Explore the History of Coca-Cola Cans by Starting Your Collection

It was not until 1956 that The Coca-Cola Company made their refreshing drink available in cans for public consumption. Many Coca-Cola cans are very collectible. Many collectors turn to eBay to find rare Coke cans and vintage Coke cans to add to their collection, and you can too.

The first canning of Coke occurred in 1936 with the creation of 16-ounce and 32-ounce cans. These cans have a screw-on removable top, but the company only produced samples. Since that time, many rare Coke cans have been invented, including:

1956 Coke can - If you see a red and white can marked "Prepared for export only" on a red-and-white can with only the company logo in a large white diamond on it, you have found a very rare Coke can. The company sent these Coke cans to American troops serving overseas. These cans do not have Coke's trademark symbol on them.

1961 Coke can - The first Coke can for domestic use was produced in 1961. It shows a large white diamond with the words Coca-Cola in it. Two years later, to the top left and bottom right of the diamond, large numerals were added to show 12 ounces. Additionally, in 1963, a line drawing of a Coke bottle was put behind the company's name. People had to use a church key to open these cans. In 1965, the company dropped the large 12 ounces, but they added a single line saying "Contents 12 Fl. Ozs." below the diamond.

1966 Coke can - These are the first-generation of cans to offer pull tops and the first to display the harlequin logo. They are also the first all-aluminum can. The words "Contents 12 OZs" is printed near the bottom of the can. There are two versions of this can. The rarer version has the words "All Aluminum Can" stamped on its bottom while the other version has it on the side of the can. It may be hard to find the 16-ounce version of this can because it was only made in Portland, Oregon.

1970 Coke can - This Coke was the first seen with the spiral Coke logo on it. Most have red metallic paint, but dull red paint was used on a few. You may be able to locate one of these rare Coke cans on eBay.

Yes, Coke has made many unique cans to celebrate the Olympics, including:

2008: Coke released a series of cans done in different languages in the weeks leading up to the Olympics. They also released cans featuring several Olympic athletes.

2010: Before the Vancouver Olympics, Coke released cans featuring silhouettes of Olympic competitions, including figure skating, ice hockey, speedskating, and snowboarding.

2012: Before the London Olympics, Coke released a series of six cans showcasing favorite summer Olympic events.

2014: Coca-Cola cans featuring the polar bears performing various winter Olympic sports were released.

2016: Following the conclusion of the Olympics, Coke released a series of cans wrapped in a ribbon colored with the Olympics colors and featuring the silhouette of a performing athlete.

In Australia, Coke started its Share-a-Coke program, and you can find cans in over 80 different languages. In the United States, more than 1,100 different names are available.