Jon Aschenbrener houses between 5,000 and 10,000 items of memorabilia from The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) in his Saskatoon home, built over three decades of collecting after growing up on a farm near Cupar, Saskatchewan, CBC reported.
The collection spans rare serving trays and cardboard advertising pieces from the 1920s and 1930s, alongside a 1939 salesman sample cooler secured through antique dealers in Langley, British Columbia. Aschenbrener estimates that approximately 60% of his inventory is acquired through financial purchases or tips, while the remaining 40% originates from family discoveries.
- Valuation Metrics: The collector maintains no formal appraisal of total market value or aggregate capital expenditure over the 30-year accumulation period.
- Distribution Channels: Sourcing relies heavily on an informal network of social media tips, text messages, and regional antique dealer connections.
Aschenbrener’s acquisition strategy began during his childhood on a cattle and grain farm northeast of Cupar, Saskatchewan. He recalled that because neighboring families survived the economic contractions of the 1950s through the 1980s, roughly 15 to 20 abandoned farmyards sat in close proximity to his family’s land.
During the spring and fall seasons, he scoured the bush for discarded bottles, unearthing items that shaped his early interest in corporate ephemera. By the 1990s, he transitioned from bottle picking in the wild to participating in local and regional auction sales alongside his parents.
“My grandparents and my parents were lucky enough to survive the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, and especially the ’80s. A lot of families didn’t,” Aschenbrener told CBC, describing the rural landscape that fostered his early finds.
As he entered adulthood and generated discretionary income, the scale of acquisitions expanded beyond casual finds. He said that the transition to earning “real adult money” accelerated the growth of his inventory.
Among the rarer assets in his possession are cardboard pieces from the 1930s and 1940s, alongside items gifted by family members, including a pen and tin set received for his 14th birthday. His father previously recovered a rare bottle from a collapsed barn on the property.
| Item Category | Era / Vintage | Sourcing Method |
|---|---|---|
| Advertising Trays | 1920s or Earlier | Antique Dealers / Auctions |
| Salesman Sample Cooler | 1939 | Langley, B.C. Antique Dealers |
While large-scale collectors in the United States maintain commercial warehouses filled with museum-quality merchandise, Aschenbrener maintains a residential footprint constrained by available square footage. He says that many historical paper goods were historically treated as waste and discarded in farm fire pits.
“Some of these things are cardboard or Masonite that were just thrown in the fire pit, because they’re done at the store or the gas station. They’re garbage,” Aschenbrener told CBC regarding the preservation value of paper items.
He continues to field tips multiple times per week via text messages and social media notifications regarding pieces that local networks believe belong in his collection.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
