Old Pepsi bottles are hard to come by, so adding one to your collection can be both challenging and rewarding. The big question is, how do you identify a valuable vintage Pepsi bottle versus the frauds and upsellers?
To help you add only authentic pieces to your collection we’ve compiled six top tips that’ll have you spotting duds and authenticating Pepsi bottles worth money:
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1. Look for bottles with embossing and straight sides
From 1905 to 1933, Pepsi used bottles that were made by glassmaker Hutchins. They were decoratively embossed and had straight edges. These are super-valuable (up to $1500).
Plus, if the hue of the bottle is amber, then the bottle could be even rarer!
TIP: If you have a Pepsi bottle with wave-like embossing on its shoulder, then it was probably manufactured around 1935 to 1940. This was the time of the great depression and only a few such bottles exist today, which makes them quite valuable to the right buyer.
2. A Pepsi-Cola Paper Label
If you can find a vintage bottle with a paper label saying ‘Pepsi-Cola’ then your bottle was probably manufactured before 1935.
Always look closely at labels. They should show age, and date-appropriate text, and imagery. Plus, authentic labels could be faded and even damaged:
If it looks too fresh and doesn’t have the look, feel, or smell of old paper, it might not be authentic.
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3. The Applied Color Label
If you have a vintage bottle that has the Applied Color Label, meaning the label is on the glass instead of paper, then your bottle was manufactured around 1945 to 1948.
Additionally, if there is a colon between the words Pepsi and Cola then this is a genuine version:
However, if the words are separated by a hyphen with the words ‘2 Full Glass’ then your bottle was manufactured around 1950.
The 1945 to 1948 version is known as ‘Double Dot’ while the 1950 version is called the ‘Dash Bottle’.
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4. Bottles With A Mold Code
Old Pepsi bottles with ‘mold code’ on their base were manufactured during the 1940s:
The code consists of 1 or 2 digits along with the alphabet A or B. The digits usually represent the year of manufacture for example if your bottle has a mold code ‘2A43’ then it was manufactured in 1943.
5. The Swirl Neck Designs
Pepsi bottles with swirl neck designs and embossing were manufactured in the 1950s:
This design also has the company name displayed in rounded form with an oval border. Pepsi bottles before the 1950s use to have narrower necks.
You can check this by placing a beer bottle crown on the opening of the bottle. If the crown fits then it is a 1950s version but if it does not fit then it was manufactured before the 1950s.
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6. The Pepsi Logo
Logo color and the condition of the paper label play an important role in identifying the year of manufacture of a Pepsi bottle.
For instance, bottles with a red and white logo were made after 1948. Whereas, bottles with the red, white, and blue logo were made during World War II and can be worth around $25.
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