Brewerania & Beer Can Collecting

It seems like just a few years ago people were collecting cans of Billy Beer, the beer that was named after President Carter’s brother. However, beer can collecting began long before that. It is believed by some that collecting beer cans began with the advent of the can itself, produced first by the American Can Company. The Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company was the first to introduce us to beer in a can in 1933 when they distributed 2000 cans of 3.2% beer.

Beer can collectors have their own organization, called the Beer Can Collectors of America (BCCA). According to Mark Benbow, owner of rustycans.com, the association has been around since 1970 and by 1976; the association had more than 8000 members. In the late 1970’s and 80’s, with a glut of beer cans aimed specifically at collectors, interest actually waned and many people gave up their collections. The hobby of collecting beer cans is now making a comeback and the BCCA currently has about 3700 members.

Another thing we learned from Mr. Benbow is that Billy Beer cans are pretty much worthless since the market was flooded with about 2 billion cans from four different breweries in the late 1970’s. A can of Billy Beer, whether open, closed, with beer or without is probably not worth more than twenty five cents.

NOVA-Antiques Newsletter Archives – March 2, 2006 . . . .

German Beer Steins - Collectibles

The word stein comes from the German word, steinzeugkrug, which is a stoneware carafe or jug. Germany, the land where beer is more common than water, is also known for their elaborately decorated and hand painted beer steins. The difference between a beer stein and a mug is that the stein usually has a hinged lid. The lid was originally a sanitary measure taken after the times of the Bubonic Plague.

In the early 1500’s many German municipalities had passed laws governing the covering of food and drink, thus the hinged lid on what was once a mug. In addition, German beer halls also began to flourish at about the same time and people began buying personal steins that they would take to these halls. The practice of keeping a stein at your local tavern is still done in certain parts of Germany. This brought about the ornate and beautiful steins we collect today.

Some of the earliest steins were a status symbol for many Germans and were made of stoneware and decorated with carved and applied shields and historical scenes. They were painted and glazed by hand and it took many hours to create a single stein. The most recent steins are still decorated in the same way and many can be seen with the cobalt blue and chocolate saltglaze that was first used back in the day.

NOVA-Antiques Newsletter Archive November 17, 2005 . . . .