Health - Family - Food

The collector of soft-drink related collectibles usually gravitates toward the large group of Coca-Cola items available for collecting. Bottles and even cans make great additions to their collections. Coca-Cola is a well-known brand all throughout the world, and their bottle shape and signature logo are recognized by people of all ages and locations. In fact, little about them has changed since their debut on the market in 1916.

The brand recognition of Coke is so strong that when some people say it, it can mean any type soft drink at all. The company may not be pleased with other brands being referred to as their copyright, but it shows how successful their brand is.

Although Atlanta druggist John Pemberton first sold Coca-Cola in 1886 it would be several years before the familiar Coca-Cola bottle would appear. Pemberton first sold his beverage for five cents a glass from a soda fountain in his pharmacy. Records indicate the Pemberton's accountant Frank Robinson suggested the name Coca-Cola. Robinson also contributed his handwriting to the beverage's now famous script logo of the words Coca-Cola. Joseph Biedenharn designed the first Coca-Cola bottles and sent the company samples of his design but they would not appear on the market for several years.

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but in business it can cut into sales when competing products are too similar. The company wanted a bottle that was so distinctive you were sure you had the "real thing" and came up with the idea of a bottle so different you tell the moment you held it that it was authentic. They had a contest for a bottle that you could identify in darkness or blindfolded, and the rather feminine curve of the now standard Coca-Cola bottles was the clear winner.

The basic shape of Coco-Cola bottles has stayed the same, but it has been altered slightly for different reasons. One of the reasons was practicality. The original bottles were wider in the middle, which made them unsteady on conveyor belts. To avoid tipping, they were made thinner, but many people think the appearance is more balanced and attractive.

When the plastic 20-ounce bottles were introduced for use in vending machines, slight variations in design were required. Also, large sized bottles such as two- and three-liter family size bottles of Coca-Cola, could not carry the same signature contoured look on technical grounds. However, even without the standard shape, collectors get excited when they find old bottles of Coca-Cola products.