The South's 5-Cent Tonic and Soda Fountain Sweets

This week in history: May 26–June 1, 1886

Photo by Elizabeth Poland Shugg

Let’s take a trip back to 1886 when a refreshing drink we all know and love made its public debut in Georgia for just 5 cents a glass. 

On May 29, 1886, Atlanta pharmacist Dr. John Stith Pemberton began advertising Coca-Cola as a tonic for treating nausea, headaches, heartburn, and other ailments. His “recipe for magic” combined coca leaf extract, kola nut extract, and carbonated water. 

When Pemberton originally created the formula on May 8, 1846, he offered it free-of-charge to pharmacy customers. But as demand for the tonic increased, Pemberton began charging a nickel per glass or bottle. He ended up selling an average of nine drinks per day that year, launching a storied career that would take Coca-Cola global during the 1920s, and produce more than 323 advertising campaigns (as of 2024). There have also been over 50 Coke advertising slogans, with the first one offering this simple instruction: “Drink Coca-Cola.” 

So, “have a Coke and a smile” and let’s revisit a time when the same plant cocaine comes from was repackaged, legally, into a refreshing beverage.

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Cokeflation

Here’s a look at the cost of Coca-Cola between 1886 and 2014, with a few Pepsi facts mixed in. “America’s Real Choice” went from 5 cents a bottle in 1886 to $1.79/bottle in 2014. Today, a 12-ounce glass bottle of Coke costs $2.99 at Wal-Mart. 

If this gets your wheels turning about how much simple pleasures cost these days, check out this CPI Inflation Calculator, which displays inflation changes during any period of time. I plugged in $100 for 1886 and was shocked to see it’s now worth a staggering $3,335.62, revealing this sad truth: The U.S. dollar has lost 97% of its value.

But there’s some good news: The average U.S. life span has gone the other direction. Between 1885–1890 it ranged from age 41–44, leading many Coca-Cola consumers at the time to truly hope the elixir’s future 1976 slogan—“Coke Adds Life”—was indeed true. Since today’s average life span is 79.9, they may have been on to something …

By 1895, plenty of folks were enjoying “The Cold, Crisp Taste of Coke” because it was available in every U.S. state and territory. But not without a little competition. 

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Photo by Elizabeth Poland Shugg

As Coca-Cola’s success caught on, pharmacist Caleb Bradham of New Bern, North Carolina, invented what he originally called “Brad’s Drink” in 1893. He renamed it Pepsi-Cola in 1898. Then in 1905, pharmacist Claud A. Hatcher of Columbus, Georgia, created RC Cola. Originally introduced as Chero-Cola, the name was changed to Royal Crown Cola in 1934. Most folks just call it RC Cola these days.

But a young pharmacist named Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, beat Pemberton, Bradham, and Hatcher to the punch—or syrup, to be more accurate—when he invented a drink originally referred to as the “Waco” in 1885.