Hires Ruler

Hires Ruler

Friday, November 8, 2013

Frostie Root Beer

Frostie Root Beer 

This is the brand of root beer I grew up with in South Dakota. I can remember working in the hot sun and then buying a 10 cent 12oz Frostie from a vending machine. Cold, smooth. Great memories.  I hope you enjoy this collection. I would love to hear from anyone that has something I do not have.

These are all new bottles that you can buy today. Mostly paper labels with an occasional plastic. Still the same great taste.

These are some of the older bottles. Still pretty easy to find them in the collectible stores. You do need to look for variations in the bottles.  Notice the second from the left has FROSTIE on the neck, where the third from the left is basically the same bottle but missing the neck label. I love finding these sorts of variations.

The bottles to the left are from the 60's and are what I drank out of as a youth. The right ones are newer.  There are still plenty of these out there to be found.

This is a treasure. I found it at an antique mall in Aurora Oregon. I paid $40.00 for it. My wife thought I was crazy until we found one that had just sold on eBay for $140.00. It is thin Plastic and about 18 inches tall. The thermometer still works great.

These are all new. The only old bottle caps I have are still on the Frostie bottles. I have not yet found any of the old ones in my searching. It is on my list of things to find.

I love the odd items I have found. I have yet to see a large mug. These are all medium to small. I love the small paper cups and the little toy bottles.

I have had several people send me emails of items that have or have seen. Keep those emails coming.  Thanks for looking.



Thursday, October 3, 2013

DAD's Root Beer Collectibles

This week I am high lighting my DAD's Root Beer collection.  I hope you enjoy looking at the various items.  If you happen to have a DAD's item that I do not have, I would love to see a picture of it so I know what I need to look for as I shop around.  As always, I love to hear from other Root Beer fans. You can contact me by emailing tom@floodeen.com

Here is my newest addition to my Dad's collection.  I got this at the Front Range Antique Mall in Fort Collins, Colorado.  The sign is 14" by 30". It is a great addition to my collection.





First up are a few of the different bottles.  These are pressed glass.  Not real common for DAD's.  The glass to the right I got at World Market for like $3.00.  The glass to the left is an older one and I paid $30.00 for it at a flea market in Colorado Springs. It is the only one I have ever seen.


Here are the four ACL "JUNIOR" bottles I have. Although sometimes they look the same, each of these is different in some way.  If you click on the picture if gets larger and you can see them better.  Generally this are around $6.00 at flea markets.


These three have paper labels. They are fairly new and can be found at various stores.  I generally go to World Market to buy DAD's. It is one of my favorite Root Beer's for making floats.


These are new ACL bottles.  ACL means the label is silk screened onto the bottle. Again these are fairly new and what you would find in a store today.


These are all 12oz ACL and are older bottles. Each one is different.Interesting that 12oz used to be "King Size". 


These are all 10oz ACL. The first second and fourth from the left are fairly new. The other 3 are older. 



The big guys. The left half gallon is old.  The two 1616oz ACL are fairly new.  The right two are plastic and were bought in the Dollar Store. I usually buy the large ones when the grand kids are coming over for floats.


I have not found a lot of DAD's mugs. The one to the right seemed to be used as a planter. The left one is plastic. I see a look of the clear one in flea markets for about $5.00.  The left glass one is a bit older and harder to find.


Here is a full six pack of 12oz bottles. I found it at a flea market in Florence Co. The bag of candy I got at a soda shop in Louisville co. I do not remember where I picked up the bag of marbles.



I got this crate for $40 at a flea market in Fort Collins.


I picked up his sign for $85.00 in the middle of Kansas at an Antique Shop along the freeway.


This thermometer came from a flea market in Iowa.  I think I paid $125.00


I do not remember where I got this sign or what I paid for it. I would likely pay around $85.00 for it.


This is a bottle topper.  They were stuck on one of the bottles in a six pack as an advertisement.

That is all the DAD's items I have in my collection, other than a few bottle caps. I hope you enjoyed looking at it. I am open to buying items as long as the shipping is not too expensive.


Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Root Beer Collection Resurrection!

I now have a full room dedicated to just Root Beer collectibles, and it is getting organized pretty close to how I want it.

I am not done yet, you are never done, but here are some pictures on what I have done so far.

Now I need to find one more nice shelving unit or cabinet as I am running out of room.  My wife says I should stop buying if I have no more room.  I am sorry, that is simply not an option.  We may need to have a Root Beer basement instead of a Root Beer room.

Enjoy, I know I do.








This is a new display case I recently got. Most of my Older stuff in this case.


Let me know what you think.


Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Root Beer finds of the week!

These two small plastic A&W mugs were found in Colorado Springs. I put a quarter in the picture to show their size.  One of my college educated sons suggested I do that. I paid .99 each.



Here is a Duffy's bottle with the paper root beer label.  First one I have ever seen.  I have several Duffy bottles with a root beer lid but this is the only one I have seen with a root beer label.  I paid $12.00 which was probably high, but I might not ever see another one. Got this in Colorado Springs.



I have a Thompson and Taylor Root Beer Extract Bottle already, but now I also have a box.  The Box is not in great shape, but it is in tact enough to make it cool. The bottle in side has a cork and the extract is all dried up in a lump. I paid $10.00 Got this in Colorado Springs.



This is a tray I got at the Antique mall way down on south Broadway in Littleton. I think I paid $18.00 for it.  I do not believe it is old, but it is one I did not have.



I am amazed that I continue to find items I do not have every time I go out looking.  Thanks for viewing and be sure to share this with your friends.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Green A&W Mug?

Below is a green small (2 inch) plastic A&W Root Beer mug.  I have no idea what it was used for.  I have searched google every way I can think of and cannot find one like it of any color. It is way too small to have been used for Root Beer.  I am thinking perhaps lip gloss or Jelly Belly candy.  If you have seen one of these before, or know what it was used for, please send me a note.  tom@floodeen.com  I only paid $3.00 for it at the Antique shop in Golden.



Here is a steel Dad's Root Beer can.  I got it for $2.00 at the Brass Armadillo.  I thought it was a pretty good deal but found out later that they generally only go for $3.00 so I paid about the right price.



This was a new one for me. I had no idea there was such a thing as Ed McCaffrey's Root Beer.  I am sure it is only found in the Denver area. I also found this at the Brass Armadillo.  A nice addition to my can collection.




Thursday, August 1, 2013

Root Beer Bottle Openers


Root Beer bottle openers are really hard to find. The only one I have ever seen in any of the shops I have been in is the below pictured Pop Shop opener.  Although it is technically not Root Beer, I do have a Pop Shop Root Beer bottle in my collection.



I have been looking a long time.  Of course I can find one occasionally on eBay, but I would prefer not to buy items that was. It is more fun to hunt for them and feel the thrill when you actually something you do not have.

If any of my friends happen across a Hires bottle opener, I would love to hear from you. Any other Root Beer brand would be great also.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Summer Slow Down for Root Beer Finds

Due to the fact that I sold a house, am trying to sell a second one, and having a new house built, I have packed away my Root Beer collection.  As a result, I have been a bit remiss in adding blog entries and have greatly slowed down the growth of my collection.

I have found a few items that I would like to mention.


First is a match book advertising Dr. Swett's Root Beer.  I found this in Kansas as a flea market along interstate 70. I only paid $2.00 for it.  It is a very unusual item and I would have paid a lot more.  Very cool. I love finding items that are a bit out of the ordinary.

Then I found a couple more gallon jugs at the Fort Collins Flea Markets.  Not real special, but two I did not previously have. The Hires jug is older. The A&W is fairly new. Finding them with the original lids is a bit more rare.


Once we get settled in our new home, and I get my collection displayed again, we will head out on a new adventure to see what new items we can find.