How to Identify Soda Bottles

Look for a label. While some bottles had paper labels that did not stand the test of time, there are other forms of labeling as well. Many vintage soda bottles have embossed logos that are easy to read and identify. Others have applied color labels. This type of labeling is durable, so the color logo is normally still visible. The logo can help to pinpoint the age of the bottle. For example, until 1951, the words "Pepsi" and "Cola" on the logo were separated by two dashes. In 1951, this was changed to a single dash.

Check the shape. For many soda manufacturers, the shape of the bottle has become an iconic and identifiable symbol of their product. The familiar shape of the Coca-Cola bottle, known as the "Mae West" or "hobbleskirt" bottle because it resembled a woman's skirt of the time period, was first manufactured in 1915. Before that date, Coco-Cola bottles came in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Examine the color. The color of a bottle can help to identify its age. For example, Pepsi bottles manufactured before 1907 were made of dark amber glass. There are reproductions of these vintage glasses in the marketplace. To identify an old one, see if you can read a newspaper through it. If you cannot, you have a vintage bottle rather than a reproduction.

Study the bottom of the bottle. The shape of the bottom of the bottle can help to identify when it was made. The oldest, and most valuable, bottles have pontil marks, where the glass rod used to create the bottle was snapped off. In addition, the bottom of the bottle can hold other identification clues. For example, Coca-Cola bottles manufactured after 1916 have a four-digit manufacturer's number that indicates the year it was made. On older bottles, the last two digits indicate the year. On newer bottles, it is the first digit.

Consult collectors' guides. There are many books available on collecting soda bottles. Studying these will help you learn how to identify specific types of bottles. Visit a library or bookstore in order to flip through several books and see which ones are most useful for the bottles you wish to collect. Some examples of bottle collectors' guides include "Warman's Bottles Field Guide" by Michael Polak, "Digger Odell's Soda Bottle Price Guide" by Digger Odell, and "The Official Guide to Collecting Applied Color Label Soda Bottles" by Thomas E. Marsh.