Student Blog — Glass Pepsi-Cola Bottle: Finding the Date of Manufacture

Esther Schachter

Site Coordinates: E 626 N 751
Context: 0-10 cm depth
Excavators: ES AW

Artifact description: A fragment of colourless bottle glass with red and white applied colour label markings and printed text on the convex surface of the glass.

Visible text on the bottle glass: “Sparkling” (pictured in top-left); “Pepsi-” (pictured at the bottom edge of the glass).

A piece from a glass bottle. Photographed from site, BcGn-15 [E 626 N 751]. May 22, 2024.

The soft drink was established in 1898 under the name “Pepsi-Cola” for the first time (PepsiCo 2023:par. 1). As a result, the terminus post quem of the artifact is likely 1898 and the glass bottle fragment originates after this date.

The 1951 logo of Pepsi-Cola has similar iconography to the glass bottle fragment; this logo was changed to a largely different style and colour palette in 1963 (Pepsi 2023:fig. 9, fig. 11). The similarities between the 1951-1962 logo and the iconography on the glass bottle fragment may indicate a more specific date range for this artifact (Pepsi 2023:fig. 9, fig. 11).

As a result, the range for the date of manufacture/origin for the glass bottle fragment likely extends from 1951 to 1962 with the verifiable sources available online.

The soft drink was established in 1898 under the name “Pepsi-Cola” for the first time (PepsiCo 2023:par. 1). As a result, the terminus post quem of the artifact is likely 1898 and the glass bottle fragment originates after this date.

The 1951 logo of Pepsi-Cola has similar iconography to the glass bottle fragment; this logo was changed to a largely different style and colour palette in 1963 (Pepsi 2023:fig. 9, fig. 11). The similarities between the 1951-1962 logo and the iconography on the glass bottle fragment may indicate a more specific date range for this artifact (Pepsi 2023:fig. 9, fig. 11).

As a result, the range for the date of manufacture/origin for the glass bottle fragment likely extends from 1951 to 1962 with the verifiable sources available online.

The Pepsi Store. Logos Through the Years: 1951. (2023), fig. 9.
The Pepsi Store. Logos Through the Years: 1963. (2023), fig. 11.

References Cited

Pepsi
    2023  History of the Birthplace of Pepsi in New Bern, NC. History of The Birthplace of Pepsi. The Pepsi Store.

PepsiCo
    2023  Pepsi® celebrates its historic 125th anniversary with 125-day-long campaign, spotlighting iconic moments of the past, present and future. PepsicoUpgrade.