Founder of Coca-Cola Museum Passes

Bill Schmidt amassed 'absolutely priceless' collection

A man who amassed the largest privately-owned Coca-Cola memorabilia collection in the world has died. The News Enterprise, the paper that serves Elizabethtown, Kentucky, reported last Wednesday on the death of Bill Schmidt, who passed away at his summer home in Florida at the age of 79. Schmidt served as president of his family's Coca-Cola bottling plant in Elizabethtown and helped develop the Schmidt Museum of Coca-Cola Memorabilia there.

After dedicating almost all of his time and effort during the past few years to develop the museum, Schmidt saw it become a reality last spring when it opened to the public, the paper reported. It moved into the large building after being housed in a small space inside the tourist bureau in Elizabethtown, which sits 50 miles south of Louisville. Schmidt's son Larry said that after the museum opened its doors last year it has played host to Coke enthusiasts from around the world and it will continue to operate.

The senior Schmidt didn't want the collection's monetary value to be made public, curator Roy Minagawa told the paper. He said some of the 80,000 items are "absolutely priceless." These pieces include the only complete collection of Coca-Cola serving trays and a rare 1896 poster.

The museum boasts over 8,000 square feet of exhibit space and, if the web site is to be believed, houses an amazing collection of Coca-Coliana. You'll even get some fabulous trivia on the site, such as:

--The type used in the Coca-Cola script is called "Spencerian Script."

So with an old-fashioned "hobble skirt" Coke bottle raised high, we pay our respects to a man whose passion for "The Real Thing" apparently never lost its fizz.

Pictured: 1939 Coca-Cola Serving Tray in "Good" condition with an estimated value of $300.00 as seen on the Schmidt Museum buy & sell page)