# 1923 Coke large store display bottle



## lblackvelvet (Jan 5, 2014)

Hello ,      I received a call from a friend who has a 1923 Coca-Cola bottle about 20'' tall & embossed from Va.  I have no pictures yet to show. I was wondering what price range I should offer him if in excellent condition ?  I have not personally ever seen one in person and not sure I would buy it to keep or to sell it.   Thanks for any ideas.   Kevin....


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## LC (Jan 5, 2014)

Hello Kevin , my 94 book list a 1930s twenty inch bottle at 325 . It does not show a 1923 though , don't know if this actually helps any , best I can do . I have never seen one of the twenty inch ones before except for pictures . Good luck with it .


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## epackage (Jan 5, 2014)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/COCA-COLA-BOTTLE-WITH-METAL-BOTTLE-CAP-HUGE-DEC-25-1923-/141138358476?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20dc8070cc


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## epackage (Jan 5, 2014)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/COCA-COLA-BOTTLE-WITH-METAL-BOTTLE-CAP-HUGE-DEC-25-1923-/141132448672?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20dc2643a0


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## epackage (Jan 5, 2014)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/COCA-COLA-BOTTLE-WITH-METAL-BOTTLE-CAP-HUGE-DEC-25-1923-/141108351766?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20dab69316


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## epackage (Jan 5, 2014)

Personally I wouldn't pay more than $20-25 for one Kev unless I was a hoobleskirt Coke collector


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## lblackvelvet (Jan 5, 2014)

Thanks to both of you !!!    I understand that there were copies made of these bottles, Which the ones Jim linked on to look like copies ? At least to me, They didn't show a bottom picture of either bottle. Soon as I get a picture of the bottle in question I will post it. The seller is telling me it is not a copy, been there done that before!!!  Thanks again for all the help I receive from all in here.   Kevin...


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## zecritr (Jan 5, 2014)

looks like they selling for about 50 to 75 on e-bay some got them priced at a couple hundred   but they had bidders so.....


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## lblackvelvet (Jan 5, 2014)

WOW,  Quite a difference in price range there guys. If the bottles Jim linked to here were copies would that account for the lower prices ? Or like Jim and "Z" say they are only worth 50.00 to 100.00 ?   I also called a friend in Roanoke that has sold 2 original bottles for 300.00 each. This can get confusing !!!  I think I will pass on this bottle unless someone in here is interested and they PM me and I will make offer for them and all they have to do is pay shipping cost over there offer if accepted. Thanks all for the information.   Kevin...


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## cowseatmaize (Jan 6, 2014)

That seller seams to have plenty and had a HUGE hutch to boot.http://www.ebay.com/sch/m...coca+huge&_sacat=1


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## SODAPOPBOB (Jan 6, 2014)

Kevin: Coca Cola did indeed make the large store display bottles - but there are also reproductions out there - it all depends on how they are marked - be sure to get some good pictures of the base as well as the side markings. If original and in near-mint condition, I'd say easily worth $200+, especially if it has the original cap. Hopefully the information from these two links will assist you ...  
[URL=http://www.hakes.com/item.asp?Auction=202&ItemNo=95176]http://www.hakes.com/item...n=202&ItemNo=95176

http://earlycoke.com/1937displaybottle.html


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## SODAPOPBOB (Jan 6, 2014)

And this ... *[ Circa 1920s / 30s ]*


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## lblackvelvet (Jan 6, 2014)

Thanks Bob & All who have offered advise. I still have no pictures of bottle. I am going to go look at it tomorrow so I can get my own pictures and info. That sure is a huge bottle!!!  Thanks again for all your help.  Kevin....


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## beith_2005 (Jan 6, 2014)

I have 3 of the 4 20 inch display bottles. The one you are describing is the Dec. 25, 1923 bottle. They usually go between $250 - 300 without the cap. The cap can add as much as $125 to it depending on shape. To know if the bottle is real and not a repro the base will have a large Illinois glass makers mark. Hope this helps.


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## SODAPOPBOB (Jan 6, 2014)

beith_2005 said:
			
		

> To know if the bottle is real and not a repro the base will have a large Illinois glass makers mark. Hope this helps.



This is said to be the base of an original Coca Cola store display bottle ...


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## SODAPOPBOB (Jan 6, 2014)

P.S. It would be interesting to know if all of the Coca Cola display bottles have the Illinois Glass mark or if some have the Owens-Illinois mark? Remember, Illinois Glass and Owens Glass merged in 1929. Illinois Glass Mark = <I> Owens-Illinois Mark = <(I)>


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## grime5 (Jan 7, 2014)

my base looks like the one bob posted but it has a number 6 under the mark. later greg


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## lblackvelvet (Jan 7, 2014)

Hello Greg,   Long time no see!!  How ya been ?  Thanks for the input, If this is an original bottle in near mint condition, What would you value it at ?  Thanks, Kevin....


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## grime5 (Jan 7, 2014)

cant remember what i paid for mine.but someone painted it gold.ive been putting paint remover on it to clean it up. im sure i got a decent deal on it. you know how tight i am.


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## Eric (Jan 7, 2014)

Saw one this past year at a bottle show $275.. no cap.


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## beith_2005 (Jan 7, 2014)

I went back and looked at mine and it is owens-illinois. It was dark when i looked at it. So they are probably all like that.


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## SODAPOPBOB (Jan 8, 2014)

beith_2005 said:
			
		

> I went back and looked at mine and it is owens-illinois. It was dark when i looked at it. So they are probably all like that.



beith_2005 Are your display bottles the 1923 Patent or the D-Patent? Both patents were made but I have been unable to find a picture of the base for the D-Patent bottles. The base picture I posted earlier has the Illinois Glass mark. The large circle around the mark is some kind of mold mark and is not a part of the makers mark.   ~ * ~ Here's the link I posted earlier, plus the copy/pasted text from it. It's a little confusing because the author says the display bottles were first offered in 1927 and 1928, and yet he also says they were made by and marked on the base with Owens-Illinois. But because Owens-Illinois did not come into existence until 1929, it seems impossible that the 1927-1928 bottles could have been made by the Owens-Illinois Company. The author also says the bottles were changed to the D-Patent in 1937. Notice in the attached picture that the original cardboard carton says COMPLIMENTS of ILLINOIS GLASS COMPANY, but says nothing about the OWENS-ILLINOIS COMPANY. ~ * ~ Link and Text ... 

http://earlycoke.com/1937displaybottle.html

First appearing in the 1927 Coca-Cola Bottlers Price List, the "giant" Coca-Cola bottle was offered to bottler's as "an exact reproduction of the 6 ounce bottle".   This bottle was identical to the 6 ounce bottle, right down to the "Bottle Pat'd Dec 25,1923" embossing on the body of the bottle.Available in January of 1928, the 20 inch tall "Christmas Bottle" was made by the Owens Illinois Glass Company (as shown by the I and O embossed on the bottom).The empty bottle was shipped to bottlers in a cardboard box directly from the glass company. The bottle was wrapped in a protective sleeve of corrugated cardboard. Included in the box was a 2.25 inch wide bottle cap made by The Cork, Crown & Seal Company and a lightweight card that explained how to make the "colored liquid" contents to fill the bottle.By the large number of bottles still available today — and the period photographs showing the bottle in use, its seems to have been very well received. I have seen photos of the bottle being used in point-of-purchase displays inside the store, high on shelves near the cash register, sitting on the store counter, and in window displays.In 1937 the bottle was changed to reflect the new D-105529 bottle patent. These "D Patent" bottles were offered in the bottler's price list  for the next eight years until 1945, when they were discontinued.  *[ Original Bottle ~ Tag ~ Cardboard Box ]*


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## SODAPOPBOB (Jan 8, 2014)

Talk about "Giant" display bottles, check out these brutes ...


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## cowseatmaize (Jan 8, 2014)

How about this one![][]   FROM  Feel free to donate, I believe the project is still in progress.Sorry, not Coke but still.


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## cowseatmaize (Jan 8, 2014)

I wonder which is bigger, that or the Collinsville catsup water tower (-the stand). FROM


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## beith_2005 (Jan 8, 2014)

I have the 1923, pat-d, and the acl. The bases of the 1923 and pat-d look like the base pic you posted. The acl has the circle with the I in the center and 1969 on the bottom. The 1923 has a 1 under the mark and the pat-d has a 3 to the right and a 7 under it. From what I've been told the pat-d is the rarest. After looking closer at the 2 I think that circle around the diamond is a mold line


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## SODAPOPBOB (Jan 9, 2014)

Of the 50+ pictures I found of the Coca Cola display bottles, only two included pictures of the bases ( both of which I am showing here side-by-side). And of the 50+ examples, all but about three of them were the 1923 patents. The D-105529 patent display bottles are definitely harder to come by than the 1923s. 

The pictures below are 1923s and both have the Illinois Glass mark with an "I" in a diamond. I have not been able to find a picture of the base on a D-105529, although I do know that the standard 6 ounce D-105529 bottles were first introduced in 1938. I'm not sure when the 20-inch D-105529 display examples were first introduced other than it had to have been during or after 1938 and most likely made by Owens-Illinois.


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## SODAPOPBOB (Jan 9, 2014)

Oops!  ???


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## SODAPOPBOB (Jan 9, 2014)

Here's a 1923 display bottle on the left and a D-105529 on the right, but no pictures of the bases. They are almost identical except for the patent information below the *Coca Cola *script.


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## lblackvelvet (Jan 9, 2014)

Thanks Bob,   You guys are great about providing great information.   Kevin....   I still have yet to see the bottle!!


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## RED Matthews (Feb 24, 2014)

I have one in storage.  Can't get to it for identity until my daughter returns.  RED M,


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## Lazysalmon (Oct 19, 2017)

Hello, I have a 1923 Pat'D Dec. 25, 1923 20 inch bottle which I am considering putting on ebay. Lots of good information on this thread especially the "Illinois" bottle markings which I was unaware. The bottom of my bottle has a "6" under the circle with the "I" and a "7" to the right of the circle.
The bottle is in great shape including the cap. There appears to be the most slightest hairline cracks on the bottom of the bottle and the inside of the metal cap has some rust but no big damage. What would be the going rates of a bottle like this on ebay and is there great demand for a collectable like this? I have amateur knowledge at best and would appreciate any comments. Thanks,


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