to illustrate their differences - especially on the shoulder areas. The earlier bottles have a more pronounced shoulder, whereas the later bottles have what I call sloped shoulders. The reason I mention this is because it might serve as a clue when it comes to approximately dating them, especially when you compare an actual bottle to ads that can be dated. As you can see, the dates I placed at the bottom are circa, which is another way of saying approximate.

The bottles shown are as follows ...

1.  From an Ad - 1897
2. Actual Bottle
3. Csa's Bottle
4. From an Ad - 1920
5. My Bottle
6. From an Ad - 1931

Have a GRRRRREAT Five "R" Day

Bob


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## SODABOB (Nov 26, 2020)

Last but not least - Big Brother / Little Brother ...


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## Csa (Nov 27, 2020)

THanks again for the forensic work, you should charge 10$ per bottle for appraisal/history work.  I think what you concluded makes sense. I'll keep looking for more of these bottles, and let me know if you're interested down the road in adding the 14 oz as a brother to the 6.5 ounce. Your article on ACLs was fantastic. That is one group that my digs/surface finds is very lacking in. I found a "star beverage" ACL from Newark NJ, that almost all the remaining paint fell off of when I brought it home, and a Fanta but that's about it. I do wish my site had more of these. In the soda's and beer areas it's mostly cliquot club bottles.  Found one cool spring water bottle with fancy embossing too, from Watchung Spring Water, but the top is snapped off.


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## SODABOB (Nov 27, 2020)

Csa

Thanks - I have a little more information I'd like to add to this discussion - which I will post later - but want to share this Hires bottle first that's currently on eBay that looks identical to yours.  It's priced at $40 but I wouldn't be surprised if someone offered $10 they would accept it.  They say it has a crack on the bottom, but I can't make it out all that well and is probably not a major problem. Check it out ...

Vintage Hires Root Beer Clear Glass Soda Bottle 14oz Embossed Antique Early | eBay


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## SODABOB (Nov 27, 2020)

For starters is this closeup of the embossed medals on a 6 1/2 Oz bottle like the one I have - and possibly the same as those on Csa's 14 Oz bottle.  I won't take credit for this photo - which I found on the Internet.  I tried capturing a similar photo of my bottle, but my camera doesn't have the necessary settings to zoom in this close and remain focused - especially when you take into account that the center medal is the size of a nickel.  Even weirder is that I couldn't see this much detail when I examined it with a 30X loupe magnifier.  Whoever took this photo must have used some type of micro lens - and the original mold engraver must have been a master.


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## SODABOB (Nov 27, 2020)

Csa

I couldn't find a bottle like mine with a paper label, but I did find one like yours ...


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## SODABOB (Dec 11, 2020)

I was researching something else when I came upon the following.  I'm surprised I didn't see this earlier, but that's the way it goes sometimes. Before continuing I should point out that the exact date(s) of this particular Owens Illinois catalog was the topic of controversary a few years ago.  I was involved in the discussion, and the best we could come up with was that the catalog probably dates between about 1933 and 1935 - and possibly as late as 1937.  The problem with properly dating the catalog centered on the fact that catalogs of this type had pages that could be removed or inserted at the discretion of whoever was responsible for updating an maintaining the catalogs. In other words, these particular pages could have been inserted anytime between about 1933 and 1937. The one thing we know for certain is that the catalog is no earlier than 1929 because that is when the the Owens Illinois Glass Company was established.  Of course, because my bottle does not have an Owens Illinois mark on the base, it's possible that some other glass manufacturer made my bottle.  All I'm saying is, based on this particular catalog, Owens Illinois definitely listed my 6 1/2 Oz bottle sometime during the 1930s - which I hope will give us some additional perspective as to when this particular bottle was made and distributed. Especially notice that it is listed as a "Licensed Patented Soda"  -  The mold number G-918 might also  serve as a clue for future research.


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## Maryland Bottles (Dec 27, 2020)

I have found one of these recently


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## SODABOB (Jan 15, 2021)

Thanks, Maryland Bottles

I found one, too ...

Vintage Embossed HIRES Glass Bottle 6.5 Ounces with Mark On Bottom of Bottle | eBay 

I'm currently trying to figure out who used the Triangle-SBW mark - which might help us date it.  If anyone is familiar with the mark, please let us know.  The BW most likely stands for Bottling Works.


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## Csa (Jan 15, 2021)

Awesome.  Tried looking for info on the sBw mark a bit might be Saltsburg, but there's no real indication they had any triangle mark like that. Gonna post some 50s 60s  mid-century deco bottles I got yesterday which I would love your input on.


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