1950 Coca-Cola original vs repro tray

The original 1950 Coca-Cola tray (Girl with wind in her hair) vs the reproduction is easy to tell when both are together. But some folks have been
fooled by the repro & pay big bucks when nothing to compare to. The image on the tray is from a March 1948 C0ca-Cola calendar and some believe the tray then was made in 1948.

There are at least 8 different versions of the original. From Spanish, Chinese, French, Dutch, solid background and different sayings. I own 7 different versions.


1st, lets have a look at the original 1948 tray.

1. original has a battleship gray back. No other colors.
2. original has a silver outer lip, not white like the repro
3. original shows reg.u.s.pat.off. under the logos
4. no manufacturers markings or other writings on the original


Now for the repro!

1. repro has a mustard color back & sometimes will have a sticker showing
made in South Africa, probably by Metalix co
2. repro issued in the 1980's and will show on the outer lip 1943 Girl with wind
in her hair/The design of this tray is for memorabilia purposes, taken from a
1943 advertisement. Coca-Cola is the registered trademark of the Coca-Cola
Co
3. Repro has a white outer lip, not silver as the original.
4. The girls face is larger, taking up more of the tray & her hair is multi-colored
and not red as the original

Hope this info & pictures will help you in not spending the big bucks on a repro tray. Thanks

Tim The Tray Man

1937 Coca-Cola Running Girl tray Original vs Repro

Let's have a look at the original 1937 Running Girl Coca-Cola tray vs the Reproduction Running Girl tray.

1st, about the original 1937 Coca-Cola running girl tray.

1. Original has a black back, no other colors.
2. Original will show bottom center in the green stripe, American Art Works,
Inc. Coshocton, O (note: repro will not show the manufacturer)
3. Original will show bottom left, green stripe, The Coca-Cola Co 1937
4. Original will show bottom right, green stripe, Made in U.S.A.
5. Original will show in the tail of the 1st C of the logo, Trade Mark reg.us.
pat.off. (note: repro shows this as well)
6. Original has a gold, metallic looking outer lip

Now for the 1937 repro

1. Repro has a yellowish/ kinda mustard back, not black like the original
2. Repro does not show bottom center, green stripe, the manufacturer which
is American Art Works, Inc. Coshocton, O
3. Repro shows bottom center The Coca-Cola Co 1937. No other verbage in the
green stripe such as Made in USA etc.
4. Repro has a small MX in red, bottom outer rim which probably stands for
Metalix, which produced this repro in the early 70's but also has been noted
as early as 1959 evident by stickers attached to the back.
5. Repro tray has good color but notice the blue background is too bright
compared to the original.

Hope this info will help you from not spending the big bucks on a repro tray.
More to come as time allows.

Tim the Tray Man!

Coca-Cola fake or reproduction trays

Hello Coca-Cola collectors! Tim the Tray man here! I have decided to post this blog about how to tell the difference of original Coke trays and the reproduction trays. I will start with just a few examples and will add to this blog as time permits. I have seen too many people buy repro trays for hundreds of dollars that have been listed as originals. Some times the sellers don't know themselves if the trays are original or not. Other times, the sellers do know and are trying to make money on unsuspecting or un-educated buyers. I have seen sellers even paint the back of the trays and then scuff them up to try and fool you.


I collect trays, and have for many years. I am a member of the Coca-Cola National Collectors Club and I am also the 'Merchandiser" for the Central Florida Coca-Cola collectors club.

The most common reproduction tray out there that can fool even long time collectors is the 'Tarzan' tray which has pictured Johnny Weissmueller and Maureen O'Sullivan. The original tray is from 1934, the reproduction tray came out in the early 1970's. Also, a Company from South Africa "Metalix" produced a repro as early as 1959.

1st the original 1934 'Tarzan' tray. Measures a standard 10.5" x 13.25 ".

1. original has a black back, no other colors
2. original will show bottom center in the green stripe, American Artworks, Inc. Coshocton, O
3. all verbage on original is in the green stripe, bottom, such as Coca-Cola Co 1934 and Made in USA. (note: no red stripe on the original)
4. 'Trade Mark Registered is in the tail of the 1st C of Coca-Cola (note: repro also shows Trade Mark Registered in the tail of the 1st C also)
5. Gold trip on outer rim, bright and metallic in appearance

Now about the reproduction or fake Tarzan tray:

1. will not have a black back unless someone has spray painted it that way to try & fool you. The repro will have a white back, or red back, or ivory back, or light gray back
2. repro tray does not have sharp colors, kinda fuzzy overall compared to the original.
3. repro will not show the manufacturer, American Artworks, Inc. Coshocton, O.
4. all verbage on the repro is in a small red stripe, bottom (note: no red stripe on original)
5. No gold metallic on outer rim. usually a mustard color or red but not gold as the original is.

My camera isn't the best & cannot capture the small print as I would like it to but you can still see the differences from the original 1934 Tarzan & the repro from the 70's.

The 1st 3 pictures are the original. Note the black back & green stripe that surrounds the artwork which isn't present on the repro. I will post more trays as time permits. Hope this helps you from paying the big bucks for a fake tray. Compliments from:

Tim the Tray Man!

reproduction tray