Pepsi-Cola ice chest/cooler and assorted bottles

[CuriousCollector]

(Interesting -- I was able to post a new topic only if I didn't include any photographs.  Sit tight while I figure out why it won't take my pictures.  Maybe the size? -- YEP, the size was still too large after I edited them the first time.)


As we continue to go through PawPaw's things (more than a year after his death!), we still find treasures.  This Pepsi-Cola cooler, dirty and dented, was under some tools in the shed.  It was filled with soda pop bottles, primarily Coke 10oz bottles.  

Here's the cooler.


And here are 22 bottles inside, covered in spider webs.  Some are infused with red south Georgia clay, too.


Here are 14 bottles I cleaned up -- I soaked them in the sink for several days, scrubbed what I could reach with a toothbrush (funny -- no bottle brushes for sale around here that aren't for baby bottles, and thus too large to fit down the necks of soda pop bottles), and then ran them through the dishwasher.  As you can see from the Pepsi and the Sun-rise bottle, the red clay appears to be permanent.


Another view of the cleaned bottles:


Any ideas on value? -- or would it be easier to chunk the whole thing in the trash?

[CuriousCollector]

I should add the bottling plants on the Coke bottles are typical southern cities -- Yazoo City, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Ada (OK), Knoxville, Monroe (GA), and Meridian (MS).  These are the ones that I cleaned up, so I haven't looked at the dirty ones yet.  There's one that might be Baltimore, but it's hard to read.

[greenacres]

The dates are also important. Her is some info:

[GreenhornGirl]

There are no bottle or vase cleaning compatible tools in my area, either!  What are people thinking?  I mean, does no one have bud vases anymore?  When I was a kid my mom had a ton of those long squegees for cleaning vases and bottles.  Just another example of how society has eliminated things that aren't "necessary" in this economy.  Argh.

[mart]

Condition is such that you may as well keep the cooler, clean it up and chill your beer and soda in it !! Bottles sell fair on ebay just not for a lot of money about $5.00 or less for common ones !! If that clay is on the painted labels it will stain !!  To clean fill with hot tap water and let soak a while with a drop of soap added then pour all out except about an inch in bottom,,add uncooked old fashioned rice 2 tbsp, then shake the bottle to scour inside !!  If that doesnt work twist tie a piece of teflon kitchen scrubber,, the thin kind to a length of coat hanger and scrub with it !!  The scrubbie also works well for the outside and if used lightly won`t hurt the label !!  Not much you can do to take those stains off the paint but try a light bleach water and soak about an hour then rinse well !!
I got & 3.99 for Upper 10 bottle !!
Forgot to say that I mean the scrubbies meant for teflon,, not the metal ones !!

[greenacres]

The Dr. Pepper bottle is worth $5.00. They have to be clean up. There are some skinny bottle washers out there. One the label isn't in good condition, which is a problem, too! As in everything else each blemish counts. I mean the Sun Rise bottle, which happens to be a good bottle.The Upper 10 is a really nice bottle too. It's worth $5.00 too. I would hold on to that one. I'm still checking the rest.

[greenacres]

The only Pepsi cooler I found is worth $31.00 dollars. Does yours have an opener on it?

[CuriousCollector]

The only Pepsi cooler I found is worth $31.00 dollars. Does yours have an opener on it?

I believe this is the opener, built into the handle?  The other handle is missing.



Here's a close-up of the latch.



Yep, thinking that filling it with some cold ones is its highest and best use!

[mart]

I am with you CC !!!

[greenacres]

Then that is it. I love antique bottles. They tell a lot of stories about the past. There is a lot of history behind bottles. I live in Philadelphia. At one time in 1794 George Washington lived here. I won't get carried away, but read about "The Whiskey Rebellion" and it will explain the importance to bottled goods. They had to fight for the constitution.

[CuriousCollector]

I have a feeling this poor cooler was abused because it's a Pepsi cooler.  This IS the South, after all, and they're "Co-Cola" people, with a gen-you-ine Coke executive in the family.

[fancypants]

There is an option , if cleaning old bottles (not actual antique (100 yr.) ones , though !!!) available in most communties .... just secure them in a milk crate & blast 'em out with a car-wash wand @ the local DIY car wash .... works well for gettin' the tough stuff out , provided the bottles are heavy-duty enough (such as old soda pop bottles) !

The other plus is that you don't really have to clean up the mess ( it's quick !) ...............

[mart]

Haven`t heard it called Co-Cola in years !!  I remember the small bottles coming out of the machine at my mothers beauty salon in the summer were so cold that when you popped the top it froze coming out !!  A bit more carbonation back then I think !!  Oh, but they were good !!

[CuriousCollector]

I love those old bottle dispensers.  I remember my thumb and the side of my finger would be sore from gripping the edge of the bottle cap while pulling it out.  And we kids would compete to see whose bottle would emit the most "smoke" when popped open.

In the 1970s, my dad had a friend who worked for the water works in Decatur, IL, and when his friend worked night shifts (and thus was alone, in charge of the area that stored energy from the dam nearby), he would take us kids and we would run around the huge ....uh I don't even know what they were -- generators?  -- machines?  Anyway, tucked back in a dark corner was a soda machine that only cost five cents, so Dad would give us a couple of nickels and we'd take off for hours.  But I quickly figured out that the bottom hole was damaged, and would dispense my favorite (Orange Fanta) without payment.  Sister and I lived high on the hog on that, until they put Tab in the slot. 

To this day, I can only drink sodas straight from a glass bottle -- otherwise, I need a glass with ice.  I don't know why, but I just don't like the taste of sodas from a plastic bottle or aluminum can.

[kidden6968]

LOL  I am the same way.  I can drink juice, milk or anything else out of plastic but not soda.  It has to be in glass.  Glad to see I am not alone!