Can Zip Top Lids - Who Made Them?

[MI-Cans]

Had a minor discussion with Kamsquared relative to my Zip Tab Summary. He brought up a great question. Here it is:

“Do we know if the canning companies made their own lids or did they purchase them from a different company?..... I don't think I've seen anyone state this in any thread or if it could be researched......with the basic question of "Who made the tops?!!"

If one company made the first two iterations of Zip lids that would explain why there wasn't any difference between canning companies or beer brands then. The third iteration had the greatest range of differences in the Zip Tops which may have come about with companies paying off the patent holder thus allowing them to manufacture their own "unique" lids.

If anyone has any info to answer the question, it would very much be appreciated. I have confidence that somebody will come up with something.

(MI-Cans)

[kamsquared]

@Mizmo64 Tommy, we had this conversation at South Bend. What are the opinions of the masters of the zip and pull tabs?
Without evidence or any research, I think the tops were punched out at places like Reynolds Aluminum/Reynolds Metal and then sent to canning companies. If that is the case, then tops of different construction could have been shipped to different canning companies.

[specks169]

i know american can co. in milwaukee made them. i worked there. don

[Mizmo64]

@Mizmo64 Tommy, we had this conversation at South Bend. What are the opinions of the masters of the zip and pull tabs?
Without evidence or any research, I think the tops were punched out at places like Reynolds Aluminum/Reynolds Metal and then sent to canning companies. If that is the case, then tops of different construction could have been shipped to different canning companies.

Kurt, What I have seen doing can lidding is that can companies often used lids from where ever they could get them. While it was not the norm, it also is not unusual to find lids from one can company on another can companies cans. Given there were also suppliers like Reynolds stamping lids I am sure most anything is possible.

[Mizmo64]

rustycans.com has a brief research with credits on how Zip Tops came to exist and how Alcoa came to be involved

[zoinkss]

I have noticed that the earliest zip tabs did not have any pressure beads. What is unusual here is that early on, the canning plants learned that pressure beads were important for tops and bottoms. The later tab cans will have small pressure beads around the opening. The embossing of the vanity lids and do not litter lids are also considered pressure beads.
When American can co made a "touch and go" lid, the pressure beads along the opening were curved and Continental was straight. Early on, the design had no beads. My guess is that a company that designed the lids did not have the experience that the canning plants had. Then, Continental and Amcan probably changed the design enough adding the pressure beads and didn't have to purchase the patent rights.
Going back in the patents to see who invented and had the rights to the zip top would tell you who came up with the zip top.

"touch and go" lids are aluminum lids. My father and Specks used this terminology all the time. Steel lids took more pressure to fold the lid to the flange while the aluminum took just a small amount of pressure.

I have seen some early zip top lids have a crown symbol on them on the end of the tab. Steve, if your reading this, send a pic of the one you have.

[MI-Cans]

There's a 3rd Iteration Crown Zip top pictured in this post:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=44927#p383760

(MI-Cans)

[keithker]

Not sure it answers the mystery but thought to provide it just the same.....the others I just thought to add as an interest related to the topic..... @MI-Cans and @Leon should find the Strohs ad interesting.....were they the first to use that tab????

St Louis Post Dispatch Sat Jul 6 1963

The Marion Star Mon Sep 9 1963

The Minneapolis Star Thu Sep 19 1963

The Daily Times Tue Dec 10 1963

[zoinkss]

Nothing like a few PHDs to do the work for us.
Here is a abstract from a PHD candidate who was probably a beer can collector. Amazing what is out there online.
Anyone near Wright University and want to go get pictures of the first zip top can? PDF attached can be opened to read the whole abstract.

ANTH02m_schr.xx.02.pdf

(7.45 MiB) Downloaded 31 times

[MI-Cans]

Came across this article dated July 6, 1963 from Des Moines, Iowa. (Longer version of @Keithker's post) It states that Alcoa authorized 40 different companies to make the lids. This would have to be the First Iteration and they would all have to be the same as was the case with the Second Iteration. Only when the Third Iteration came out were the Canning Companies then allowed to make their own versions.

(MI-Cans)

Click to enlarge.

[Leon]

Fraze made his big money by supplying all these company's with his expensive machines that made the lids. LEON.

[Leon]

Here's a small part of my Fraze Article from a Magazine I have . should help explain some things. LEON.

[MI-Cans]

I know I'm gonna catch Heck for this, but what Leon says makes a lot of sense, at least to me. (Leon, it'd be nice to see the entire article!)

So far, no one has contradicted what's been said in numerous postings here, that the first and second Iterations of Zip lids were identical with the only real difference being instructions on the second iteration. It would take the same kind of machinery to make the lids the same from any of 40 producers. With a staggering number like 9 Billion produced (from the article), they didn't come from 1 manufacturer (thus being identical), they came from 40 different manufacturers using identical machinery.

I did a Google patent search and found Fraze associated with 112 patents. I don't know squat about patents so I'll be going through them to find, I don't know what. Here's a link:

https://patents.google.com/?assignee=er ... e&sort=old

To answer @Keithker's question. That appears to be an Iteration 3 Zip already customized by the can company. No way to know who would have been the first Brewery to use their can with that new Zip design.

(MI-Cans)