Tuesday, Aug 11, 2026 The claims desk. Receipts included. POWERED BY LENZ ↗
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Commercially bottled Coca-Cola contained cocaine when bottling began in 1894.

The Claim

The first commercially produced bottles of Coca-Cola contained cocaine.

Verified by Lenz ·

The Short Version

Historical and chronological evidence supports the statement: commercial bottling began in 1894, while cocaine was removed from Coca-Cola only after 1900. Although the exact concentration and removal date remain disputed, those uncertainties do not materially affect whether the earliest commercially bottled product contained cocaine.

Caveats

  • The exact amount of cocaine in early Coca-Cola is disputed and may have been small.
  • Sources vary on the precise removal date, generally placing it between 1903 and 1906.
  • Some historical records refer to cocaine-derived compounds such as ecgonine, creating a minor terminology issue.

The Receipts

  1. COCA-COLA CO. v. KOKE CO. OF AMERICA et al. | Supreme Court | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute

    law.cornell.edu

  2. Coca-Cola Co. v. Koke Co., 254 U.S. 143 (1920)

    supreme.justia.com

  3. Who Took the Cocaine Out of Coca-Cola? - JSTOR Daily

    daily.jstor.org

  4. Fact check: Coke once contained cocaine but likely less than claimed

    usatoday.com

  5. Did Coca-Cola Ever Contain Cocaine? - Just Think Twice

    justthinktwice.gov

  6. World’s First Coca-Cola was Served - This Month in Business History - Research Guides at Library of Congress

    guides.loc.gov

  7. Did Coca-Cola Ever Contain Cocaine? | Snopes.com

    snopes.com

  8. Is Caffeine Good for You? This Case Changed America's Answer

    time.com

  9. The Secret Coca-Cola Formula Revealed! - Parade

    parade.com

  10. The Coca-Cola Recipe Is Revealed By 'This American Life' : The Two-Way : NPR

    npr.org

+ 19 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

The Coca-Cola Company

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