Mountain Dew is dropping throwback 1948 cans for a nickel, and only 1,948 exist
To celebrate nearly 80 years, Mountain Dew is selling retro commemorative can bundles for five cents each, the soda’s original price. There are only 1,948 of them, they drop on TikTok Shop starting tomorrow, and collectors are going to move fast.
Mountain Dew is throwing it all the way back. To honor its nearly 80-year history, the brand is selling special retro commemorative cans for just five cents apiece.
There’s a catch, though: only 1,948 of them exist, they’re sold in one spot, and the first batch drops tomorrow. Here’s the deal, and how to actually get one.
What’s dropping
This is a collectible, so let’s be clear about exactly what it is.
Mountain Dew is releasing a limited-edition commemorative can bundle celebrating its 1948 origin. This isn’t a permanent flavor coming back to store shelves, it’s a special collector’s drop with retro 1940s-style packaging.
Each bundle includes:
One commemorative can with a vintage, heritage-inspired design, the brand’s origin story is literally printed on the label so you can read it while you sip
A 10-pack of Mountain Dew mini cans
And the whole bundle costs a grand total of $0.05. Yes, a nickel.
Why a nickel, and why 1,948?
The oddly specific numbers aren’t random, they’re the whole charm of this thing.
Mountain Dew was born in Tennessee in 1948, when two brothers cooked up a bold citrus recipe. So the brand baked that history right into the drop: there are exactly 1,948 bundles (for the year), and each costs 5 cents (a nod to what the soda originally sold for decades ago).
It’s all part of Mountain Dew’s “American Original, Tasting Great Since ‘48” campaign. As the brand’s VP of Marketing Michael Smith put it, the can is about “bringing that origin story to life” and giving fans “a meaningful way to celebrate Dew history.”
How to actually get one
Here’s where it gets competitive, because 1,948 is not a lot.
The bundles drop exclusively on TikTok Shop, spread across three days: June 29, June 30, and July 1. Mountain Dew is splitting the tiny supply over three drops, partly to ease the inevitable traffic rush.
The key move: each day, Mountain Dew will post that day’s available quantity on its Instagram Stories at noon ET. So if you want one, watch the brand’s Instagram first to see what you’re working with, then have TikTok Shop ready to pounce. Purchases are limited to one bundle per person.
One bit of fine print worth knowing: the “one per person” wording is a little ambiguous. It’s not totally clear whether that means one total or one per day, so in theory, hitting all three drops might be possible.
Why people will actually fight over a nickel soda
It sounds silly to scramble for a five-cent soda. But there’s a real reason this will move fast.
Soda can collecting is a genuine niche. Limited, vintage-style packaging from big beverage brands has a real track record with collectors, and these limited runs often resell for well above their original price. A can you snag for a nickel today could be worth a lot more to the right collector later.
So between the rock-bottom price, the tiny 1,948-can supply, and the collector appeal, expect these to vanish in seconds. This is less “grab a soda” and more “drop a limited sneaker.”
The bigger Mountain Dew nostalgia wave
This throwback drop isn’t happening in a vacuum, either.
There’s a broader real-sugar, throwback-soda moment going on right now. In fact, the discontinued Mountain Dew Real Sugar (formerly called “Throwback”), a version closer to the original recipe that swapped corn syrup for real sugar, has reportedly been quietly reappearing at some retailers lately, even without an official PepsiCo announcement.
It fits a trend. Real-sugar sodas like Mexican Coke have surged in popularity, and brands are leaning hard into heritage and nostalgia to win over fans. The 1948 commemorative can is Mountain Dew turning that nostalgia into a full-on collector’s event.
So if you’re a Dew fan, or just someone who appreciates a good piece of soda history, set an alarm. The first drop hits TikTok Shop tomorrow, June 29, with Instagram revealing the count at noon ET. For a nickel, it’s about the cheapest piece of collectible Americana you’ll ever chase, assuming you’re quick enough to grab one before the other 1,947 are gone.
Want More Clownfish TV?
This article was brought to you in part by The Reefers of more.clownfishtv.com. Free subscribers get articles like this one in their inbox. Paid subscribers get the full Clownfish TV podcast feed, livestreams, and members-only episodes that never hit YouTube.
D/REZZED is part of Clownfish TV. For more news, views, and rants on gaming, tech, and pop culture, watch @ClownfishTV on YouTube and find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeart.
Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (entertainment editor) and the Clownfish TV newsroom.
Hat Tips:
PepsiCo press release (June 23, 2026), verified for the 1,948-bundle count, the $0.05 price, the TikTok Shop exclusivity, the June 29–July 1 three-day drop, the noon-ET Instagram quantity reveals, the bundle contents (commemorative can + 10-pack of minis), the 1948 Tennessee origin, and the Michael Smith quote
Sporked and Resell Calendar (June 2026), verified for the one-per-person ambiguity, the soda-can-collecting resale angle, the three-drop strategy, and the nickel-as-original-price detail
TheStreet (June 28, 2026), verified for the discontinued Mountain Dew Real Sugar/Throwback quietly returning to some retailers, the 2024 discontinuation, and the real-sugar-soda trend context