Bitters bottle bought for nearly $7,000

EPHRATA -  An Ephrata couple's rare whiskey bottle sold for $6,999 this week during an auction.

The owners of the 1863 bottle for Kelly's Old Cabin Bitters, Martin and Cathy Pardom, sold their find online.

Antiques & More owner Deb McMahon sold the couple's bottle for a commission. The starting bid was $99.

She said it was sent by UPS to the new owner in Georgia on Thursday. They were paid already.

He nearly bought a similar bottle four years ago, but underbid at $6,000.

She doesn't know much else about the new owner, describing him as "really nice."

But she had three auctioneers contact her. They wrote the winning bidder was possibly another auctioneer planning to resell the bottle at a higher price.

"We got about 10 emails that said it went for a real steal," she commented.

McMahon previously estimated the bottle would sell for $10,000. She was told there are buyers aged 60 to 80 who pay "big money" for items and don't even look online.

Some believed the price was lower because of the economy.

Bidders commented they would have kept bidding because the bottle went for such a steal.

"They thought there wasn't any use bidding anymore," she commented. "We were happy, though."

At the end of the auction, three bidders were left.

She was told one of the losing bidders also offered a winning bid of $6,999, but it apparently wasn't submitted fast enough.

The bottle was found by the Pardoms in a repossessed storage unit in Wenatchee.