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Vintage NOS 1990s Mountain Dew Moonshiner Bottle Cap — Pre‑Release Artifact

This listing features an original Mountain Dew bottle cap produced in the 1990s, decades before the soda it was ultimately associated with ever reached store shelves. Featuring the iconic moonshiner character and jug logo, this cap represents an abandoned chapter in Mountain Dew’s branding history.

Mountain Dew’s moonshiner imagery dates back to the brand’s Appalachian roots and early hillbilly‑style advertising. While the design feels familiar today, this specific cap was manufactured long before Mountain Dew Dewshine was officially released in 2015.

Industrial History

These caps were produced by Crown Cork & Seal Company, one of the most important manufacturers in American packaging history. Founded in 1892, Crown pioneered the modern bottle cap and became a global leader in beverage packaging. By the late 20th century, Crown was producing caps for many of the world’s largest soda and beer brands 

In this case, the caps were created in the 1990s for a Mountain Dew concept that was ultimately shelved. Rather than being destroyed, thousands of unused caps remained stored at a bottling facility in Jefferson, North Carolina, where they sat untouched for decades.

Why This Cap Is Different

Although Dewshine wouldn’t appear until the 2010s, these caps represent an earlier attempt to revive Mountain Dew’s moonshiner identity — making them a genuine pre‑release artifact, not a reproduction or modern souvenir.

What makes this example especially notable is its New Old Stock (NOS) condition. It was never crimped onto a bottle, never used, and remained stored in a dark, climate‑controlled environment since original production. The graphics remain clean and unfaded, preserved exactly as they left the factory.

Bottle caps were never meant to survive. They were designed to be opened, discarded, and forgotten. Pieces like this exist only because plans changed — and history paused.

Details

• Brand: Mountain Dew
• Era: 1990s
• Manufacturer: Crown Cork & Seal Company
• Origin: Jefferson, North Carolina
• Condition: New Old Stock (unused, uncrimped)
• Material: Metal crown cap

This bottle cap offers a rare look at a product that existed long before the public ever knew it would — a small but meaningful piece of American soda and industrial history.