Cliff Kluge and his wife were recently going through a box of old letters and believe that they discovered the original formula for Coca-Cola among them. The Atlanta resident immediately put the recipe up for auction on eBay with an opening bid of $5 million. If you don't want to get involved in a bidding war you can buy it now for $15 million.
"You don't stumble on things like this very often," Kluge told WXIA. "It's a letter, and a formula, and the processes to make it. I think it's a little deeper than having fun; I think it's the recipe for Coca-Cola."
Much like how Colonel Sanders protected the 11 secret herbs and spices that made his fried chicken special the Coca-Cola company has gone to great lengths over the years to make sure their recipe remains known only to them. In a statement the soft drink manufacturer said that their secret remains safe.
"Throughout the years, many have tried to crack the secret formula, but no one has been able to reproduce 'the real thing,'" the statement read. "The real formula is safely tucked away in a vault at the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta."
The recipe found by Kluge is dated 1943 and Coca-Cola says its recipe has been a secret since the 19th century, according to Yahoo.
On eBay there is a picture of the recipe, although Kluge has redacted the actual ingredients from the picture.
Kluge works as an antiques dealer and seems to enjoy finding items that are of unique value like this recipe.
"It's just excitement," Kluge said. "It's an Easter egg hunt, looking for eggs out there. And when you come up with something like this, it's Christmas."
After a look at the eBay page it appears as if no one has made an opening bid of $5 million dollars on the recipe and the auction will end at 6 p.m. EST on Tuesday.
$5 million is a lot of money to pay for a recipe, even if it is the recipe for Coca-Cola, so if purchased shipping on the item is free.
