Coca Cola’s secret recipe for $15 million?

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Joe MacFarland

On this page we catch up with and diagnose the search trends on eBay from the previous week. We get our information by matching the top 20 items spiking daily in search trends from eBay itself with other topics currently being searched on outside the eBay walls.

Top Search Trends: Week ending Friday May 17, 2013

Topping our most searched list this week was a search for Coca Cola Recipe.  Could it be that someone had discovered what is sure to be one the most closely held secrets on the planet, and put it up for sale on eBay? Sure enough, a little forensic work revealed this listing, now ended, for the Coca Cola Recipe – Formula – Letter January 15,1943 – Historical Document:

Of course, the immediate question that comes to mind is “Is it real?”  We turned to the description on the listing, which provided this information:

“On May 8th, 1886, Dr. John Stythe Pemberton, a pharmacist and inventor of medicinal beverages, invented the world’s most famous drink – Coca Cola. Shortly after, he began selling the fountain drink in a nearby Atlanta pharmacy. Concocted in a brass kettle in his back yard, this patent medicine was billed as being able to cure anything from morphine addiction to headaches to impotence.The ingredients, their ratio and the process method of the beverage is one ofthe most closely guarded secrets in the world. To this day, it is said that only two of Coca Cola’s executives know the entire ingredients.

In 1899, Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. Whitehead of Chattanooga, met with Asa Chandler, then President and owner of the Coca Cola Company. They approached him with the idea of bottling the beverage. Until then, Coca Cola was only available as a fountain drink. After much negotiations, Mr. Chandler agreed to grant bottling rights to the two gentleman, for the astronomical fee of $1.00.(He never collected the $1.00, by the way) Thus born was the world’s first Coca Cola Bottling Company, located in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Fast forward 100+ years later to the 21st Century – we were at an estate sale of a deceased, renown Chattanooga chemist, who at one time worked at one of the more prominent chemical companies in the area. There were masses upon masses of personal paperwork at the sale. Curious, we bought several boxes of this paperwork, which yielded some interesting finds. Among those finds is what is offered for sale here – what we believe to be the formula for Coca Cola.

Typed on January 15th, 1943, this single page (front and back) breaks down the formula into exact amounts of specific ingredients to make one gallon of concentrate, which, when combined and processed yields enough to make 16 gallons..

May we make this perfectly clear – we can never guarantee and never claim that this is the actual recipe for Coca Cola. Even if this formula was 100% accurate in every aspect– as mentioned above– there are only two people in the world that can verify it’s accuracy, and I doubt they will be willing to compromise Coca Cola to acknowledge our exactness. That is why we are selling this as a historic artifact.”

The comments ranged from disbelief to congratulations. We especially liked this back and forth:

Q: Congratulations on your great find! Just goes to show, one mans trash is another mans treasure! From one treasure hunter to another, Gleaned Treasures
A: We crawl through an awful amount of junk to find a diamond. Thanks for your interest

Olivia B. Waxman reported on this auction in a story for Time magazine, The Real Thing? Original Coca-Cola Recipe Might Be on eBay, and observed that this isn’t the first time someone may have stumbled on Coca-Cola’s big secret.  She explains, “In 2011, the producers of NPR’s This American Life found a recipe in a Feb. 18, 1979, issue of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and published it online — producing a wave of traffic that crashed the news outlet’s website.”

It can take a long time to find that perfect hidden gem.  Even though this historical document did not sell last week, we wish our sellers lots of luck in finding the perfect home for this incredible recipe.  After all, if you are to believe the hype, the only other copy is locked up tight in a vault at Coca-Cola’s headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.

Selected high-value items listed or sold on eBay this week:

Please note this a sample of high-value items on eBay. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it is a representative list.

2003 Azimut 42 Bridge Cruiser – $200,000

2011 PORSCHE 911 SPEEDSTER PURE BLUE #149 OF ONLY 356 – $158,000


HERMES GRAPHITE CHARCOAL GRAY MATTE CROCODILE BIRKIN BAG PALLADIUM NEW NIB 35 CM – $68,999.88

2004 Hitachi ZX330LC Tracked Excavator Tractor Hoe Aux Hyd Thumb Isuzu Diesel – $66,200

Dine with Jack Dorsey, billionaire innovator behind Twitter and Square – $31,600

VERY RARE ITALIAN VIOLIN CERTIFIED BY CESARE MAGRINI. -”ARTISTIDE FONTANINI” – $19,000


1897 Tonk Old Hickory Men’s Bicycle – $16,600

 

Share eBay Stories
    Posted in Weekly Search Trends | Leave a comment

    Brother, can you spare a ($2.5 million) dime?

    Posted on May 17, 2013 by Joe MacFarland

    It is not uncommon to give your kids some spare change to get a treat. This is probably what happened back in 1894, when San Francisco Mint superintendent John Daggett gave his daughter, Hallie, several dimes that had recently been struck at the mint. But what is uncommon is the fact that those very dimes in Hallie’s pockets were from a lot of only 24 dimes ever minted, the so-called 1894-S dimes.

    According to this account, the story goes like this: The San Francisco Mint was charged with closing a bullion account by June 30, 1894, which was the end of the fiscal year. To balance the account, they needed any even dollar amount ending in 40 cents. The employees took it upon themselves to mint 24 dimes, or $2.40. They were not intent upon creating a rarity – they had until the end of the calendar year to mint many more dimes. But through circumstances that are still unknown, no more dimes were minted by December 31, 1894, so the only dimes produced were those 24.

    Some of these coins went into circulation with the many other dimes produced that year. And some of the dimes were kept by employees as collectibles. But Hallie Daggett wound up keeping a few of them (instead of spending them all on ice-cream, as my kids would!), and one of those is up for sale here on eBay. Today’s remarkable find is this 1894-S Barber Dime PCGS/CAC Proof 64 BM ** Major U.S. Rarity **:

    We have to assume that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As this writer from SFGate.com opines, “(t)he coin is known as a Barber-style dime, bearing a ghastly likeness of Madam Liberty on the front and a boring wreath of corn and wheat and the words “one dime” on the back.”

    John Feigenbaum, President of David Lawrence Rare Coins, begs to differ with this dismissive appraisal. In a recent story in Coin Week, the expert declared the dime as “…the prettiest known example. Period. It’s just gorgeous.”

    Over at Numismaster, coin dealer B. Max Mehl is quoted as saying that the 1894-S dime is “the rarest U.S. dime and probably the rarest small silver coin in the world.”

    Back in the day, however, the reception to this coin was lukewarm. An article in the 1892 issue of the newspaper the Olean Democrat reported, “The new coins out from the Mint this year have run against various objection based on aesthetic grounds, especially the dime…“

    We’ll leave it up to you to decide whether it is pretty enough to merit a $2.5 million price tag, but it certainly seems rare enough. Here is the description, from the listing:

    “The World Famous 1894-S Barber Dime

    The example we offer here is referred to as L-4 in the Lawrence Registry (read below for much more information on the list of known 1894-S dimes).

    From a mintage of just 24 coins, only (10) remain in existence today and this coin is one of the top few known examples. This coin hails from a rich pedigree of famous prior owners that include the Mint superintendent himself. John Daggett gave this coin, along with 2-3 others, to his daughter Hallie, who later sold it to California coin dealer, Earl Parker. Parker later sold the coin to Dan Brown, where eventually this coin found its way to Stacks and then Kagin’s Auction in 1984. It came back to Stacks in 2007 where it sold publicly for the first time in 2 decades and realized $1.56 million.

    Today this coin is one of the great prized rarities of numismatics. This is your opportunity to add this wonderful rarity to your collection.”

    A coin with a pedigree, you’ve got to love that. And yes, there apparently are a couple of these coins still out there in circulation… so check your pocket change carefully. Your chance of finding one of these dimes is slightly better than dating a supermodel, but probably as rare as winning the lottery!

    Share eBay Stories
      Posted in Remarkable Listings | Leave a comment

      Another cool Dita Von Teese-mobile

      Posted on May 15, 2013 by Joe MacFarland

      If you were a sexy burlesque star with a wardrobe full of bustiers and boas, would you putter around in a sensible sedan?  Dita Von Teese, the celebrity known as The Queen of Burlesque, answers that question with a decisive “no.”  Before you go typecasting her as the kind of woman who speeds around in a dynamic sports car, consider Von Teese’s penchant for everything retro.

      This is the performer and model who draws from ’30s and ‘40s Hollywood starlets and old school pin up photos for her style inspiration.  Hence, she has amassed a small but notable collection of vintage cars, each one of which she feels has a distinct personality.  Today’s featured listing proves that not all love affairs last forever, as Von Teese has an auction on eBay for what is unceremoniously described as her 1939 Packard 120:

      Perhaps the subtitle of the auction captures the listing better, “Dita Von Teese’s 1939 Packard 120 sedan with rare option Tachometer.”

      It’s a Friday night.  You are tooling down a country road on the way to pick up your date.  The two of you head toward a small but fabulous roadhouse to dance to live jazz and celebrate.  There’s no synthesizers or Auto-Tune in sight, just a quintet that gets the joint jumping.

      This is the mood Von Teese alludes to when she describes her vintage cars in an interview in Forbes magazine.  “You can’t be in a hurry when you drive these cars,” she says.  “They’re meant to be driven and enjoyed.”

      The profile chronicles the star’s history with classic cars.  It began when she was 22.  She purchased a single, more modest vehicle and gradually traded up and added to her collection, reflecting her growing fame, checkbook balance and knowledge of older vehicles.

      In the interview, Von Teese likens her vintage cars to her preference for other things from the past.  “I like having old things around me because there’s a certain artfulness and craftsmanship that isn’t possible now,” she says. “There was a time when everything was made with a certain aesthetic for beauty and art, and there are a lot of modern things that that’s not important to the people designing them.”

      This fabulous French-Blue 1939 Packard 120 sedan is in excellent condition, according to the listing, which states,

      “This car was restored about 10 years ago and runs and drives absolutely perfectly.

      The engine and transmission are in pristine mechanical condition, having been rebuilt at the time of the restoration.

      The paint, although very nice, is just starting to show it’s age a bit with a few areas of light crazing, as you can see in the photos, but it doesn’t detract from the beauty of this car in any way, and a new paint job isn’t necessary at this time.

      The electrical system is in excellent working order, with all gauges and lights working well.

      It has a VERY RARE original factory Tachometer installed where the clock would be.

      Dita put new tires on this car less than a year ago, they are the Coker Radial wide whites, and they make the car drive very smoothly, and they look slick! Also of note is the exceptional glamorous flying lady hood ornament with etched glass detail, a fine example of the type of artistry and quality that makes these cars so desirable and excellent investments.

      There are no mechanical issues whatsoever with this classic, restored-original car. Dita personally enjoyed driving this dreamboat of a car to many different events, used it in her photo shoots and videos including a Forbes story about her classic car collection.”

      Take a peek at the legendary beauty driving this legendary beauty in this video from Forbes:

      In the video, Dita talks about the hood ornament being one of the big selling points for her:

      We have to agree, she is indeed a beauty!

      Here’s an interesting bit of trivia about the woman who collects everything from head vases to Victorian eggcups.  She has a room in her home dedicated to vintage hats.  And where does she source the items for her various distinctive collections?  According to an interview in Collectors Weekly, her inventory is the result of “…cruising eBay and flea markets over the years….”  It’s only appropriate, then, that she would use one of her favorite sources for acquiring treasures to auction off her prized vintage vehicle.

       

      Share eBay Stories
        Posted in Remarkable Listings | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

        Getting to know eBay’s Buying Guides

        Posted on May 14, 2013 by eBay-Stories.com

         Parting with your hard-earned money can be difficult enough, but add any uncertainty about what you’re buying and it can lead to an overwhelming shopping experience. How are you supposed to know which coffee maker is right for you or whether you should buy a laptop or tablet? With so many different variations on the same products and all the brands to choose from, making a purchase can be a headache. But don’t succumb to defeat quite yet! At eBay, we’ve just introduced thousands of new buying guides to help you navigate making your future purchases—online and off. Just think of us as your personal shopper who happens to be an expert on everything from vintage car parts to affordable fragrances.

        Of course, we can’t take all the credit. While we lend our expertise, many of our knowledgeable community members have chimed in by authoring guides. Who better to offer tips on extending the battery life of your iPhone than a merchant specializing in the sale of mobile devices? Or, let’s say you’re in the market for an Oriental rug. Why not consult a guide written by a storeowner who specializes in selling that very item? It’s better than consulting a local shop owner, because your research and advice are international in scope. Suddenly, a jeweler in Europe who happens to be an authority on antique Swiss watches is only a click away. Our buying guide platform allows you to easily tap into expert advice from around the world.

        Even better, the platform allows you to spotlight your expertise. What better way to share your passion for rare baseball cards, stamp collecting or vintage movie posters? Someone, somewhere, awaits your guidance. Getting published has never been so easy (and fun!). Who knows, it might even drive traffic to your eBay listings. Head over to the guides homepage, click “write a guide” in the upper right hand corner and get started. Stumped? Here are a few tips on composing your first guide:

        • Aim for at least 200 words.
        • Include links to your eBay store or eBay listings.
        • Add photos! Your guide will be much more appealing.
        • Spell check. Any mistakes can throw your authority into question.
        • Don’t plagiarize! Your guide should be original.
        • Go with what you know. You want to help people, not confuse them.

        Between our eBay authored guides, and the ones written by you and the rest of the eBay community, we’ve got a wealth of useful information for shoppers the world over. So—what are you waiting for? Share your pearls of wisdom about almost any product!

         

        Share eBay Stories
          Posted in eBay Products | Tagged | 1 Comment