Celebrating 50 Year's of India's Independence Coca-Cola bottle

India became an independent nation after 200 years of British rule on August 15, 1947. Three years later, Coca-Cola's first bottling operation in India began at Pure Drinks, Ltd. in New Delhi. Coca-Cola continued its expansion in India for 30 years. By 1977, 450 million bottles of Coke were sold per year by 200,000 retail outlets and they were produced by 6,000 workers at the 22 bottling plants. An estimated 60 million returnable glass bottles were in circulation.

However, India's Foreign Exchange Act in 1977 forced The Coca-Cola Company to exit the 600 million people market until the India government welcomed foreign investments again in 1991.

On October 24, 1993, Coca-Cola's inaugural bottling operation began in Agra.  By then India's population had grown to over 900 million.  By 2013, Coca-Cola had invested over $2 billion and built 58 bottling plants to serve the second most populous nation on earth.

Four years later, Coca-Cola produced a commemorative bottle to celebrate India's golden jubilee. The 200ml glass bottle features a stylized flag of India with the number 50 in the middle. Beneath it the caption reads "Celebrating 50 years of India's Independence." The backside shows Coca-Cola Trademark Regd.  Between the graphic and the trademark is a square Coke wave device and 200ml COMMEMORATIVE BOTTLE. A cardboard presentation box also came with the bottle.

On May 17, 2020, a 1993 200ml Coca-Cola commemorative bottle in a wooden display box sold on eBay for $1,383.96.

The white ACL bottle has Happy to be here! text along with three bursts of fireworks over Coca-Cola trademark and INDIA 1993 COMMEMORATIVE BOTTLE in the main graphic panel.  The backside has BOTTLE FOR BEVERAGE ONLY 200 ml.  The bottle is full with a white crown cap.

The display box is lined with a mirror inside and the removable clear cover has Coca-Cola in red and Commemorative Bottle India 1993 in gold.

This was likely one of the highest prices ever paid for a Coca-Cola commemorative bottle on eBay if not the highest in recent memory.