A man buys a Coca-Cola from the early 20th century and its value increases by thousands: “My appraiser was perplexed.”
A rare Coca-Cola bottle from the early 1900s, found in a Florida antique store, was purchased for $75 but may be worth thousands.
When a Florida collector walked into a small-town antique shop, he never expected to stumble upon what could be one of the rarest Coca-Cola bottles in existence. But that’s exactly what happened—twice.
A forgotten find, then a shocking discovery
Two years ago, a social media user known as Partyjam3 spotted a sealed Coca-Cola bottle dating back to the early 20th century. At the time, the $100 price tag felt steep, so he walked away.
Fast forward to a recent trip to the World of Coca-Cola museum, where he casually showed a photo of the bottle to a tour guide. The reaction? Pure astonishment. According to the guide, the oldest known sealed bottle in their collection dated back only to 1940—making this find potentially groundbreaking.
Stunned, he raced back to the antique store in northern Florida, where—against all odds—the bottle was still sitting on the shelf. This time, he paid just $75.
“I happily made that purchase and it is now one of my most prized possessions,” he told Newsweek, adding, “although fully knowing it really belongs on display in the museum.”
Results of my appraisal from Antiques Roadshow for my early 1900 sealed Coca-Cola bottle USA
by u/partyjam3 in Antiques
“My appraiser was baffled”
After purchasing the bottle, the collector turned to experts to help determine its value. That turned out to be harder than expected.
A specialist at a high-end antique store told him they couldn’t find any comparable item. “My appraiser was baffled,” the collector recalled as he couldn’t find anything like it in his database. “He could only ‘guesstimate’ a value saying he had never before seen a sealed early 1900’s bottle,” the collector continued. “He thought the historical value could range from $1,000 to way more at an auction.”
Dan Deane, vice president of the Coca-Cola Collectors Club, estimated that such a bottle could fetch about $500 in the right condition. In addition, being sealed and over 100 years old, it could increase its value even more.
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