There are a couple of old philosophical and seemingly unanswerable questions that are often asked : Which came first , the chicken or the egg ? Bob Jackson or beer ? Neither is easily answerable , so I will pass on making any definitive statements on those . Which brings me to a more relevant question , that was asked of me lately : Which Schell ’ s cone tops were produced first ? That ’ s a question I ’ ll take a shot at . So , like the statue of “ The Thinker ”, I sat down , did some reading and caressed my chin often . And by the way , it took me much chin caressing and research to get to this point , so be thankful I did it for you .
One means of dating cans , is that the U . S . government mandated “ Internal Revenue Tax Paid ” be printed on cans starting June 1st , 1935 . This mandate ended on March 30th , 1950 . So , this is a very simple and highly accurate way to date cans . All cans from this 15-year period carry the IRTP verbiage . As a side note , during WW2 , roughly 35 breweries shipped a billion plus cans ( known as OD or Olive Drab ) overseas for the troops . These cans carry “ Withdrawn Free from Internal Revenue Tax Paid ” statement . Another method of dating , which is more difficult , is using the beer can makers logos . If you have a cone top available for inspection right now , take a gander at the fine print . You will need a magnifying glass or microscope ; my eyes are not what they used to be . I ’ ll use my Schell ’ s cones as the example . I ’ m specifically looking at the Schell ’ s crowntainer . Looking on the side , there is a small box / panel . In this box it says “ Crowntainer ” and underneath that , is some info . The first line says “ Reg . U . S . Pat . Off . No . 366673 ”. The next line says , “ Patent No . 2384810 ”. The third line says , “ Design Pat . No . 109311 ”.
Now , by using the internet , ( Yes , surprisingly the internet can be beneficial and useful ) you can type in these numbers and find out patent dates and the canning company who made them . So , let ’ s type in the second line , “ Patent No . 2384810 ”. What I find is that the application for patent was filed on 13 May 1940 . Application was granted on 18 Sept . 1945 . The company was Crown , Cork and Seal . This design , from my interpretation , was used from approximately the early 40 ’ s into the early 1950 ’ s . So , we can be certain Schell ’ s used this company to produce these Crowntainer cans , during this period .
Next , let ’ s look at the blue Schell ’ s cone top can . On the side along the seam is a letter . It is the letter “ C ” with two other smaller “ c ” within the large C . As a wheel within a wheel . This means Continental Can Company . Next to the C logo is a number , my can says , “ 72 ” and next to that are the letters “ SB ”. I have been able to confirm that 72 is the plant number where the can was made , in this case , Pittsburgh , PA . This plant was also known as the Homestead plant . I have NOT been able to determine what the letters SB mean . By reading some of the history of Continental Can Company online , I found out that by the beginning of 1950 there were 65 plants nationwide . By 1954 there were 81 plants ( this is a key nugget of information , keeping in mind Pittsburgh plant is 72 ) and by 1960 there were 155 plants . So , this particular blue cone was certainly produced after 1950 and at the Pittsburgh / Homestead plant , which is number 72 . I have not been able to determine when exactly the Pittsburgh plant started production .
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