Lot
Number | Description | Final Bid |
|---|
| CHASE & Co. MINERAL WATER SAN FRANCISCO CAL. Applied top, graphite pontil. This is a good way to start the auction off with a Near Mint grade 7 Chase soda. With all of it's white graphite intact, it has a few light scratches but would be a solid addition to any collection. Est. $200-300. MB $100. | $ 400 |
| CHASE & Co. MINERAL WATER SAN FRANCISCO STOCKTON & MARYSVILLE CAL. Applied top, graphite pontil. Here's a beauty and one of the better "3 City Chase" bottles we've handled. Embossing is everything with these and this one has bold embossing with loads of whittle and unevenness to the glass. Near Mint 7. Sodas from the 1850's don't get a whole lot better. Est. $350-500. MB $300. | $ 700 |
| COLUMBIA SODA WORKS S.F./C.C. DALL with seated liberty on reverse. These are interesting bottles as they have the seated liberty seen on U.S. coins. This example has an open air bubble on the right-front base and a few tiny pings or pressure dings in the glass, the size of pinheads. Made for three years, it's actually in better overall shape than the last two lots but the air bubble and tiny pings detract. Average 5+. $80-150. MB $50 | $ 325 |
| BAY CITY SODAWATER CO. S.F. with Star on reverse. Super strike, lots of whittle and crudity to the glass, this is a beautifully colored Bay City. A hard to find, top condition example, this one will be one of the best on your shelf. About Mint 8. Est. $100-200. MB $80 | $ 750 |
| BAY CITY SODAWATER CO. S.F. with Star on reverse. This is another Bay City in a greenish blue color we don't often see. It has a fair amount of light scratches and is one of those sodas that if properly cleaned, would greatly improve it. This is a real tough color and in addition has some streaks of olive running through it. In it's current condition, it's a Near Mint 6 but after a cleaning we could easily see an About Mint 7. No other problems but the light scratches. Est. $80-180. MB $70. | $ 850 |
| BAY CITY SODAWATER CO. S.F. with Star on reverse. This is another color variant of the Bay City bottle, this one being that bright brilliant blue. This example has loads of overall crudity and is a fine specimen. The only flaw is simply an in-making open bubble on the reverse shoulder. We don't think this bottle has been cleaned and if that's the case, it's a top specimen. About Mint 7.5 for the bubble, otherwise almost a Mint 9. Est. $100-200. MB $80. | $ 325 |
| CRYSTAL SODA WATER Co./PATENTED NOV. 12 1872 U.S.P.I. These beautiful and unusually shaped sodas are found in a number of different colors. Blue is pretty common but there are so many variants that you could have a run of just blue colors. They also have a variance in the tops, some are an odd looking round top shaped like a bucket and some are the standard blob top like the example shown here. This example needs a really light cleaning on the inside and it would grade a solid About Mint 7.5. It's got barely any wear and from what we understand was found in the "Big Dig" in S.F. in 1999. Has some nice unevenness to the glass. A nice addition to any soda collection. Est. $130-250. MB $100. | $ 425 |
| CRYSTAL SODA WATER Co./PATENTED NOV. 12 1872 U.S.P.I. This is another Crystal and is a much rarer color than the previous lot. In fact, it's the only one we've seen in this particular pure green hue. With very little or no wear on the lettering, this one does have some random scratches, nothing radical, with an area of wear on the reverse top (see video). In addition, there is a 1/4" ding on the base. It can't be seen on display. Any scratches could be easily cleaned. Without the small ding, it's an About Mint 7.5 with a light cleaning. With the ding, it grades a Near Mint 6.5. We'd probably have a light cleaning to remove the few scratches. Good luck finding this color again. Est. $200-300. MB $150. | $ 1,600 |
| CALIFORNIA SODA WORKS/H.FICKEN S.F. with eagle on reverse. 1878-79. These are a rare little bird, especially in this green coloration. Condition is superb with almost no wear on the bottle especially the high-points. Collectors call this the "Ficken Chicken" for the odd-shaped bird on the reverse. It's an inside joke that famous collector John Shroyer started back in the 60's. This is a beautiful example and one you're going to look long and hard for to find a better one. Never cleaned, good light crudity, maybe just a hint of wear somewhere on the bottle, you're buying the best. About Mint 8. Est. $200-500. MB $200. | $ 1,900 |
| C&R EAGLE WORKS SAC CITY. 1860. This is a rare bottle that is virtually identical to the C&K variant, which is the next lot in this auction. It's little unclear why the "R" is there since there was no one, which had the last name beginning with an R. At any rate, we see one of these for every 25 of the C&K examples. This is a brilliant blue color and was professionally cleaned. There is a small 1/4" flake off the top, which resulted in a small pressure ding. On an aqua bottle it would be obvious but in this deep blue it's real hard to see. The bottle is quite slick but once again, very rare. Near Mint 6 with the ding on the lip. Est. $300-500. MB $250. | $ 750 |
| C&K EAGLE WORKS SAC CITY. This is the more common of the two Eagle Works sodas, this being a little lighter blue coloration. These were made from 1858-66. A popular brand, they show up a fair amount and come in various shades of blue. This example might have been cleaned but it's so hard to tell that we don't think it affects the condition or value. An About Mint 7 bottle. Est. $200-300. MB $150. | $ 240 |
| E.L. BILLINGS SAC CITY/GEYSER SODA on reverse. These sodas were made for about seven years and come mostly in aqua, some in light blue and this desirable green. For some reason there's always something wrong with the green ones but this one appears to be a solid example. It might have just a touch of interior haze and there is one super tiny ding on the reverse, smaller than a pinhead, but it is an About Mint 7+ Billings soda that has never been cleaned. A super example, color is everything. Est. $100-250. MB $80. | $ 1,100 |
| CALIFORNIA NATURAL SELTZER WATER/WITH EMBOSSED BEAR AND THE LETTERS “H&G”. on reverse. Although these bottles are fairly prevalent in aqua, they are extremely rare in this color blue and occasionally green. This is in fact only the second blue example we have sold. There is a small chip out of the front base along with some rough lettering and highpoint wear on the bear. However the bottle itself is highly whittled and a beautiful medium to light cobalt blue. A difficult bottle to grade in that the rarity supercedes condition problems. This example however, we will call Average 5. A light cleaning could render it a Near Mint 6.5 or even higher. Est. $1,000-2,500. MB $1,000. | $ 1,700 |
| EMPIRE SODA WORKS SAN FRANCISCO. Here we have an unusual color in this fairly prevalent San Francisco soda. It’s very rare that we see these soda’s in any color but aqua. This example has been cleaned and is fairly slick on the outside however, it has some nice bubbles and condition is About Mint 7.5. Est. $200-400. MB $200. | $ 650 |
| JAMAICA CHAMPAGNE BEER S.F./D.L. FONSECA & CO. on reverse. These rare bottles are a bit of an enigma in that it’s not quite clear what they contained. These also come in aqua, but are more highly desired in this cobalt blue. As in virtually every other example we have seen there are a few annealing checks in the shoulder area. They are hard to find and do not extend through the glass. This is as good an example as we have seen and grades About Mint 7.5. Est. $400-800. MB $300. | $ 700 |
Click on picture of Bryan at left