robinb Posted January 7, 2023 Share #1 Posted January 7, 2023 Full wooden case that's Quartermaster marked. All of the bottles are dated 1943. 22 of them even have their original caps still in place. The side of the box is marked Return to Adak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Keith Posted January 7, 2023 Share #2 Posted January 7, 2023 Wow! Very Cool! Apparently it was not returned! BKW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otter42 Posted January 8, 2023 Share #3 Posted January 8, 2023 Nice find Robin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everforward Posted January 8, 2023 Share #4 Posted January 8, 2023 Cool….especially with the crate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglerunner88 Posted January 8, 2023 Share #5 Posted January 8, 2023 Wow the crate is probably worth more than all the bottles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglerunner88 Posted January 8, 2023 Share #6 Posted January 8, 2023 Is it true that only blue-glass Coke bottles were used/manufactured overseas while the others like these remained Stateside? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikie Posted January 8, 2023 Share #7 Posted January 8, 2023 That is an awesome find! Bit of advice, though, don’t turn them in for the deposit. mikie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarecrow Posted January 8, 2023 Share #8 Posted January 8, 2023 Great find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinb Posted January 8, 2023 Author Share #9 Posted January 8, 2023 3 hours ago, eaglerunner88 said: Is it true that only blue-glass Coke bottles were used/manufactured overseas while the others like these remained Stateside? I think it's the other way around. Clear bottles that do not have the city and state on the bottoms were bottled by overseas plants. Bluish bottles with the city and state on the bottoms were stateside used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quartermaster Posted January 9, 2023 Share #10 Posted January 9, 2023 That's right - clear glass bottles were war time and the blue glass bottles (with city/state on bottom) were either pre or post war according to the Coca Cola archives in Atlanta GA. It is thought that during the war, the domestic (blue) bottle production was suspended and the existing bottles were returned, cleaned and refilled. It is thought that a component in the glass manufacture process which gave it the distinctive color was the reason the bottles went clear (Was it copper? That's why Lucky Strike Green "went to war" with it's white package). Not all war time bottles have the date present on the side of the bottle - some have no such date marking - whether it is due to manufacturing fault or on purpose is unclear. Some clear glass bottles from the same time frame are clearly marked Coca Cola Company of Canada Limited - again -- no date and/or city info on bottom. As the war progressed, the Coca Cola Company had convinced the government to allow in theater portable bottling plants operated by military advisors (actually Coke employees) thus eliminating the need to ship Coke overseas, returning empties back to the states then shipping refilled bottles overseas again - freeing up shipping space for war material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinb Posted January 9, 2023 Author Share #11 Posted January 9, 2023 I'm going to throw a monkey wrench into the narrative. I have a second case and all of the bottles are full of Coke. 1944 dates, no cities or states on the bottom, yet they are all bluish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMC_COLLECTOR Posted January 9, 2023 Share #12 Posted January 9, 2023 Our guys re-bottle them every event with Coke and root beer for us to drink. Very grateful to them for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Apathy Posted October 6, 2023 Share #13 Posted October 6, 2023 On 1/9/2023 at 2:16 AM, robinb said: I'm going to throw a monkey wrench into the narrative. I have a second case and all of the bottles are full of Coke. 1944 dates, no cities or states on the bottom, yet they are all bluish. . Hi Robin, Nice crates of Coke, above you mention color of the bottles all my pre 41 bottles are clear glass and afterwards have the blueish color as you mention, and even the post war bottle 1959 is also blueish. regards lewis. ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerard Posted March 16 Share #14 Posted March 16 very beautiful pieces and not common to find here for the crates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Z Posted March 17 Share #15 Posted March 17 Very cool! It really is remarkable what has survived to this day. I have a weird US 8th Army cardboard milk carton from the 1960s (not sure exactly). It has the 8th Army insignia and the Quartermaster Corps insignia. Why did someone save it? No clue, but it's one of the oddest items in my QMC collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshallj Posted March 17 Share #16 Posted March 17 I’ll give you 2cents per bottle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Apathy Posted March 18 Share #17 Posted March 18 15 hours ago, Marshallj said: I’ll give you 2cents per bottle. . hahhaaa I take you mean 2 cents an empty bottle, they were 5 cents a full bottle in WWII . . . . . . . well the Pepsi were !! regards lewis. ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarecrow Posted March 22 Share #18 Posted March 22 A friend of mine dug this clear ( so to speak) Coke bottle at a dump site at the USAAF 490th BG site in Eye, UK, Station 134. My friend knew that my Father-In-Law flew with the 490th so he gifted me this bottle. He asked if I wanted him to clean it before he sent it to me and I Replied NO, please leave it just as it came out of the ground. This one is dated on the bottom "42". Paul (aka Scarecrow) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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