Carbonated drinks needed bottles strong enough to stand the build up of pressure and to keep the 'fizz' inside. In 1872 Hiram Codd introduced a design featuring a glass marble to keep it airtight.

The 'Codd' design with a marble was used exclusively as boys liked to break the bottles to get the marble out.

There is also a very collectable 10oz Cresswell & Co Smethwick Reliance Patent Codd Bottle with a Cobalt blue lip in the sale. Some collectors aim to own as many variations as possible with ...

He carefully scraped away the soil to reveal an old bottle with a marble in the neck. The farmer gave it to Jamys , and since then Jamys has started collecting old glass bottles. The writing on ...