DENVER, Pa. – Morphy Auctions will present 839 lots of antique advertising in its March 28th specialty auction. All forms of bidding will be available, including absentee or live online via Morphy Live.

Rare, large 1909 Coca-Cola cardboard poster
est. $6,000-$12,000

Among the main categories are Coca-Cola and soda pop signs and other advertising, rare tobacco tins and petroliana. A featured highlight is the selection of high-end soda fountain syrup dispensers, led by Lot 451, an Earl Hires platter with matching bowl that supports a nicely decorated globe-shape dispenser. The suite is marked “Mettlach,” referring to a city in Germany where Villeroy & Boch porcelain was produced. Offered together with three early, tall mugs with an identical motif, the set is believed to be the only known example. “We think the set originally might have been loaned to a successful soda fountain operator. We don’t think it’s a type of item that was ever produced commercially,” said Dan Morphy, president and founder of Morphy Auctions. The lot estimate is $75,000-$125,000.

Wool’s Cherrie Smash syrup dispenser est. $40,000-$60,000

Another stunning antique syrup dispenser is Lot 493, produced for Wool’s Cherrie Smash. Decorated with appealing graphics in bold colors, this may also be a sole survivor. In excellent-plus to near-mint condition, it is expected to reach $40,000-$60,000 on auction day. Lot 515, a circa-1900 Pepsi-Cola ceramic syrup urn with gorgeous Art Nouveau decoration, stands 18 inches high and is estimated at $30,000-$50,000. No soda pop collection would be complete without representation of the king of soft drinks, Coca-Cola. Morphy’s is known for its record-setting prices achieved from the sale of Coke advertising, but collectors can find beautiful examples at all price points. An especially nice choice for the mid-range collector is Lot 278, a 1909 Coca-Cola cardboard poster. Featuring a model holding a glass of Coke, the rare and impressively sized poster is 55½ inches long and is estimated at $6,000-$12,000.

Earl Hires syrup dispensing bowl
est. $75,000-$125,000

A classic in the soda-pop collecting world is Lot 376, a 1910 Allens Red Tame Cherry Red cut-out sign with metal easel support. Heavily embossed to render depth, this great-looking sign depicts a young girl and boy enjoying their beverages at a table emblazoned: “Drink Allens Red Tame Cherry and you’ll smile too.” Estimate: $800-$1,400. Vibrant and appealing, a curved porcelain sign advertising Red-Top Flour shows a young boy dressed in knickerbockers, jacket and cap, climbing over a fence. In excellent-plus condition, it measures 22 by 16 inches and is estimated at $10,000-$20,000. Morphy’s Saturday, March 28, 2015 auction will be held at the company’s gallery at 2000 N. Reading Rd., Denver, PA 17517. All forms of bidding will be available, including live via the Internet through Morphy Live, LiveAuctioneers and Proxibid. Start time is 9 a.m. Eastern.

Preview the entire auction inventory daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., or from 8-9 a.m. on auction day, prior to the start of the sale. For additional information on any item or to reserve a phone line for live bidding on auction day, call 717-335-3435 or email info@morphyauctions.com.

Visit Morphy Auctions online at www.morphyauctions.com.

Caille Puck 5-cent upright slot machine with music, pre-1900, stocked with great American tunes, plays well. Estimate: $18,000-$22,000.

DENVER, Pa. – Morphy’s Oct. 4-5 Premier Advertising & Coin-Op auction contains more than 1,100 top-quality lots from several major collections. There are dozens of early coin-op, slot, penny arcade and pinball machines in the sale; as well as 60+ lots of superb tobacco tins from the David Hirsch collection, and one of the most comprehensive Moxie collections ever amassed, that of the late Jan Miller Bacci of Boston.

The Hirsch collection includes many of the finest known tobacco tins. “All of them are in beautiful condition, and some are believed to be the only ones of their type in existence,” said Dan Morphy, CEO of Morphy Auctions.

Lot 8, a Century Tobacco flat pocket tin is estimated at $1,000-$1,500; while Lot 11, a pre-1900 Old Abe Chewing Tobacco flat tin is estimated at $1,200-$1,600. Images of American Indian chiefs adorn Lot 7, a Prairie Flower Chewing Tobacco tin, $1,000-$2,000; and Lot 12, an extremely rare Kipawa Cigar tin, $2,000-$4,000. Perhaps the star of the collection is Lot 13, an Alcazar round cigar tin picturing a world famous racehorse from which the brand took its name. Near mint, it is expected to make $6,000-$8,000.

Over 150 lots of soda pop advertising will be available, including many coveted, early pieces promoting Coca-Cola and its little-known offspring – Coca-Cola Chewing Gum.  Launched around the turn of the 20th century, Coca-Cola Chewing Gum wasn’t a commercial success for the Atlanta-based company.

1914-1916 Coca-Cola Gum cardboard cutout with Dutch boy image, Estimate: $15,000-$25,000.

Lot 459, a 1914-1916 cardboard cutout sign depicting a Dutch boy running in his clogs and clutching an oversize pack of Coca-Cola Peppermint Pepsin Gum is another Petretti book example. Vibrant and colorful, the 29 by 22in sign is described in Morphy’s catalog as “important and rare.” It is expected to make $15,000-$25,000 on auction day.

Saturday’s session opens with the third offering of occupational shaving mugs from the collection of the late Ray Jones and his wife, Theresa. Ray Jones’ navy career is reflected in many of the mugs he acquired, including Lot 641, shipbuilder, $800-$1,200; Lot 702, deep sea diver, $2,000-$3,000; and Lot 736, USS Philadelphia warship, $1,200-$1,500.

Coin-op and arcade machines will follow, with top entries including two prized Caille machines: Lot 795, a pre-1900 Puck 5-cent upright slot, $18,000-$22,000; and Lot 760, a 5-cent Bullfrog upright slot, $25,000-$30,000. The selection also includes many arcade games of skill and 15+ pinballs from the 1950s/60s. A Pace FOK slot machine is actually new/old stock and retains its original shipping crate. The coinage for this machine is the French franc, which is the same size as a US quarter. The machine left Chicago in the late 1930s, bound for Shanghai. It made it as far as Paris, but the outbreak of World War II prevented it from ever making it to China. It is estimated at $7,000-$8,000.

Several vintage jukeboxes stand ready to create lively mood music for the auction. Lot 838, a Wurlitzer Model 81 on “Mae West” stand, is estimated at $12,000-$15,000. It will be followed by a Wurlitzer Model 800, $7,000-$9,000.

Rare Planter’s point-of-purchase copper and steel peanut roaster topped with papier-mache figure of Mr. Peanut, design introduced in 1920.

Mr. Peanut will take his turn in the auction spotlight, as well, with Lot 825B, a 1920s peanut roaster topped by a papier-mache figure of the iconic dancing goober, leading the Planters selection. Estimate: $15,000-$20,000. Lot 825A, a fully functional Hamilton stand-on scale, 44½in tall, with a fantastic painted iron figure of Mr. Peanut, could weigh in at $7,000-$10,000.

Within the 100+ general store lots are numerous hunting and fishing-related advertising signs. Lot 922, a 1907 Winchester paper-on-linen poster realistically depicts four hunting dogs, $3,500-$5,000. Lot 920, a 1910 cardboard cut-out sign with the image of a shell dog and two quail, could realize $2,500-$4,000.

Morphy’s Oct. 4-5 Premier Advertising & Coin-Op Auction will commence at 9 a.m. Eastern Time on both days. All forms of bidding will be available, including live via the Internet through Morphy Live, Artfact and LiveAuctioneers.

Morphy Auctions is located at 2000 N. Reading Rd., Denver, PA 17517. Tel. 717-335-3435 or e-mail serena@morphyauctions.com. View the auction catalog online at www.morphyauctions.com, www.artfact.com or www.liveauctioneers.com.