“I was wondering if I could sell my Diet Coke silver bar to you,” creator Humphrey Yang says as he sets a red and silver box shaped like a Diet Coke can on a coin shop counter. The dealer behind the glass is delighted before the lid is even off: “I’ve wanted to see one of these. I haven’t seen one yet.”

The video on @humphreytalks follows the whole sale from the can coming out to the paperwork being signed. Yang’s caption, “Selling my Diet Coke Silver Bar,” ends with the question the clip is built around: “did I do the right thing?”

While the dealer pulls the can apart, Yang tells him, “there are only 4,000 of these made.” Inside is a clear block shaped like a chunk of ice, and the bar sits inside that. “Oh, and it’s in an ice cube,” Yang says. Close up, the back of the bar carries “The Coca-Cola Company” lettering, an embossed seal and a serial number, 3378, stamped in one corner.

Yang asks the obvious question: “I guess it’s one ounce of silver bar. But this is a collectible product, so what would that kind of go for?” The dealer’s answer is precise. “This is a premium bullion product,” he says. “I would actually pay you double melt. So silver’s right about $60. So I’d pay you $120.” The video cuts to the shop’s bullion board, which shows silver spot at $60.78 an ounce.

Asked how he got to double melt, the dealer explains that he has seen “these products sell on, like, eBay” and other platforms “for around 130.” An on screen insert shows a listing for a “Coca-Cola 1 oz Silver Diet Coke Shaped Coin w/ Box & COA” at $133.67. He jokes that he will make ten bucks on the deal, the caption on screen adds “you, Humphrey ;)”, and Yang agrees. He signs a form at the bottom and, with cash on the counter, says, “Appreciate it.”

The dealer’s phrase “premium bullion product” sits between two categories the U.S. Mint separates on its collectible coins page. A bullion coin, the Mint says, is valued by its weight in a specific precious metal, and its price typically depends on the market price of the metal plus a small premium. Numismatic coins are valued by limited mintage, rarity, condition or age. The dealer treats the numbered Diet Coke bar as bullion with a premium on top, pricing it as a multiple of melt instead of at melt.

The arithmetic on screen is simple. With spot at $60.78, the silver in a one ounce bar is worth $60.78, double melt comes to $121.56, and the dealer rounds his offer to $120. The listing he shows at $133.67 is an asking price on a marketplace, not a completed sale, and it is titled as a can shaped coin rather than a rectangular bar.

Coca-Cola branded silver has been sold in small, numbered runs by an official mint. The Royal Canadian Mint sold a 40th Anniversary of Cherry Coke 1 oz silver coin, made by PAMP in partnership with Coca-Cola, with a limited mintage of 4,500, an ice cube shaped capsule, a can shaped case described as a coin bank replica, individual serial numbers and an issue price of $224.95 CAD. Its 2024 Coca-Cola 1 oz silver bottle, produced by MKS PAMP, came in a vending machine tin, was limited to 2,500 worldwide and was issued at $164.95 CAD. The 4,000 mintage for the Diet Coke bar is Yang’s figure.

The dealer’s method can be repeated with any similar piece before walking into a shop. Take the spot price on the day and multiply it by the weight printed on the piece to get melt, then ask the dealer to state the offer as a multiple of melt, the way this one did, so offers from different shops can be compared on the same basis.

Completed sales of the exact item, matching the shape, the year and whether it still has its box and certificate, are the closer comparison. A can shaped coin and a rectangular bar are different products even when both say Diet Coke, and asking prices like the $133.67 listing in this clip are not what buyers actually paid. Marketplace selling fees and shipping also come off any completed sale before it can be set against a cash offer like $120.

Keep every part of the original packaging. Yang’s bar came in a can shaped box with an ice cube capsule, and the Royal Canadian Mint’s Cherry Coke listing puts the certificate on the back of the packaging. A serial number like the 3378 on Yang’s bar should match any paperwork that came with it. Expect to fill in a form when you sell, as Yang does here before the cash changes hands.