Coca-Cola 1960s Fountain Cups

These are Coke fountain cups that I have acquired. Also known as paper cups or dixie cups, fountain cups are used when consumers buy Coca-Cola from soda fountains. These fountain cups are from USA, however the year they are produced is not mentioned. We can determine these, by observing the design.




The first and second cup should be from a similar time period, as they bare the same slogans. They should be from 1940s to 1960s, as they bare the words "REG. U.S. PAT. OFF." The slogan "Sign of Good Taste" confirms this to be from around 1957. The third cup is obvious, from 1984.




The first and second cup is from the same time period, the second cup is a smaller "Free Sample" version of the first cup. The diamond logo design was used by Coca-Cola from 1955 to 1970. This type of diamond logo design known as the Harlequin design (multi-diamond design), however, was first used in 1966. The third cup is guessed to be from around 1963, based on the slogan "Things go better with Coke". The fourth cup is believed to be from early 1970s, when Frozen Coke was first introduced.

Emptying Your Cans

Cans should be kept empty in a collection. At least that's my opinion, based on experience.

Cans with liquid inside are more prone to corrosion, which leads to the liquid spilling out of the can and damage other cans. In some cases, pressure buildup inside the cans causes them to "explode", where the top opening were forced open, and the contents burst out.

There was one time when the pressure inside a can was so high and it didn't explode, but instead the bottom of the can was "pushed out", making it bulge outwards. It was the very first item in my Coke collection, so I was pretty sad about it.

If these don't happen, then most likely the gas inside the cans disperse away, leaving less than half of the actual content. This would be pointless since if you're going to collect full cans, it should actually be full.

This is why I believe cans should be kept empty in a collection. Furthermore, empty cans cost less to ship if you're thinking of moving or trading as they weigh less.

Funnily enough, I've never experienced any of these problems in my bottle collection. Most people keep "full bottle" collection anyway, since the contents can be seen and it is cooler than empty bottles.



There are three common ways to empty your cans; top-opened, bottom-opened, and fake air-filled.


Top-Opened

This is the most obvious and easiest way to empty your cans. You open the cans through it's normal intended way, and drink it's contents. However, the opening is an eyesore.




Bottom-Opened

Using this way, you can empty your cans but still keep the top part sealed. You make two holes on the bottom of the cans, and empty out its contents.




Fake Air-Filled

This is my favorite method of emptying cans. There are no visual damage to the cans. It's a bit tricky, I will explain with the help of photos.


Turn the ring sideways, and using a sharp pointed object (knife) make a tiny hole where the ring would cover it in its original position.


Turn the can upside-down, and shake the can so that the trapped gas would push the liquid from the tiny hole.


To remove excess liquid, put the can upside down in hot water. The air inside will expand, pushing the liquid out of the can.


Wipe your can clean and return the ring to its original position. Now you have an empty can, without any obvious visual damage.

Frozen Coke

This is Frozen Coke. It is similar to the flavoured iced drink Slurpee. Frozen Coke has been released in the USA since early 1970s.

Vintage 1906 "Diamond Label" Straight-Sided Bottle

This straight-sided bottle is a reproduction of the original 1900-1916 "Diamond Label" bottles, nowadays often called the straight-sided bottles due to its straight side as opposed to the curvy side of the Contour Bottle which made its debut in 1916.

The straight-sided bottles were similar to the bottles used for other beverages, distinguished only by the trademarked diamond-shaped paper labels. The diamond labels featured either "Atlanta, Ga." or the signature of Asa Chandler, who was then president of The Coca-Cola Company.



This reproduction straight-sided bottle features the early 20th century Coca-Cola Spencerian script logo and "Diamond Label" design elements. Straight-sided bottles are the successor to the "Hutchinson Bottle" which was first used to bottle Coca-Cola.

Cock-a-Cola

Can you spot the cock?

This decal was part of a $200,000 campaign created to promote the reintroduction of Coca-Cola's original contoured bottle shape, in the form of PET bottles. It was designed to appeal to young Coke drinkers who would not have grown up with the famous bottle shape.

It was released in 1995 and later all promotional materials were recalled because of a hidden sexual image (obvious) painted in an ice-cube at the bottom right corner - a woman performing oral sex (can you spot the hidden image? Click on the above picture or scroll down for enlargement).

According to Snopes.com, it was a joke intended by the graphic artist, whom was later fired and sued. The hidden image was never noticed prior to production, it wasn't until customers complained about it did Coca-Cola realized what happened.

Items from this campaign are mostly destroyed, only a few exist nowadays. Extremely rare and hard to get, I am fortunate to have one in my collection.

Show hidden image

Taken from Snopes.com

Coca-Cola 1987 Christmas Special

These cans are from a Chrismas special set from 1987. These cans feature paintings of Santa Claus by commissioned artist Haddon Sundblom for Coca-Cola Christmas advertisements in the 1920s to 1930s. Coca-Cola's advertisements of Santa Claus help shape the modern image of the Father Christmas (I'll be doing a post about this later).

Coke Can NZ - Over The Years

The above photos show NZ cans from (left to right) 1989, 1991 and 1993. The design is the same, however these photos show the evolution of the cans themselves. The 1989 can still have the old 'throw away' tab and the 'water drop' shaped opening. Starting from 1991, the cans started utilizing the 'lif tab-push back' type openings. From 1993 onwards, we have the cans with longer neckings.

Note the modified Dynamic Ribbon Device integrated within the Coca-Cola name. This design was popular in the 1980s and 1990s.




The above photo shows the 2008 design for Vanilla Coke PET bottle and Coca-Cola can. Notice that the Dynamic Ribbon Device is now outside of the Coca-Cola name. Also, there's a special flower design integrated with the Vanilla Coke's Dynamic Ribbon Device.

Brief History of Coca-Cola

Somebody commented on my previous post, asking about the origin of Coke. This post is a response to his/her question..


Anonymous said...

Good Evening,
For someone who is so interested in Cokes, i guess you might be the right person to ask.. Did you know which country invented Coke?.. Its a product invented for export purpose only, if its so good, why is it not sold in its origin country?

Monday, 09 March, 2009



Hi Anon,

Thank you for your question. I'm confused with your statement that Coke is a product invented for export only. When you said Coke, did you mean cocaine? If you mean cocaine, then I have no interest. But if you mean Coca-Cola, then perhaps you have a different version of history from mine.

So here's a brief description of Coca-Cola origin.

Coca-Cola was first invented in 1885 by a druggist named John Pemberton in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was initially developed as a patent medicine containing, among others, coca leaves (cocaine) and kola nut (caffeine) - hence the name Coca-Cola. It was claimed to stop headaches and calm nervousness. Although initially marketed as medicine, Coca-Cola was intended to be taken as carbonated drink right from the start.

In 1888, Asa Griggs Candler, a businessman, established The Coca-Cola Company and purchased exclusive rights to the formula. Coca-Cola later emerged as a dominant soft drink in the world. Today, Coca-Cola is widely accepted all over the world, and especially in it's origin, United States.

Most of the information here is gathered from Wikipedia, but you can also find more materials from The Coca-Cola Company's website.

Coca-Cola was initially manufactured as a patent medicine, and was still dispensed as medicine long after it has been developed as beverage. Cola syrups (various brands) are still available as household medicine.

Diet Coca-Cola

Name on can: Diet Coca-Cola
Product range: Diet Coke / Coca-Cola Light
Volume: 300 mL
Can height: 155 mm
Can diameter: 50 mm
Manufactured: 2008, New Zealand
Best before date: 02/05/2009
Bought: March 2009, New Zealand
Price: NZD 2.00 (Shop)
Contents: Empty (Bottom opened)
Tag: dcnz0901


Special Feature: Silver can, silver Contour Bottle in grey circle, grey Dynamic Ribbon Device, "Diet Coca-Cola"

Info:
The Diet Coke / Coca-Cola Light range was initially introduced in 1982 under the brand name "Diet Coca-Cola". Nowadays they are almost always called either Diet Coke or Coca-Cola Light.