diff --git a/src/fcobjs.c b/src/fcobjs.c
index 1aa4a77..146ca70 100644
--- a/src/fcobjs.c
+++ b/src/fcobjs.c
@@ -34,7 +34,10 @@ FcObjectTypeLookup (register const char *str, register unsigned int len);
 
 #include <string.h>
 
-static fc_atomic_int_t next_id = FC_MAX_BASE_OBJECT + 1;
+/* The 1000 is to leave some room for future added internal objects, such
+ * that caches from newer fontconfig can still be used with older fontconfig
+ * without getting confused. */
+static fc_atomic_int_t next_id = FC_MAX_BASE_OBJECT + 1000;
 struct FcObjectOtherTypeInfo {
     struct FcObjectOtherTypeInfo *next;
     FcObjectType object;