Surprise cans, Tell us your best surprise story!

#1

I was just reading another thread and it was mentioned that when one goes to buy a collection, usually, mostly unknown and in boxes somewhere, it is not worth it unless there is a SURPRISE can in there somewhere. I have bought a few collections largely unseen and have had a few pleasant surprises. Please share with us your surprise can/cans you found in an otherwise usual collection purchase.

I bought a collection in Omaha, NE in 2003. It was advertised in the newspaper and several people got to it before I did. Nobody bought it. It was about 3,000 cans in banana boxes. The majority of the cans were top opened Falstaff bicentennial trades and late 1970's junk. I bought the entire collection for $350. I had to make two trips with my truck to haul all these cans back to my small apartment. I spent the next 6 months going through all those cans. Most cans got recycled. However there were a couple surprises in there... Carling Malt Lager Zip Top in 1+ condition, A-1 OI gold can, Kegel Brau gallon and a few other surprises. I added a couple hundred cans to my collection as new or upgrades.

Now for your "surprise" can story!

#2

I don't have pictures but two stories:

Met someone at their business address and they brought their father's old collection in three plastic garbage bags. Lots of aluminum but went through all three bags and found a nice silver Fox Deluxe OI with lid cut out.

Viewed collection for sale in California back in 2003. Again lots of common aluminum cans but they let me "cherry pick" 20+ straight steel cans for $50. Not until the USBC II came out did I discover two of the cans were Falstaff test cans from San Jose, and sold the pair for $500 in 2012

Best surprise can ever though was the "minor Altes variation" shown in my avatar to the right. Got if for FREE at Detroit Canvention in 2004. Only one of a couple cans I wish I kept when I got out of collecting in 2007. No regrets though, can ended up in a good home.

#3

I picked up a collection locally that had around 3,000 cans... from a collector during the early 70's from PA. Was hoping for some obscure PA tabs from the 60's. It had been cherry picked of the sweet cans (white States Fair, etc). They did leave a Schmidt's BOCK crowntainer... not mint, but still one you rarely see. Passed it on to Gary's collection to help his specialty.

JAL

#4

2006, we had some roofers replacing our roof and one of them went into the barn to get a bottle of water and saw some of the Schlitz flats I found in Cadillac a few days before. He asked if I collected and I said yes and we got into conversation. He then brought me to the truck and under the seat was this Schlitz can he found working in an attic. He said they find cans all the time, sometimes used as patches and in the walls! I cant imagine the cans he has found!

#5

15 years ago at a Cascade Breweriana Chapter show in Portland, a guy brought in a collection to dispose of. The collection was in 3 large black trash bags. Most of us looked through the bags findings the typical 70's and 80's junk. No one made any offers. Tim Hoffman was the only one to keep digging and was rewarded with a grade 2 PRIMO USBC 116-37.

#6

It wasn't a collection I picked up (and sure isn't as spectacular as these other stories), but I went to a little old lady's antique store in Denver, right on a part of Broadway that was once known for junk and treasures shops. In the back of the store was a single deep shelf with a bunch of beer cans on it. The usual - bicentennial slag, Billy, and your ordinary compliment of 70s/80s labels. I pulled a couple off and looked at the price tags on top. Each one said the same thing: "Tabtop, 50 cents." Over and over again. Tabtop, 50 cents. Tabtop, 50 cents. Finally I got to the back of the shelf, which was in shadow. I pawed around and pulled out something that felt a little more substantial than the others. It turned out to be a rather nice Pat's Pending Coors Double Aged with practically no rust and just a small spot where the gold had faded silver. I looked at the tag and it said: "Flat top, $1.00."

Sold.

#7

This story was how a guy got a can that I got from him. Dude was a barber in El Paso and had a few cans on a shelf in his shop. A guy comes in and asks him if he wanted these cans in a trash bag otherwise they were going to the dump. Guy 1 says OK and digs through a bag of mostly foreign cans except for a mint A-1 Bock.

#8

Great topic. Back in '95 I purchased my home. Got a call from my folks stating take your cans out of storage in our basement or we'll pitch them. Got the cans, built shelving in my new basement, and saw a classified ad in the Sunday paper of a collection for sale. Purchased many cans-- mostly '70s stuff..for about $200. Took what must have been 40 flats of cans back home and discovered the middle can in the following pic. Very happy find.

#9

Great thread can't wait to hear more stories. I really don't have one but will see if I can make something insignificant sound spectacular n

#10

I was around and about early one morning and arrived back home around 7 a.m.. I took a look at the local Detroit craigslist and a 70's collection had popped
up just minutes before. Having looked at dozens if not hundreds of such collections over the years and finding very little I expected this adventure to
end the same way. A quick call and 30 minutes later I was sifting through box after box of 70's garbage. I had all but given up hope when I got to the last
box and when I got down to the last and final level of cans of 3 levels total in the box, I spotted a zip top lid. Assuming it was probably a common Schlitz
or other common can I reached for it and slowly extracted it from it's resting place of the last 30 or so years. Much to my surprise it was the coveted
white Altes zip top, the one in Randy Karasek's avatar and the subject of many a wet dream for Leon

As it turned out it was also the
nicest known example. On an ironic side note the collection was only a couple of miles from where Leon lives.

I quietly replaced the can back into it's slot in the box, and quickly handed over $150 for the collection, as it was an all or nothing deal.
Seems there were a couple of other keepers in the collection, perhaps a Rainier not so light zip but all in all 98+ % junk.

The can now resides with a wealthy doctor in the Lansing, MI area, setting him back some $4000 for the privilege.

#11

Not a find I made. But in high school around 1979 a friend of mine gave me this Altes Crowntainer. It was found in a paper bag in the attic of a drug store in Royal Oak Michigan. Always wondered what the 329 stamped on it means. There were two cans found. The other went with the other kid cleaning the attic. Wonder where that can ended up.

#12

Onefineday wrote:I was around and about early one morning and arrived back home around 7 a.m.. I took a look at the local Detroit craigslist and a 70's collection had popped
up just minutes before. Having looked at dozens if not hundreds of such collections over the years and finding very little I expected this adventure to
end the same way. A quick call and 30 minutes later I was sifting through box after box of 70's garbage. I had all but given up hope when I got to the last
box and when I got down to the last and final level of cans of 3 levels total in the box, I spotted a zip top lid. Assuming it was probably a common Schlitz
or other common can I reached for it and slowly extracted it from it's resting place of the last 30 or so years. Much to my surprise it was the coveted
white Altes zip top, the one in Randy Karasek's avatar and the subject of many a wet dream for Leon As it turned out it was also the
nicest known example. On an ironic side note the collection was only a couple of miles from where Leon lives.

I quietly replaced the can back into it's slot in the box, and quickly handed over $150 for the collection, as it was an all or nothing deal.
Seems there were a couple of other keepers in the collection, perhaps a Rainier not so light zip but all in all 98+ % junk.

The can now resides with a wealthy doctor in the Lansing, MI area, setting him back some $4000 for the privilege.

Well, I guess that explains how you chose your forem name........

#13

I bought three or four cans from LC400, and when I opened the box there was a Baldie in there with them.

#14

Back in 2003 , I got a call to look at a local collection. Typical story, in boxes of 70s stuff , I found these two cans. I quickly dismissed them and put them back into the boxes and bought the whole lot for a couple hundred dollars.

out

Dan

#15

Onefineday wrote:..... I spotted a zip top lid. Assuming it was probably a common Schlitz
or other common can I reached for it and slowly extracted it from it's resting place of the last 30 or so years. Much to my surprise it was the coveted
white Altes zip top, the one in Randy Karasek's avatar and the subject of many a wet dream for Leon As it turned out it was also the
nicest known example. On an ironic side note the collection was only a couple of miles from where Leon lives.......

ouch that hurts !

Dan

#16

Onefineday I remember you posted something about that can and it was a few miles from Leon's house. You should have had the courtesy to stop by his house and let him hold it. LMAO

#17

Answered the ad for 'beer can collection free to good home'. Carton after musty carton of '70's stuff. But at the bottom of the last box were three of these. Made carting the whole thing away worthwhile.

#18

About ten years ago I went to check out a collection in Boston. The collector had passed away and his brother was trying to get rid of the cans. They were in 9 giant double ply leaf bags just sitting in his basement. I went though the first 5 bags of just pure aluminum, and right in the middle of the bag was a A1+ Germantown! It was the best 5 dollars that I have ever spent on a can!!!! You just never know. Woody

#19

Love the stories here....

About 6 months ago, right around the time I joined RB, I had a series of great finds. In order of greatness:

#3: Bought a small collection that was dumped into rubbermaid tubs. Mostly filled with common tabs, but had some nice SS tabs and a few dozen nice flats. I put 5 flats in Grade 1 on my shelves. Not bad for $50 total.

Best cans and even one OI Pabst. Is this considered a Long Opener??

Pabst Backs:

#2: Saw a posting on Craigslist with a Krueger quart and multiple Old Topper Snappy Ales Crowntainers. No prices were given, but when I finally reached the seller, I was able to buy this pair for $40. Sold!

#1 and the the single best can I ever found and sold: The surprise was the woman who had the can told me it was a "Whale Ale", then she said it was a "Wheel Ale". You can imagine my surprise when I showed up and found a Wehle Mule Head!!! Only paid $150 and sold for over 10X that :)

Looking forward to the next 6 months :)

#20

BostonBob wrote:Best cans and even one OI Pabst. Is this considered a Long Opener??

Bob,

Not quite a long opener--that one has a separate panel next to the instructions with an opener shown that stretches from the top to the bottom rim. Still yours is really nice and certainly those five cans are worth more than the $50 you paid for the entire batch. And a Mule Head quart!! That's a mighty impressive set of finds for a six month period. I can't remember anything similar I've had in any six year period since I started collecting!

#21

A bunch of great stories here! It seems as though Craig's List is a popular place to find cans. I have gotten many leads over the years through my website. Some I have passed on to collectors who live close to where the collection is located. I have bought two large collections locally, here in Prescott, AZ that I found out about by people contacting me through my website. One of those collections was purchased from a widow whose late husband had started collecting while in law school at Syracuse University in the early 1960's. All the cans were bottom opened and had a sticker on them listing who had brought the can for him. There were about 500 cans, most from the 1960's. Included in the collection are the cans pictured below and many more like them. I paid $500 for the entire collection, as long as I promised to take all the cans including the 70's, and 80's vintage cans.

#22

I have two: Basically every stinking box opened at the Fort Wayne Canvention was a surprise box. I have never seen so many happy grown men in one place in my life.

The other story has some regret to it. Three Congress cans were found in my Uncle Bill's storage Shed in upstate NY in the late 70's when I initially started collecting. All grade 1 with one with a BB gun dent in it's side. My Dad tells me that he remembers shooting the can as a kid.
Fast forward to 1985 - I am in college and need money and sell the cans to a Baseball card dealer for $100 worth of Mets cards. Two week later, they burn in a friend of mine's house fire. The cans are still in a collection in central Arkansas and I will one day reclaim them. I am assuming with the appropriate mark-up fro my 1985 sale.

#23

Brian - those are some killer cans! I think you got a pretty good deal on the $500 price tag based on just those cans pictured. I would especially like that they were labeled. Makes me wish I had that dedication.

I think all collectors can appreciate the sheer joy, or at least fun, in browsing thru a box or bin seeking the golden treasure. I know I do!

Senator - sorry to hear about the Congress trade, but I like the fact that you know where they are and even have plans to reclaim.

#24

When I was a kid I participated in a mail auction run by Eric Pierce's "The Brewery Beer Can Shop" in 1980. Of course, back in those days it was expensive to produce and mail a photo-based catalog so a lot of the sales/trade lists and auction catalogs were just text lists, no pictures. You had to hope the item you bid on was accurately graded. The can I bid on was listed as a 1+ air-sealed Pickwick Brew flat (the brown one). In those days it was also a painstakingly long process to participate in a mail auction: Request the list via mail, receive the list via mail, make a bid via mail, wait to hear via mail if you won (I still have the postcard!), send the money, then wait for the can. I swear it took almost three months for the whole process.

Well, I ended up winning the can for $60. When it arrived and I opened the package it lived up to its billing; it was in great shape exactly as described. EXCEPT that it said "Malt Brew" instead of just "Brew". I had no idea what I had at the time and temporarily stopped collecting shortly thereafter, selling it off with the rest of my collection to fund a newly-acquired addiction to baseball cards. No idea where it is now, but I've never seen another except for the one in the USBC, which could very well be the same can.

#25

I have shared this story a couple of times regarding my Associated Paper Label find.

I stopped at a hole in wall Antique shop in one of the districts of San Francisco 15+ years ago. And we are talking Sanford and Son Junk shop. As I was walking the isles I eye spied a cigar box. I opened it and to my amazement were a small stack of various IRTP Northern California beer labels. As I thumbed through them about half way through there was the Associated label

I then looked for the owner and he was an old man that sat behind one of those Pawn Shop cages. I softly yelled "How much are the beer labels?" He yelled back how many are there? I said 20. His response was $20 bucks?

Well I said something like "sounds OK!" Deal was made and I Strolled out the door. Word got out that I scored the Can/Label and I was offered $15,000 and that was 15+ years ago. I did tell the interested party that If I did sell he got the first crack at it. Always keep your friends and options open.

Since then I have found 2 of the Brown Derby Striped cans. One to put the label around and other to sit next to it.

Also the other 19 labels were pretty darn rare/good too.

Skoal
Big"R"

#26

Dave Waugh - I had to lookup the can you referenced during lunch. Either would be fantastic, but the Malt Brew would be even cooler due to the rarity. I can't imagine waiting 3 months for cans....I have two pending from THIS WEEK and I ma going nuts.....

Ceskydup - $15 grand.....wow! I think all collectors dream of that major find! Congrats!

#27

BostonBob wrote:Dave Waugh - I had to lookup the can you referenced during lunch. Either would be fantastic, but the Malt Brew would be even cooler due to the rarity. I can't imagine waiting 3 months for cans....I have two pending from THIS WEEK and I ma going nuts.....

Bob, $60 1980 dollars is about $175 in today's dollars so the can wasn't necessarily a bargain, even then, for the regular "brew" can, but would have been a no-brainer for the Malt Brew had I only known. Then again, if had been advertised that way I'm sure I wouldn't have won it. In 1980 I turned 16 and was trying to save for a car, too, so it took a while to come up with the dough for the can. In the end it was a good thing snail mail auctions took a long time so I had more time to save!

Hope your two new cans are good 'uns!

#28

Senator Seebs wrote:Fast forward to 1985 - I am in college and need money and sell the cans to a Baseball card dealer for $100 worth of Mets cards.

Well, there's your problem right there. And I say that as a lifelong Met fan.

#29

My biggest surprise came from an insider, yes a rusty bunch member. I was at Rawley's "Extravacanza" show years ago and he had some flat sheets that were rolled into cans. I found a red top that I needed. I thought it was the can in the book. I negotiated a price that equaled what I had left in my wallet. I posted the can in some collection pics on this site and "Lovegun" told me it was not in the book. I did not realize it until then.

I showed the can to a Cincinnati specialist and he estimated the value at 10X what I paid for it.

-Chris

#30

I was at Warren Terry's show in Ashville, NC a couple of years back. I bought a Krueger cone from a guy that looked pretty nice. He wanted $20 but I got him down to $15. I wasn't sure if I had it or not but the investment wasn't that big so I thought what the heck. I was pretty "new" at collecting cans as an adult and when I found out it was an unknown variation, I basicly went crazy. In order to drum up interest and to see if any more of then existed I put it on eBay for the admittedly outrageous price of $4300. My intent was to have people not just pass it by thinking it was another run of the mill $20 Krueger cone. It was immediately picked up HERE as another "crazy guy" selling cans story. I ended up selling the can to a RB member for $1300 which was about DOUBLE the highest value discussed on the board.

If someone asked a value of a somewhat inexpensive can and someone posts a stock reply of $4300, you now know where that comes from. They are poking fun at me.....lol.
Now that I have collected cans a little while as an adult now, I would not have marketed that can can in the same "bull in the China shop" approach but the results were very good and some fun humor came out of it. Live and learn.......

Surprise cans, Tell us your best surprise story!

Surprise cans, Tell us your best surprise story!

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