Does anyone else find the tin dating by the tobacco manufactures to be inconsistent and sometimes nonexistent? I wish they could standardize the Julian calander on their date of manufacture instead of us trying to decipher the numerology on the bottom of the tin.
Tin Dating
- Thread starter chawz
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Although it can be frustrating, it can also be a bit of fun sleuthing around for answers.
I had a couple of old tins of Murray's Erinmore with House of Edgeworth distributor stickers on the back, digging around I discovered that Rothman's International bought Larus bros in 1968, changed the name to HoE and shut it down in 1974, so my best guess put my tins roughly in the early 70's.
Label changes and distributor stickers are usually the biggest clue for non-dated tins.
http://web.archive.org/web/20100612223009/http://www.loringpage.com/attpipes/tobdatepaper.html
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http://www.apassionforpipes.com/vintages-project/
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http://roushpipecompany.cmail1.com/t/ViewEmail/j/FC1AD35BEF07A7FC/A9024C92F01F7963C67FD2F38AC4859C
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I had a couple of old tins of Murray's Erinmore with House of Edgeworth distributor stickers on the back, digging around I discovered that Rothman's International bought Larus bros in 1968, changed the name to HoE and shut it down in 1974, so my best guess put my tins roughly in the early 70's.
Label changes and distributor stickers are usually the biggest clue for non-dated tins.
http://web.archive.org/web/20100612223009/http://www.loringpage.com/attpipes/tobdatepaper.html
.
http://www.apassionforpipes.com/vintages-project/
.
http://roushpipecompany.cmail1.com/t/ViewEmail/j/FC1AD35BEF07A7FC/A9024C92F01F7963C67FD2F38AC4859C
.
Thanks for the 3 external links MisterLowercase.
Here are two internal links on the same topic that each have some quite interesting discussions - G.L. Pease chimes in on the 2nd one.
How to date a tin?
Why aren't pipes or tobaccos dated like wine?
Here are two internal links on the same topic that each have some quite interesting discussions - G.L. Pease chimes in on the 2nd one.
How to date a tin?
Why aren't pipes or tobaccos dated like wine?
I still do not understand why mfgs do not date their tins like GL Pease. It makes absolutely no sense not to. I really appreciate the fact that Greg goes to the trouble of dating his and think every mfg should take a page from Greg's book on how to keep his customers happy. It is the same thing with the cigar mfgs, one of the things I like about Cuban cigars was they dated every box, yes they used a stupid coding system that we had to crack every once in a while but they were always there.
It may be that they have a control system that they use, based on those numbers, and that changing it would require an internal change for their tracking system. A solution to that would be to add a separate date, but does that make sense to them from a cost/benefit standpoint? Is it going to help them sell more tobacco?
I personally don't care. I get a tin, and write the date I purchased it somewhere on the tin if it is heading for the cellar. Tobacco I intend to age I open after I have had it for 5 years.
I could be wrong but I think Greg (not personally) puts the sticker on. Different companies use different manufacturers to can the product. More than likely there's an extra charge for dating, or if they do mark them it’s for internal purposes. When tins arrive in sleeves they would need to be cut open and then labeled. That would increase labor charges, even to the point of shipping. When a shipment of 1000+ tins comes in, they want to run the bar code reader and stack the box on a shelf. Sounds minor but when you work on a small mark up, every dollar counts.
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