Conversation so far:
Did Hardy Rodenstock own any wine from Thomas jefferson's vineyard?
In 1985, Hardy Rodenstock came into possession of his most famous bottles. The bottles were engraved with the initials Th. J., which was an indication that they belonged to Thomas Jefferson.
How does bottles engraved with the initials Th. J., which was an indication that they belonged to Thomas Jefferson relate to Hardy Rodenstock?
Rodenstock put one of the Th. J. bottles up for auction.
So Hardy Rodentsock sold in auction the bottles once owned by Thomas Jefferson to Bill Koch for how much?
Bill Koch paid a total of about 500,000 U.S. dollars for them.

Question: Were they altered ?
Self-contained rewrite: Were the bottles once owned by Thomas Jeffereson sold by Hardy Rodenstock in auction to Bill Koch altered?