The collector of soft-drink related collectibles usually gravitates toward the large group of Coca-Cola items available for collecting. Bottles and even cans make great additions to their collections. Coca-Cola is a well-known brand all throughout the world, and their bottle shape and signature logo are recognized by people of all ages and locations. In fact, little about them has changed since their debut on the market in 1916.

Brand recognition of this product is so potent that "Coke cola" is the obvious synonym some use to mean any soft drink at all. The company is not entirely happy about other brands being called by their copyright, but it shows how pervasive their product really is.

Although Atlanta druggist John Pemberton first sold Coca-Cola in 1886 it would be several years before the familiar Coca-Cola bottle would appear. Pemberton first sold his beverage for five cents a glass from a soda fountain in his pharmacy. Records indicate the Pemberton's accountant Frank Robinson suggested the name Coca-Cola. Robinson also contributed his handwriting to the beverage's now famous script logo of the words Coca-Cola. Joseph Biedenharn designed the first Coca-Cola bottles and sent the company samples of his design but they would not appear on the market for several years.

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but in business it can cut into sales when competing products are too similar. The company wanted a bottle that was so distinctive you were sure you had the "real thing" and came up with the idea of a bottle so different you tell the moment you held it that it was authentic. They had a contest for a bottle that you could identify in darkness or blindfolded, and the rather feminine curve of the now standard Coca-Cola bottles was the clear winner.

While the basic contour of Coca-Cola bottles has remained, it has been refined several times for various reasons. The first was a practical one. The first contour bottles were wider in their middle section than they are now, and were not very steady on conveyor belts. They had to be made thinner to prevent tipping, but most people think the appearance is also more balanced and attractive.

When the plastic 20-ounce bottles were introduced for use in vending machines, slight variations in design were required. Also, large sized bottles such as two- and three-liter family size bottles of Coca-Cola, could not carry the same signature contoured look on technical grounds. However, even without the standard shape, collectors get excited when they find old bottles of Coca-Cola products.