Ever Competitive, Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola Signage and Ephemera Topped the List of Fizzy Favorites at Morphy's $2.4M Soda Pop & Advertising Auction

Circa-1880s bottle for Pemberton's French Wine Coca, a forerunner to Coca-Cola, served up a $31,980 top bid, while circa-1920s Pepsi-Cola fountain syrup jug went 4x estimate at $27,060

DENVER, Pa., Sept. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Elusive signage from the earliest days of the American soft drink industry delivered an effervescent $2.4-million result at Morphy's August 18-20 Soda Pop, Advertising & General Store Auction. The 1,780-lot selection was dominated by rare Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola antiques, some commanding more than four times their high estimates.

Leading the formidable array of Coke collectibles – the largest grouping ever to be offered by Morphy's – was a circa-1880s clear glass bottle with its original paper label identifying it as John Pemberton's "French Wine Coca." This concoction, touted as being an "Ideal Nerve Tonic / Health Restorer / Stimulant," was the forerunner to the beverage its inventor would release in 1886: Coca-Cola. Embossed with the product's name on its shoulder and with a label roughly 85% intact, the condition-8.0 bottle rocketed to an invigorating $31,980 against an estimate of $6,000-$12,000, making it the top lot of the sale.

An exceptional circa-1933 Coca-Cola double-sided porcelain sign with a Christmas bottle graphic and detailed filigree adornment across the top was marked Tennessee Enamel Mfg. Co. Nashville. It would have been hard to improve upon this bright and glossy sign, which rose to $30,750 against a $10,000-$20,000 estimate.

Another high-flier was a circa 1910s-1920s single-sided lithographed printer's proof on paper depicting a man swimming up to a dock to accept a fountain glass of Coca-Cola from his lady friend. Presumably, the proof would have served as the basis for a die-cut cardboard window display. In 9.25 condition, it sold for $27,600 against an estimate of $10,000-$20,000.

A historically-important affinity lot consisted of a circa-1880s bottle embossed Pemberton's Wine Coca; an 1868 Pemberton medicinal ad from the Rome (Ga.) Courier; a May 1886 newspaper ad from the Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle showing a portrait of John Pemberton with a favorable testimony; and an 1898 Atlanta Police Department publication with an early Coca-Cola ad on Page 26 and a French Wine Coca ad on Page 28. Estimated at $8,000-$16,000, the grouping achieved $24,600.

Coca-Cola Chewing Gum represented an innovative experiment in brand expansion. A circa 1914-1916 single-sided cardboard sign depicting a Dutch boy running with an oversize stick of Coca-Cola Peppermint Pepsin Gum cradled under his arm was graded 8.25 Excellent and landed within its estimate range, at $20,910.

Pepsi-Cola highlights were both plentiful and impressive. A circa-1920s one-gallon fountain syrup jug bottled in New Bern, N.C., retained its artful paper label showing a young boy drinking Pepsi from an early fountain glass. The vessel was further decorated by a horizontal-strip image of well-dressed ladies and children at a soda fountain counter attended by two men in white pharmacy-style coats. Estimated at $3,000-$6,000, it was chased to a winning bid of $27,060.

A Hires Root Beer "Munimaker" salesman's sample dispenser was admired by auction previewers for its exceptional attention to detail. Made from marble, glass and nickel, it had a zinc liner and coils inside, just like its full-size counterpart. Its globe, bearing the message Drink Hires / It is Pure, was clean and undamaged. An incredible piece of soda pop history graded 8.75+, it lived up to its "Munimaker" name, finishing within estimate at a lofty $30,750.

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SOURCE Morphy Auctions