Current：Home > FinanceWhy the price of Coke didn't change for 70 years (classic) -Streamline Finance
Why the price of Coke didn't change for 70 years (classic)
View
Date：2025-04-26 10:54:19
This episode originally ran in 2012.
Prices go up. Occasionally, prices go down. But for 70 years, the price of a bottle of Coca-Cola didn't change. From 1886 until the late 1950s, a bottle of coke cost just a nickel.
On today's show, we find out why. The answer includes a half a million vending machines, a 7.5 cent coin, and a company president who just wanted to get a couple of lawyers out of his office.
This episode was hosted by David Kestenbaum. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.
Help support Planet Money and get bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.
Always free at these links: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, NPR One or anywhere you get podcasts.
Find more Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.
Music: "I'd Like To Buy The World A Coke" by New Seekers and "Always Coca-Cola" by Joey Diggs
veryGood！ (427)
Related
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- The US may catch a spring break on weather. Forecasters see minimal flooding and drought for spring
- Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. With inflation, it's also expensive. See costs
- Biden and Trump vie for Latino support with very different pitches
- Hidden Home Gems From Kohl's That Will Give Your Space a Stylish Refresh for Less
- 2 teens arrested after abducted 21-year-old man found dead in remote Utah desert
- One man dead and one officer injured after shooting at Fort Lauderdale Holiday Inn, police
- Tyler Kolek is set to return from oblique injury for No. 2 seed Marquette in NCAA Tournament
- Audit: California risked millions in homelessness funds due to poor anti-fraud protections
- Wisconsin GOP leader says Trump backers seeking to recall him don’t have enough signatures
Ranking
- Jury selection set for Monday for ex-politician accused of killing Las Vegas investigative reporter
- When would a TikTok ban go into effect?
- Georgia Republicans reject Democrats’ final push for Medicaid expansion
- Energy agency announces $475M in funding for clean energy projects on mine land sites
- Elon Musk’s Daughter Vivian Calls Him “Absolutely Pathetic” and a “Serial Adulterer”
- One man dead and one officer injured after shooting at Fort Lauderdale Holiday Inn, police
- Stuck at home during COVID-19, Gen Z started charities
- February home sales hit strongest pace in a year as mortgage rates ease and more houses hit market
Recommendation
Man charged with murder in death of beloved Detroit-area neurosurgeon
Tyler Kolek is set to return from oblique injury for No. 2 seed Marquette in NCAA Tournament
A small town suspended its entire police force. Residents want to know why
One of the last remaining Pearl Harbor attack survivors, Richard Dick Higgins, has died at 102
Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
Colorado extends Boise State's March Madness misery. Can Buffs go on NCAA Tournament run?
Manhunt underway after 3 Idaho corrections officers ambushed and shot while taking inmate out of medical center
Wall Street debut of Trump’s Truth Social network could net him stock worth billions on paper