Krueger's Special

[blake]

I think the reason for not getting dealers involved or a name asssciated with the can be covered with three letters. IRS.

[Mike S]

Message to the owner of this can.......That can is as queer as a $3 bill , it has "ditto" all over it ....quit the monkey-shining around , if its real , consign the can to one of our can dealer sponsors and let the bidding begin.

Otherwise fold your tent and go home.

out

Dan

I have to lean towards the side that it's real. If it's a fake it's by far and away the best I've seen(or anyone has seen). Ditto cans are quite obvious, this one is not. As others have pointed out why would someone use a OI panel from the can opener box and not one that was ever used on a can. Why would they not use a long opener. I would, wouldn't you if you were trying to make a fake? Why (and how) would they put a metallic side panel on the can. Why would they use a permit number? it doesn't have that orange peel look like the ditto wraps too. Then there is the date on the lid. If this is a fake someone really did a lot of research on info that isn't even out there and somehow did a magnificent job of recreating a 30's beer can. I only know of one or two people with deep enough pockets to buy this but i bet there is a member here seriously thinking if he can live the rest of his life with one kidney....yes Rand i mean you.

[OhioCanGuy]

All speculation at this point, obviously.

I'm leaning towards the "it's real, and does exist" camp.

Here is my theory on how this is playing out:

Guy has the can back in the 80's and realizes back then what he has. He has a collector mentality, but isn't really a can collector. He's also financially solid and therefore decides to just keep it rather than sell it, back in the day. The can spends the next 30 years quietly in a curio cabinet or similar place. Owner passes away sometime here in the present day. Can is now in the hands of his son/daughter/grandson/granddaughter. Son/grandson has heard for 30 years what a piece of history this can is and that it could be quite valuable. Son/grandson decides to find out if grandpa was full of it or if this story is real. HOWEVER, he is savvy enough to do it without revealing his own identity and knows of a few sites to catch the buzz if any exists. IE. this site, FB, etc. He's also comfortable enough with the online world to track down a few names in the hobby to start the information flow.

If the story (from Grandpa) is real, he wants to sell it and where better than at the largest can show of the year. Canvention. By starting things now, he has enough time to get his story straight, decide if he wants professional representation (dealer) or will go it alone.

I bet it's real and will be out within the next six months.

[Rand]

I only know of one or two people with deep enough pockets to buy this but i bet there is a member here seriously thinking if he can live the rest of his life with one kidney....yes Rand i mean you.

I've been considering a prostitution side hustle..... but you may have a good idea there.....kidney.....hummmm...

:-)

[Senator Seebs]

Just found in Cabot Arkansas -

[idigrust]

Just found in Cabot Arkansas -

I almost fell for it Seebs, but I believe that can would of had "fl.oz." not "fluid ounces"

[CVforMe]

Look closely at the third picture in the Senator's last post and you will see two small white spots in the lower gold band.

[keithker]

Rand....this Chapter doesn't condone the selling of body parts or oneself for sex just for a fix of the grailest of grail OI cans...BTW wouldn't you soon run out of money since you would have to pay others.......

hard-day-2.gif (568.35 KiB) Viewed 8323 times

[Rand]

Rand....this Chapter doesn't condone the selling of body parts or oneself for sex just for a fix of the grailest of grail OI cans...BTW wouldn't you soon run out of money since you would have to pay others.......

A central feature of the business plan revolves around stealing their wallet and making a break for it ......but it's a dodgy maneuver. Perhaps I can make enough being a mule for the black tar heroin cartel.....what could go wrong! :-)

[CMD]

Sorry Seebs , nice try , the font is all wrong!

[foreigncanman]

Wow the coveted Krueger oh so special. I'm thinking six figures for sure. (1.00000) Would you consider a trade for an ongrade triangle

[menke]

Absolutely thrilling. I'd heard of the state where this can resided for the last 30 years, as others have, and took a stab at finding the owner with what little other info I had. No dice. My biggest fear was that the can would be lost, tossed out at an estate sale or some such. My biggest sad was that I wasn't going to be the one to bring one of these to light. I'd always imagined happening upon one at a flea market somewhere. Oh well, at least it didn't get thrown out :-)

I'm as skeptical as the next non-conspiracy theorist, but this can is legit. PM me if you want THAT lengthy discussion.

Why the squirrelly introduction? Seller wants top dollar but doesn't know what that number is so he tests the waters with a few BCCA functionaries who'll put the word out. Rookie seller, likely, since sending those letters to dealers would generate actual offers. And, more importantly, a private sale through a dealer allows private collectors to pony up more cash without thousands of eyes prying eyes into their cash flow and judgment.

If the number thrown out in this forum isn't high enough, the can might just go back into hiding for another 30 years. IRS fears perhaps, like what surely happened to gizme13 a couple years ago. I'm sure his retirement plans got severely rearranged with all that unplanned income. Paypal would have insured he had to hand over a VERY large check the following spring. That kind of money is hard to hide, though, especially through a dealer who might prefer to keep on the up and up. The 10% or whatever he charges will probably be well spent in order to achieve that top dollar.

I was hoping for more wildly different panels. Like the Canco Drinking Scene turned up to 11. But I'll settle for these Canco opener box panels! I love the quirky stuff, like the Nj permit and some of the odd verbiage.

Also, every alcohol package from cans to kegs was required to carry the IRTP from day one, be it on stamps, caps, or labels. The handful of cans that missed it were almost surely oversights of both brewer and regulator (Krueger's, Tru Blu, Old Style, early Neuweiler's quarts come to mind). That's about the same error rate as labels that go through with other no-no's like health claims, incorrect volume statements, and such.

Forget brewing history. This can is at the crux of straight-up American History: Prohibition and our ambivalent relationship with alcohol, American ingenuity, entrepreneurship, capitalism, environmental un-sustainability, and design. It boggles my mind why the Smithsonian doesn't already have a can collection. They don't pay top dollar for stuff, though. They usually get expensive stuff loaned or donated.

Also, I hate to rain on everyone's parade, but this isn't the First Beer Can. It's not even the first test can (the drab one pictured earlier in the thread) But it certainly has mystique that can't be beat!

[pinnacle-project]

I'm as skeptical as the next non-conspiracy theorist, but this can is legit. PM me if you want THAT lengthy discussion.

Rather than PM the same story over and over, couldn't you share it here?

[Leon]

Menke: "If the number thrown out in this forum isn't high enough, the can might just go back into hiding for another 30 years."



I believe a number of $150,000 was thrown out in this forum earlier. Who doesn't think that is high enough? It's to high in my opinion. Worth $50k in my opinion. LEON.

[CVforMe]

Tomorrow is "Conspiracy Day" on the Michael Medved Show. I'm hoping to hear new angles on the Krueger Special story. Perhaps they'll expose the latest theory that this is all just a marketing strategy by the BCCA to fluff-up attendance at Canvention this year?
Try some some Relief Factor.

[kb]

It's been said before .. MATT CAN WRITE !!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cap-Sealed]

On ebay now:

" This auction is NOT for an original G B beer can. What you see in the first photo is a "can wrap" taped around a flat top beer can (actually the can is a Hamm's that I am listing on auction earlier this afternoon) . I got this can wrap and those for several other beer cans from a guy at a beer show a number of years ago. He somehow had been able to create these on a computer and put them on photo paper. If you compare the can wrap shown to the actual G B flat on page 67 of United States Beer Cans you will see that some details on the OI side differ from the original, but head on it looks like the original can.
Unique - not the real thing but also not the $300-400 + the real can would cost you - and maybe a conversation piece for your can collection.

I only have this one to offer and have never tried to reproduce it. I ship only to USA - no foreign bids are accepted. Please pay within 3 days of close of auction."

[Sweeperman]

Did I miss the part about why it is a picture of a picture??

These photos came in a letter in the mail to a few different collectors. Charlie Smith took pictures of the letter and posted them on Facebook.

Did the person who mailed these pictures to different collectors say why they were mailing these pictures out. What's the point of all this?
Who cares if the guy has a bad picture of a great can, now several collectors have a bad picture of a great can. Does he have a real can, fake can or just pictures of a fake can or real can? Why did they send a picture and did they say what they want?

[sp502]

Hi - I'm ditto - I can tell you I didn't make the can in question. It is either a hybrid of my design and someone elses (edited design) then they made it using my process - or it is real.

[sp502]

Also the gb above is a label I would give away for folks to practice with - the discolored band you see is the ink system running low on a particular color - it is my handwriting on the end tab

[CVforMe]

One of my favorite cans is the atom bomb beer. mr ditto did send me a couple of free extra sheets of variations. Nice guy.

[oldindiapaleale]

I would still like to see a picture of the two mailing envelopes showing the postage stamps. -Agent Scully

[Summitcan]

Wonder why Grace Bothers didn't go with the appetizing baby poo p color ?

[sp502]

I'm in St Petersburg Florida - there is an old restaurant down here where Capone and Babe Ruth used to go to - Capone was part owner and they would boat in bootleg - and had a tunnel going into the bar / restaurant to have parties. - There is some untouched land out back of the place. (There has to be something out there...... The place has changed hands a few times... dumping area ?

[Cap-Sealed]

Hey Ditto - do you think that Krueger Special is a re-pop?

[sp502]

I've only seen the supposedly real one online. The "Special" font was a big problem to replicate - There are a few influences in the design that flag a little which makes me think it's a hybrid of 2 diff people - without seeing it in real photography or in hand... it's still up in the air. Either way... until it hits the real market with better photos - it's still up in the air... some lettering is a little more faded than it should be...compared to other lettering

[chateaudebris]

Hey ditto?how many fake cans,sheets,wraps? ,have you made? And did you make a personal collection that you keep ?,,seems that you could print any brand you need?

[Mike S]

Hey ditto?how many fake cans,sheets,wraps? ,have you made? And did you make a personal collection that you keep ?,,seems that you could print any brand you need?

What fun would that be?

mike s

[chateaudebris]

Hi - I'm ditto - I can tell you I didn't make the can in question. It is either a hybrid of my design and someone elses (edited design) then they made it using my process - or it is real.

I've only seen the supposedly real one online. The "Special" font was a big problem to replicate - There are a few influences in the design that flag a little which makes me think it's a hybrid of 2 diff people - without seeing it in real photography or in hand... it's still up in the air. Either way... until it hits the real market with better photos - it's still up in the air... some lettering is a little more faded than it should be...compared to other lettering

So have you made this brand before? Your name reads orange?new to the club?

[CMD]

Smells like a hoax, probably our old friend (with Michigan ties) up to another one of his tricks! silly rabbit

out

Dan