Antique Koca-Nola Company (Atlanta, GA) Bottle With Original Contents & Cap

The clear bottle still has the original cap and contents. The bottle is only about 2/3 full due to age and evaporation.

The original paper label is very faded and frayed along most edges, but the words "Koca-Nola" and the "Great Tonic Drink" could still be read.

In addition to the label, the opposite side of the bottle has the words "Koca-Nola Co-Atlanta" embossed in the glass. Because of the content's age, the liquid reveals sediment that probably originated from the degradation of the interior cap material. 

The success of Coca-Cola in the early 1900's led to the creation of competitor products like Gay-Ola, Celery Cola, Taka-Cola and Koca-Nola.

Koca-Nola was established in 1905 in Atlanta. A subsidiary of Augusta Brewing (think Budweiser) was organized to handle this soft drink line. The diamond shape label included the words:The Great Tonic Drink" and "Delicious and Dopeless." 

The business attracted substantial interest and many bottlers were offered exclusive rights to acquire Koca-Nola syrup to become bottlers in licensed territories. Each bottle sold for 5¢ and the company's sales peaked in 1908.

Coca-Cola vigorously fought Koca-Nola for patent and trademark infringements and the costs of such litigation seriously weakened the finances of Koca-Nola. Unlike Coca-Cola, Koca-Nola did not hide the ingredients of their product, which consisted of cocoa leaf extract (6 grams), kola nut powder (4 grams), and cane sugar (24 grams).

In 1922, the FDA went after the company to eliminate the cocaine used in the formulation. The company ceased business at the end of 1926, having been strained by legal fees and the forced formula change resulting from FDA enforcement actions.

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