How do I date an old Coca-Cola bottle?

Start with the patent wording on the side: the 1915 patent date, the December 25, 1923 date, a design patent number, or trademark wording. Then read the base for a two-digit date code and the bottler’s city. Embossed lettering is older than painted. Read those clues together rather than relying on one.

What is a Christmas Coke bottle?

Collectors use the name for contour bottles that carry the December 25, 1923 patent date on the side. The date is the patent, not when the bottle was filled or made. These bottles are common in many cities. The city on the base and the condition decide whether one is worth listing alone.

Are old Coke bottles with a city on the bottom valuable?

Many contour bottles have a city on the base, so the city alone is not rare. Some cities produced far fewer bottles and are searched by collectors. Look up sold listings for your exact city and patent wording. Most bottles are worth more as part of a collection than alone.

How much is an old Coca-Cola bottle worth?

An old Coca-Cola bottle is read from the patent line, the city on the base, and the date code. Embossed or painted label, chips, and haze decide the search.

By WorthLast updated October 28, 2026Collectibles Thrifting Journal

Short answerAn old Coca-Cola bottle is dated from the patent wording on the side, the city on the base, and a two-digit date code. Straight-sided bottles came before the 1915 contour bottle. Embossed lettering is older than painted. Most bottles are common. Chips, haze, and the city change the sale. Compare sold listings of that wording.

The contour Coca-Cola bottle, the one with the ribbed waist, was patented in 1915, and the patent wording molded into the glass changed several times afterward. That wording is the first date clue. Bottles marked with the November 1915 patent date are the earlier contour bottles. The December 25, 1923 patent date gave collectors the nickname Christmas Coke. Later bottles carry a design patent number, and later still the side reads as a registered trademark rather than a patent. Before the contour bottle, Coca-Cola was sold in straight-sided bottles with the name embossed, and those are a different, earlier search.

The base is the second clue. Many contour bottles have the name of the bottling city molded on the base, and that city is part of what a collector searches. Many also carry a glassmaker’s mark and a small two-digit number that collectors read as the year the bottle was made. Embossed lettering is older than the painted white lettering that appeared on later bottles. Most old Coke bottles were made in enormous numbers and are common. A clear patent line, a less common city, and clean glass make a better listing. Chips at the lip and cloudy haze inside make a worse one. This page will not quote a bottle.

What should you look for?

Patent wording: Read the small lettering on the side near the base. It may name the 1915 patent date, the December 25, 1923 date, a design patent number, or trademark wording. Photograph it in raking light. That line places the bottle in a period more reliably than the color does.
City on the base: Many contour bottles name the city of the bottler on the base. Write it down exactly as molded. Some cities produced far fewer bottles than others, and collectors search by city. A worn base you cannot read is a bottle without that clue. Say so.
Date code and maker mark: Look for a two-digit number and a small glassmaker’s symbol near the base or on the bottom. Collectors read that number as the year of manufacture. Read it with the patent wording. If the two disagree, describe both rather than choosing the older one for the title.
Embossed or painted: Embossed lettering is part of the glass. Painted white lettering is applied on the surface and appeared on later bottles. Straight-sided bottles with embossed script are an earlier shape entirely. Name the shape and the lettering method you actually have.

What moves the price?

Age and wording: Straight-sided bottles, early patent contour bottles, Christmas Coke bottles, and later trademark bottles are separate searches. Comp the wording you can read. A common later bottle and an early contour bottle do not share sold listings.
City and color: The bottling city is a search on its own, and some cities are scarcer than others. Most contour bottles are the familiar pale green glass. An unusual color or an odd city is worth checking in sold listings. Do not assume one is rare because you have not seen it before.
Condition: Chips at the lip, cracks, deep scratches, and cloudy haze on the inside lower interest. Haze from minerals is hard to remove without damaging the glass. A clean, clear bottle with sharp lettering is the easier listing. Show the worst spot in a photo.

Where can you sell it?

eBay: Sold listings for the patent wording and the city, with photos of the side lettering and the base. Pack bottles carefully with wrapping around the neck and base. Read the current fee before you ship a single common bottle across the country.
Bottle collectors: Bottle clubs and antique bottle shows know cities and variations that general buyers do not. If you have a straight-sided bottle, a scarce city, or an unusual color, ask someone who collects them before you set a price.
Local: Common contour bottles sell easily locally and at flea markets, especially in groups. A box of mixed bottles is a reasonable yard-sale lot. Pull out anything with early patent wording or an unusual city before you sell the rest together.

What can a photo settle?

The full bottle in daylight, the patent wording on the side in raking light, the base with the city and any date code readable, the lip, and the inside held up to light for haze. Worth can recognize a contour Coca-Cola bottle. It cannot read worn lettering in flat light, and it cannot see a hairline crack at the lip from across the table.

What else do people ask?

How do I date an old Coca-Cola bottle?: Start with the patent wording on the side: the 1915 patent date, the December 25, 1923 date, a design patent number, or trademark wording. Then read the base for a two-digit date code and the bottler’s city. Embossed lettering is older than painted. Read those clues together rather than relying on one.
What is a Christmas Coke bottle?: Collectors use the name for contour bottles that carry the December 25, 1923 patent date on the side. The date is the patent, not when the bottle was filled or made. These bottles are common in many cities. The city on the base and the condition decide whether one is worth listing alone.
Are old Coke bottles with a city on the bottom valuable?: Many contour bottles have a city on the base, so the city alone is not rare. Some cities produced far fewer bottles and are searched by collectors. Look up sold listings for your exact city and patent wording. Most bottles are worth more as part of a collection than alone.