Unopened (but Emptied) 12 Ounce Can of Genuine Coca-Cola 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics (Paralympics) - Wheelchair Racer (Depicting Tatyana McFadden, Russian-American Racer).
USA Limited Production Run Commemorating the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics - Paralympics.
NOTE: This offering is for ONE collectible can. It is NOT for a six-pack. NOT for a 12 pack. NOT for a truckload. It is for ONE collectible can, as stated.
DETAIL: Traveling internationally as part of my occupation, I continually have friends and customers ask me to bring back to the USA Pepsi and Coca-Cola cans and bottles from elsewhere in the world. Surprisingly, I have had many friends and customers outside of the USA ask me to secure for them collectible cans of Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Here’s one such offering, a full can of Coca-Cola, the special release commemorating the 2016 Summer Olympics (Paralympics) held in Rio de Janeiro. This particular can depicts the profile of a wheelchair racer, and the name of a very famous Russian-American, Tatyana McFadden. Many collectors ask for empty cans. The normal procedure is to carefully drill two small holes into the bottom of the can, being carefully not to damage the can, and then shaking it to make sure all of the contents are remove, and carefully rinsing it. The end result is an emptied can which still looks full (as the two tiny holes are underneath the bottom of the can), it’s still sealed, but it is empty of contents. It is cleaned, and ready to ship, albeit carefully packaged as an empty soda can is actually very fragile and susceptible to damage. Again, it is unopened, but empty. If you’re in the USA, this might not at first blush seem a “collectible”, though in time of course it will most certainly be. But in Russia for instance, a can of Coca-Cola printed in their Cyrillic alphabet might not seem very unusual or collectible to a Russia. But to an American, the Russian can is quite collectible, and in Europe or Asia, likewise, American cans are collectible. So for all of my friends in Europe and Asia in particular, here’s a genuine, full can of the special 2016 Summer Olympics - Paralympics (Rio de Janeiro Wheelchair Racing Competition) limited edition issue of Coca-Cola.
Tatyana McFadden is a Paralympic track athlete sponsored by Coca-Cola. Now 27, McFadden was born with spina bifida, a disorder that caused her spinal column to protrude through a hole in her back. Surgery would have been needed immediately to correct it, but the hole remained open for three weeks, leaving her paralyzed below the waist. Without money to care for her baby, McFadden’s birth mother gave her up, and she was placed in an orphanage in St. Petersburg, Russia, where ultimately she was adopted by an American couple. When at the age of 15 she heard there were going to be trials for the Athens Games — in addition to its place in the Paralympics, wheelchair racing was a demonstration sport in the Olympics from 1984 to 2004 — she told her parents she wanted to compete.
McFadden qualified for the 100, 200 and 400 races and left Athens with a silver in the 100 and a bronze in the 200. She’s added more events in each Games since, and in Rio plans to compete in a record seven — the 100, 400, 800, 1,500, 5,000, marathon and a relay. In 2015 she won the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race wheelchair division just months after winning the 2015 Boston and London Marathons. McFadden, in addition to competing in a summer Olympic sport, also excels in Paralympic Cross-Country Skiing. In fact, she was the 2014 Sochi Paralympic Silver medalist in the 1km sprint. Overall, she is an 11-time Paralympic medalist, 15-time world champion, 14-time marathon winner and two-time Grand Slam marathon winner. She is poised to make history at the Rio Paralympics, hoping to become the first to compete in seven events in wheelchair racing. She’ll likely win gold several times over, too, given that she’s the world record holder in the 100, 400, 800, 1,500 and 5,000 meters.
SHIPPING & RETURNS/REFUNDS: Shipping empty cans is a bit tricky, as they have to be boxed and heavily padded, otherwise they will be crushed. So the cost of shipping virtually weightless empty cans might be a bit higher than you might imagine – in essence you’re paying to ship a box, not the can. Domestic shipping is $7.49 for first class mail, $10.49 for Priority Mail. Domestic rates include USPS Delivery Confirmation. Canadian shipments are $17.99 for Air Mail or $34.99 for Global Priority Mail. All other International shipments are $24.99 for Air Mail, $48.99 for Global Priority Mail. Your purchase will ordinarily be shipped within 48 hours of payment. We package as well as anyone in the business, with lots of protective padding and containers.
All of our shipments are fully insured against loss, and our shipping rates include the cost of this coverage (through stamps.com, Shipsaver.com, the USPS, UPS, or Fed-Ex). International tracking is provided free by the USPS for certain countries, other countries are at additional cost. Please note for international purchasers we will do everything we can to minimize your liability for VAT and/or duties. But we cannot assume any responsibility or liability for whatever taxes or duties may be levied on your purchase by the country of your residence. If you don’t like the tax and duty schemes your government imposes, please complain to them. We have no ability to influence or moderate your country’s tax/duty schemes.
ADDITIONAL PURCHASES do receive a VERY LARGE discount (postal costs for additional empty cans from the third onward typically only cost $1 each for both domestic and international shipping). So as to maximize your discount, please ask for a rate quotation and instructions BEFORE checking out. We do offer U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail, Registered Mail, and Express Mail for both international and domestic shipments, as well United Parcel Service (UPS) and Federal Express (Fed-Ex).
If upon receipt of the item you are disappointed for any reason whatever, I offer a no questions asked 30-day return policy. Send it back, I will give you a complete refund of the purchase price; 1) less our original shipping/insurance costs, 2) less non-refundable eBay payment processing fees. Please note that eBay does NOT refund payment processing fees. Even if you “accidentally” purchase something and then cancel the purchase before it is shipped, eBay will not refund their processing fees. So all refunds for any reason, without exception, do not include eBay payment processing fees (typically between 5% and 15%) and shipping/insurance costs (if any). If you’re unhappy with eBay’s “no fee refund” policy, and we are EXTREMELY unhappy, please voice your displeasure by contacting eBay. We have no ability to influence, modify or waive eBay policies.
ABOUT US: Prior to our retirement we used to travel to Europe and Central Asia several times a year. Most of the items we offer came from acquisitions we made in Eastern Europe, India, and from the Levant (Eastern Mediterranean/Near East) during these years from various institutions and dealers. Much of what we generate on Etsy, Amazon and Ebay goes to support The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, as well as some other worthy institutions in Europe and Asia connected with Anthropology and Archaeology. Though we have a collection of ancient coins numbering in the tens of thousands, our primary interests are ancient jewelry and gemstones. Prior to our retirement we traveled to Russia every year seeking antique gemstones and jewelry from one of the globe’s most prolific gemstone producing and cutting centers, the area between Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg, Russia. From all corners of Siberia, as well as from India, Ceylon, Burma and Siam, gemstones have for centuries gone to Yekaterinburg where they have been cut and incorporated into the fabulous jewelry for which the Czars and the royal families of Europe were famous for.
My wife grew up and received a university education in the Southern Urals of Russia, just a few hours away from the mountains of Siberia, where alexandrite, diamond, emerald, sapphire, chrysoberyl, topaz, demantoid garnet, and many other rare and precious gemstones are produced. Though perhaps difficult to find in the USA, antique gemstones are commonly unmounted from old, broken settings – the gold reused – the gemstones recut and reset. Before these gorgeous antique gemstones are recut, we try to acquire the best of them in their original, antique, hand-finished state – most of them centuries old. We believe that the work created by these long-gone master artisans is worth protecting and preserving rather than destroying this heritage of antique gemstones by recutting the original work out of existence. That by preserving their work, in a sense, we are preserving their lives and the legacy they left for modern times. Far better to appreciate their craft than to destroy it with modern cutting.
Not everyone agrees – fully 95% or more of the antique gemstones which come into these marketplaces are recut, and the heritage of the past lost. But if you agree with us that the past is worth protecting, and that past lives and the produce of those lives still matters today, consider buying an antique, hand cut, natural gemstone rather than one of the mass-produced machine cut (often synthetic or “lab produced”) gemstones which dominate the market today. We can set most any antique gemstone you purchase from us in your choice of styles and metals ranging from rings to pendants to earrings and bracelets; in sterling silver, 14kt solid gold, and 14kt gold fill. When you purchase from us, you can count on quick shipping and careful, secure packaging. We would be happy to provide you with a certificate/guarantee of authenticity for any item you purchase from us. There is a $3 fee for mailing under separate cover. I will always respond to every inquiry whether via email or eBay message, so please feel free to write.
