My Oldest Tins - What are yours?

[peteguy]

I re-arranged the cellar tonight and sorted out my oldest tins. I always date a tin when I buy it with a month and year unless the vendor does it for me (McClelland, etc.). Sometimes at a B&M you get lucky and find an old one on the shelf if it has the vendor date but otherwise I just go off the buy date. I was surprised that some of these slipped through the cracks and it might be time to open a few. I definitely need to do a better job of keeping track. Anyone else care to share their list?
Red Ribbon 15 yr, Escudo Navy Deluxe 10 yr, Red Ribbon 8 yr, Brigade Campaign Dark Flake 7 yr, Dark Star 7yr, Sweet Vanilla Honeydew 7 yr, Dark Star 6 yr, Red Ribbon 6 yr, St. James Flake 6 yr, Golden Sliced (red) 5 yr, Beacon Extra 5 yr

 

[beefeater33]

Just a few of mine- I tend to hoard the Dunhill..........those are from 70's-80's, not sure of the Escudo age, it has a price sticker of $1.75 8O

 

[peteguy]

Yowsa!! very impressive.

 

[beefeater33]

Thanks, but wait till MLC chimes in.... that cat has some OOOOOOOOLLLLLLLDDDDDD tins!!!

 

[cmdrmcbragg]

That's a nice cache of Dunhills.

 

[drrock]

Don't have any pictures, but I have a number of 7 oz. tins of MacBaren Symphony from the late 70's that I picked up some time ago. I checked with the MacBaren people to definitely date the tins & they confirmed the vintage. If anyone wants to try some, I'd be glad to share.

 

[beefeater33]

That's a nice cache of Dunhills.

cmdrmcbragg, thanks, but I can't seem to score any of the BCDF, LOL!!

 

[topd]

Great catch beefeater33... I also have many Dunhill tins, and some others I really should dive into soon. As some Europeans and Australians have pointed out lately, we are lucky that we can put aside tobacco for a bit later....

 

[condorlover1]

I don't own any tins outside of a length of 1940s Twist and some War Horse gifted to me. I always bid on the cutter top tins when I see them on Oi Vay but its really hit or miss with those in that you either get great tobacco or a tin of mummy dust. In my case its usually miss in that I get knocked out of the bidding pretty quickly as I just will not pay $75 for a seventy year old tin of something that I have never smoked before in my life.

 

[lochinvar]

I only have two with anything over ten years. A tin of Bengal slices from about 1995 and a tin of Charatan Purple that has "West German" markings so 1990 at the latest.

 

[misterlowercase]

:worship:

beefeater33
Man, what an amazing sight! 4oz Royal Warrant heaven! That collection of tins is worth more than my car LOL ...seriously, they are.
Absolutely magnificent!
That is what you'd call DEEP.
I'm more scattershot and occasionally get lucky with older tins.

Most of them have already been opened, but on deck I have a nice pair from Thomson & Porteous,

dating to 1954 and 1955...

I have an old packet of Digger from an unknown date, but I'll probably never open it...

I was stunned at this Plover Pigtail from who knows when, I wasn't expecting it to be smokeable at all (only got it for historical value and because it was so cheap) but somehow it was amazingly preserved, so it was a very pleasant surprise... 1/72nd of a lb.

Otherwise, the stuff I've been getting is all fairly new, I've only been pipesmoking for several years so the off-the-shelf stuff I've been getting is not much older - except I have got lucky to find some older Dark Star at a B&M which was yummy.

 

[cigarman78]

Nice dunhill collection beefeater I wish I had all those old tins enjoy

 

[condorlover1]

Thats exactly how Twist was sold in the UK up until the late 1980s. If you went into Inderwick's or Shervington's in High Holborn that looked like an Elizabethan building they would sell you either a 1/2 oz or 1 oz length of Twist that looked exactly like Plover Pigtail in the same wrapping with the manufactures name as a label to stop it coming unwrapped. It was always fresh and very moist and easy to cut. I wish I could remember the price but I would hazard a guess that it was about Two Pounds or a little under that figure for a one oz length.

 

[misterlowercase]

Great write-up Simon, thanks!
It's always good to have first-hand accounts.

 

[condorlover1]

It shows I am getting old Troy! Have you opened the Drifter Flake yet? I am curious to see what condition that is in. As an after thought both those tins are very early 1950s as we in the UK were exporting everywhere to pay off war debts. So only companies selling for $'s would get an allotment of steel and ink for making tobacco tins. Because of Exchange Controls all goods paid for in USD were taken by the Government and the company was issued with something called a 'Post War Credit' which wasn't repaid until the mid 1970s. I actually remember my Mother typing letters to HM Treasury about my Fathers money and finally getting a check back for Two Thousand Pounds 25 years after the event.

 

[mcitinner1]

Just beautiful Beefeater. A quick bit of math tells me that your first picture contains 22 lbs

of tobacco. I am in awe, congrats.
tinner :clap:

 

[misterlowercase]

It's something I was never very aware of, just how difficult the post-war years in Britain were. After reading a few issues of Punch from the late 40's/early 50's it astounded me how hard times were for so long after the war --- cartoons about whale steak and lack of coal, tripe and onions, reports of tobacco shortages, many everyday goods in very short supply, holidays abroad were banned, everyone queued up and rations still in effect...

 

[misterlowercase]

Just beautiful Beefeater. A quick bit of math tells me that your first picture contains 22 lbs

of tobacco. I am in awe, congrats

+1

:clap:

...and not just any tobacco, but primetime Dunhill!

 

[beefeater33]

mlc- Those are some real Beauties! I love that Plover twist & it is truly amazing that its so well preserved. My oldies only date back to the 1970's. I have yet to find an old cutter top, but I keep looking........ :lol:
Simon-- Thank you for the historical perspective on these, I love learning about the older stuff as much as I enjoy smoking it!!

A quick bit of math tells me that your first picture contains 22 lbs

of tobacco.

Actually tinner, those Dunhill tins are all 3.5 ounces each, 44 pounds!! :D
And to let you all know that I'm not a strictly Dunhill whore:


I just received the Mac Baren & Erinmore cube cut yesterday. The seller said he had 6 tins of the C.C. but man, I didn't know it was still in it's sleeve. mlc informed me there was a guy trying to hawk a tin on the 'bay for $900!! HaHa! I guess this sleeve is worth $5400? :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
Lets see some others here! Come on, you know who you are! I'm not the only one with this strange, demented sickness..................

 

[mrjerke]

Those Dunhill tins are beautiful. I especially love the EMP art. And Cope's Escudo is on my bucket list. What I would give to try some. I had some roughly 2000 Escudo that I cracked at the KC pipe show. It was wonderful.
My oldest is 1997 Christmas Cheer. Also some 1999 F&T Vintage. My cellar shows 10 tins have 10+ years.