This Rare Antique Coke Collectible Is Worth A Staggering Amount Of Money (& Still Counting)

'Out with the old, in with the new' is a good adage if you're trying to Marie Kondo your life or implement the FIFO rule of storing food like a chef (an acronym that stands for first in, first out), but spend enough time among vintage items and you're likely to find some hidden gems. While shopping for antiques, a Reddit user from Florida stumbled upon a perfectly-sealed bottle of Coke that appeared to be from the early 1900s. 

The customer, going by username u/partyjam3 bought the bottle two years after initially finding it at the store, a stroke of unbelievable luck considering its potential value. However, it wasn't until a trip to "Antiques Roadshow" that things got really interesting.

The appraisers there had no point of comparison for a sealed bottle from the early 1900s, and could only offer a guess as to the value of the item. In a comment on the Reddit thread, the lucky thrifter who found it reported that the appraisers estimated the bottle to be worth between $1000 and $2000, and possibly more due to it still containing all of its century-old soda.

This particular Coke bottle is not the oldest known sealed bottle from the company, according to the Redditor, but rather the oldest sealed bottle from Atlanta, the city of the company's founding. Coke collectibles have a larger market than you might think, with a World of Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta and even a Coca-Cola Collector's Club that features chapters, not only in the US, but in China and Brazil as well.

One reason this bottle stayed in such particularly good condition is due to the bottle cap. Coca-Cola has used different tops over the years, including yellow ones ones recently introduced to denote the absence of corn syrup for those keeping kosher for Passover. While the original bottle Cokes used Hutchinson bottles and rubber stoppers (these are the rarest to find, and can be worth up to $4000), the early 1900s saw the company move to metal caps, which helped this user's bottle stay pristine with no loss of liquid, due to the cap rusting to form a perfect seal.

How much the bottle will eventually sell, or at least be appraised for, is still unclear. "It's climbing up the ranks at trillion dollar company, who knows how long it will take for them to get back at me," the user commented on his Reddit thread. One thing is certain, though: he won't be using this bottle of Coca-Cola to grill up a beer can chicken anytime soon.