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 . . . .