My Coke Can Collection

I was thrilled to receive this photo of a 1960’s Coke can from a reader.  Check it out!  It’s in great condition and serves as a good example of the earliest Coke can design.  I expect it’s made entirely of tin, and what makes it really interesting to me is the top.  Marcus (the gentleman how sent me the pictures) included a photo of a second 60’s Coke can with a different top.  One had a pull top, the other, a punch top.  I never considered that a pop-can would have to be opened the same way you open a can of juice?  Does anyone remember when they moved away from pull-and-toss pop tabs to the kind you bend forward and back?  Check out this article on the history of soda in cans.

Old Coke cans, Antique coke cans, 1960’s Coke cans, 1960’s Coca-Cola cans

russian diet coke canThis Diet Coke can from Russia was a gift from my brother-in-law from his trip to Moscow in 2009. I’d like to know the translation of the words on this Russian Diet Coke can. I’m sure it says something innocuous like “enjoy the taste” or “Brothers, throw off the shackles of your oppressors.” Can someone help me out? I find it interesting that in some countries, Diet Coke is called Coca-Cola Light.  I wonder why that is?  If you know, please leave me a post below.

Russian Diet Coke can. Coca-cola can Russia.

 

Check this out.  I bought these Coke salt and pepper shakers in 1994, in Montreal, Quebec while on my honeymoon.  ”Wow,” I said “Salt and pepper shakers shaped like a Venco 44 Coke vending machine.”  I think they’re really cool!  I think I only paid about $10 for them.  If you have a Coke salt and pepper shaker or anything else different like this, please send me a picture!

Coke salt and pepper shaker.

This small 6-pack plastic carrying thing sits unused in my garage.  I’m showing it here because it represents an idea.  The idea that the Coca-Cola company believes that their product should be bought as a staple in your home.  Just like milk, you should purchase quantities of it along with your other groceries.  And before there were 2-litre bottles, there were smaller glass bottles.  This plastic tote helped you carry 6 bottles home from the store.  How do you feel about that?  Should soda-pop be something you keep on hand in your home, or is it a treat you buy when you’re away from home?

Obviously these carriers (and largely the glass bottles) have been replaced by plastic bottles and cans.  And a case of 12 or 24 cans is a lot easier to take home from the store than 6 glass bottles.  I remember before the 2-litre bottle we had huge glass bottles.  Does anyone else remember these?  Wasn’t there some controversy about these bottles because there were extremely prone to exploding if dropped?

Here is is. The 2010 Limited edition, Olympic Coke can. Notice also my new stainless-stell fridge in the background and new kitchen cupboards. Woohoo!

I missed picking up these round Coke bottles.  Apparently these round plastic Coke bottles were available from Walmart in November.  I assume people would drink the Coke and then, over their wife’s dead body, hang them on their Christmas tree.  I told my friend Todd about my disappointment from not getting one, and about my affinity for this kind of crap.  He mentioned that he saw some at a small variety store.  We’ll see if he can grab me one before they’re gone for good.   Or until next year.

Round coke bottles. Round Coca-Cola bottles.

Not anymore! A friend directed me to a website that has a bunch of rumours about Coke, including the cocaine-content one.  They’re quite interesting!
http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/cokelore.asp

I love this picture of an old Coke cooler from the 1950’s. You may notice that the colour on this photo is extreamly brilliant. I’m no potographer, but lately I’ve been reading up on a technique called HDR. Basically, you take multiple images taken using different exposures and combine them using software such as Photoshop or Photomatix. The result is a dramatic, extreamly defined, often brilliantly coloured photograph.

The cooler you see here is probably from the 50’s, although I can say for sure it’s not from the 40’s or earlier. The shape of earlier coolers was much more square. I have one of those for sale if you want it and live in Ontario.

I love this little thing. I bought it at a collectables store. It’s a mini Coke bottle that pulls open to reveal a tiny lighter.  I’ve never tested it, but the flint is still intact and I’m sure it would work it I loaded it with fuel. It looks like it was used quite a bit. I understand this is the type of item that Coca-Cola salesmen would hand out to their customers as gifts. I think it’s worth about $35.

I did what a lot of Canadians did when the Toronto BlueJays won the World Series in 1992. I grabbed some unopened cans and tucked them away. In fact, I put away a case of 24. I must have thought it would be a good investment. What I didn’t take into account is that these cans were not a limited run. Coke produced millions of them. You couldn’t buy a Coke at that time without the BlueJays logo on it. To make matters worse, everyone else had the same idea. I haven’t met anyone who hasn’t socked away one or two of these. Do you have one? No? Oh, you must be the person who didn’t buy one. I’ve heard rumour of such a person. Why don’t you go over to eBay and get one. Or to a garage sale. Anywhere.

Thanks to this guy for the Bluejays Coke can picture.

I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw this on the shelf at my local convenience store.  It was only last week when I first tried regular Coca-Cola with Bacon. The flavor engineers at Coke have outdone themselves. Their master work: Diet Coke with Bacon flavor.  To be honest, if you’re looking for a pork-flavored low-calorie beverage, the only option right now is Diet Coke with Bacon. The good news is it’s terrific!  If you haven’t tried it yet, try to imagine the greasy tasty goodness of crispy bacon in a carbonated sweet drink. My mouth is watering already!

To be fair, I was a little discomforted by the tiny gristly bits in the bottom of the can. The gritty texture did take away a little from the overall enjoyment. But for those of you calorie-wise consumers looking for your bacon fix, this is definitely the drink for you!

Here’s a link to a list of Coke slogan’s from 1886 to 2002. My favorite one is “Demand the genuine by full name” from 1914. You just don’t hear as many turse edicts in advertising anymore. Now it’s all subtle suggestions. The shortest promotion, lasting only 3 months before it was replaced in September of 1979 was the memorable slogan, ”Just fucking drink it”.

Someone asked me today if I had ever heard of a drink called Calimocho. Apparently it’s a 50-50 mix of red wine and Coke. Has anyone else had this? I think I’ll give it a try.

Here’s some other Coke drink recipes.

I got this cool mini coke fridge off ebay last year for about $30 or so. It fits one can. I love it. It plugs in via a USB port on your laptop to power it. It’s got a tiny blue light inside also.  It works best to maintain the temperature of a can, rather than bringing it down from room-temperatre. I’ve seen other Coke can coolers I’d like to have. There’s one that keeps 12 cans cold and fits nicely on your table. I’ll see if I can find a picture of it to show you what I mean. You know what I really need? Some stickers on this mini-fridge to say “Coca-Cola”. Maybe I’ll try to make some

As a kid, I was curious about the taste inside this brown-coloured Coke can. I’d tried Diet Coke, and well, as a kid wasn’t too impressed. So I bought a can. It tasted gross. I didn’t event finish the can. Actually I shouldn’t even say it tasted bad, it’s just that it had no taste compared to my favorite drink, Coca-Cola.

Now I’m in my late 30’s and I’m more conscious about what I put in my body. Caffine-Free Diet Coke is all the only pop we buy now. I’ve learned to enjoy it. In fact, I feel guilty when I dring the regular Coke. I’m sure it’s still unhealthy, but at least it doesn’t have, what, 10 spoon fulls of sugar? BTW, check out Phil Mooney’s excellent blog discussing Diet Coke. http://www.coca-colaconversations.com/my_weblog/2008/07/heres-to-you-di.html

I can’t remember where I picked up this brass Coke bottle, but it sure looks home-made. It makes a great paperweight!

A friend gave me this Coke toy car many years ago. I appreciate the gesture, but what a piece of crap. Look at the picture on the package. An Indy car with a Coke logo – cool! Now look at the toy. A white cube-van. An Indy car says “power” and “speed”. A white van says “suspect last seen heading east”. Honestly, is there anything Coke won’t put their name on? Want one?

My wife insists that the value of my Coke can collection is equal to that of the value of scrap aluminum, minus the cost of shipping them to the scrap yard. I’ve been looking through my old copy of the Coca-Cola Collectibles Price Guide by Allan Petretti. (You can get one here)

The Coke can I’m looking for is from the 60’s with diamond-shapes on it.  I’m pretty sure it was the first Coke can.

Limited Edition Coke Can
Sometimes the value is based on how rare it is.  Is it a limited edition Coke can?  Did it have a smaller run, promoting some local event?  Some of my favorite Coke cans are very colourful and promote an event like sporing event.  My friend Corey brought my back a Coke can from Italy with some colourful graphics on it promoting a soccer match.

Old Coke Cans
What is the value of an old Coke Can? eBay is probably the best source for current market value of your Coke can, but it’s fair to say that Coke cans from the 60’s are the highest value.  Probably because not many have survived.  I myself like the early 80’s Coke cans that were made of mostly tin. 

Do you remember when Coke cans had a pull-tab that came off in your hand?

I am missing out. There are a ton of flavors of Diet Coke out there that I haven’t been able to try. A quick search of Wikipedia reveals a host of flavors including raspberry, cherry, black cherry, and vanillia.

I suppose if I traveled more I’d have more chances to find these gems. Although it makes me chuckle a little when I recall a passage from For God, Country, and Coca-Cola (a book I really enjoyed). The author described a meeting between a new Coke sales rep and his superior. In the meeting the trainer asked the young rep how he ordered a Coca-Cola when he visited a soda bar. He replied, “dope with lime”. The superior scolded him and told him that Coca-Cola was a perfect drink, and did not need, nor should it be diluted with additional flavors.

Fast-forward to 2009. Soda sales are flat. The only increase in sales Coke sees are when it introduces a new flavor.

Check out this article on Coca-Cola’s plans to change product mix.

Holy crap. I just saw a set of 5 aluminum Coke bottles for sale for $199US! I love Coke bottles, don’t get me wrong, but who in their right mind would pay that kind of money for 5  bottles?

On the other hand, if you’re reading this and you have some interesting Coke bottles or Coke cans to trade, send me and email to derek-at-mycokecancollection.com and we can chat!

Ever seen these? I picked up a couple of packs of Coke trading cards back in 1993. It’s a neat idea, but I think you have to be a real collector to want to own these things. Each card had a reproduction of an advertisement for Coca-Cola. On the back was a bit of detail about the ad, and a lame trivia question. You can find new packs here.

This is the centre piece of my collection. Cast from 24k gold, it was found among the treasures of King Tutankhamun by famed archaeologist, Howard Carter in 1922.  Bottles such as this were placed inside the sarcophagus as it was believed the beverage would offer the dead refreshment as they passed on to the next life. The red pouch is velvet and was made in China. You may also find one here.

I’d love to know how this game worked. There’s a lot of red circles you can push out of this card. On the right, is a list of first names. The title on the card reads “Win a 24 Bottle case of Coca-Cola for only $.05.  Interestingly, the names are all very 1950’s. If anyone has any information, please let me know.

About 12 Years ago I bought a Vendo 80 Coke vending machine from a retired antique dealer in Niagra Falls. I began to restore it, but wasn’t happy with how it was going. I tore it down and decided to re-paint it. Other things came up in my life, like marriage, kids, etc, and the project go put on hold. Here’s a picture of a restored Vendo 80.

This plastic cup was given to me by Jack Hanson from Canada Cup in Toronto. It was made by his company to supply the first McDonalds in Russia!

These shoes are hanging in my basement. They are from the mid-80’s. There was a time when Coca-cola clothing was in fashion. A very brief time

I really wanted to like Coke Blak. I bought a few bottles to try. Some things you should just not mix with Coke. Don’t get me wrong, I like Coke Cherry, and Diet Coke with Lemon, and all the variations inbetween. But this stuff s just awful!