Balkan Sobranie Tin Dating

[ofafeather]

Greetings all,

I have what is most likely a fairly old tin of Balkan Sobranie Smoking Mixture. I found an old thread from 2016 with dating info and it is helpful but all the links are to pages like John Loring and A Passion for Pipes, which are nor longer active. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

It is sealed 2oz tin and the listing is Sobranie Limited, Sobranie House, London, England. There is a code stamped on the bottom 5D3751. I'm not sure if that has meaning for dates.

Any help is appreciated.

Many thanks,
Eric

 

[greeneyes]

Hi Eric, here is the link to the guide by Jon Guss [1].

If you happen to have any photos I'd love to see your tin.

Cheers--

[1] https://pipedia.org/images/3/31/Appendix+on+Dating+Sobranie+Tins+v+1+10+12.pdf

 

[ofafeather]

If you happen to have any photos I'd love to see your tin.

Thanks so much! It’s a great guide. Here are some pics of the tin. I appreciate your help. Looks like maybe ‘72-‘79.

 

[philobeddoe]

What does it sound like when you shake the tin?

 

[judcole]

Sure looks like the tins I remember enjoying in the very early 1970s.

 

[ofafeather]

What does it sound like when you shake the tin?

it sounds and moves like it still has moisture, though I know it’s impossible to tell for sure.

 

[greeneyes]

it sounds and moves like it still has moisture, though I know it’s impossible to tell for sure.

Well you gonna open it or just look at it?

Honestly though, I have several nice tins of tobacco that just aren't going to "improve" any further past my lifetime and I consider they don't have any real value unless I smoke them.

 

[3rdguy]

With the rust on it I wouldn't wait too long.

 

[guylesss]

Wow. The real thing. Yenidje! A grail among unicorns. Please do share your experience if you do decide to open it.

 

[kola]

Pop that summabeech' .... pay perview video the entire experience....from popping it to smoking it.

 

[ofafeather]

With the rust on it I wouldn't wait too long.

The rust appears to be on surface discoloration. I have tins where the integrity was compromised but this doesn't seem to be that way.

 

[ofafeather]

Well you gonna open it or just look at it?

Honestly though, I have several nice tins of tobacco that just aren't going to "improve" any further past my lifetime and I consider they don't have any real value unless I smoke them.

I agree. My guess is the tobacco in this tin is destined to be smoked in other pipes than mine.

 

[virkia]

Thanks so much! It’s a great guide. Here are some pics of the tin. I appreciate your help. Looks like maybe ‘72-‘79.

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I haven't checked for any numbers on the base of mine but I have a tin that looks the same or at least very similar which I bought in 1980 from the duty free at Nice airport

 

[condorlover1]

@virkia : I remember those duty free arrangements. Happy days. I had several tins most of which I gave to Shaintiques years ago and the balance went to Jim Inks for review purposes.

 

[sablebrush52]

Funny how things change. I used to walk across the street from the jewelry store where I worked to Copley's Pipe shop and pick up a tin of Original Smoking Mixture or 759, or a box of Sobranie Chaliapin cigarettes and never think once about it not being available or becoming a golden unicorn.

 

[Terry Lennox]

Smoked Sobranie 759 in 1987 with my dad. I was a teenager and he was showing me what real tobacco was after I had come home with a couple of aromatics. The memory of the tin note and the flavor is still vivid to me to this day. At the time it was a bit much for me. But years later I came back to the pipe and Balkan blends. I have never found anything that really matched what I experienced that day. The closest I have come is Germain produced blends and also, at times, Mac Baren HH Vintage Syrian.