I missed the deadline for the last newsletter , as I was deep into researching my upcoming opinion piece , which I hereby submit for your consumption . Bon appetit ! This time the subject is Beer Cans , their prices and the ubiquity of these vessels . The reason for this , is because I just recently viewed ( and was asked to give my opinion on ) a collection of roughly 4000 cans . My opinion was not readily accepted or digested . So , that got me thinking about what I based this opinion on . It also got me thinking about this beer hobby in general .
As to some background , I ( and Teri ) have been to 15 BCCA Canventions , plus a couple of ABA and NABA conventions , at least 30 Guzzle & Twirl events , and far too many other shows to even begin to count . I have dug beer cans in outdoor dumps and indoor dumps . Have been a member of a dozen different BCCA chapters and contributed many articles , was Sec ./ Treas . of the Rusty Bunch for 7 years , have been to at least 400 breweries , have homebrewed , viewed numerous collections , bought and sold 10 cent cans on up to a 3000 dollar can , hit antique shops , auctions , museum ' s and made friends from around the world because of beer cans and far too much else to list and I have been doing this since the early 1970 ' s , which gives me roughly 40 plus years of experience . I feel those credentials make me at least , minimally qualified to give viewpoints on Beer cans and such similar things . Others may disagree and you are certainly entitled to disagree . So , here we go .
For those that are on Facebook and follow sites such as BCCA , Road Runner Chapter , Rusty Bunch , and a Flamboyance ( a group of Flamingos ) of others , the amount of cans that are still currently be found in dumps , walls , ceilings , garage sales and what have you , is quite staggering in my view . Now , this is not a new phenomenon , these " finds " have been going on since this " hobby " started , so nothing new here as far as that goes . All I ' m saying is there are a lot of beer cans out there .
Now let ' s look at Craigslist , E-bay , Breweriana Buy Sell Trade , Vintage Beer Collectables and a , Charm ( a group of Hummingbirds ) of others , there are tons of cans for sale and I mean pot loads . Again , nothing new here as far as that goes . Just saying there are a lot of beer cans out there . Now let ' s look at the " Obituary Section " of your Bi-monthly BCCA magazine , many collectors not doing so well , if ya know what I ' m saying . Again , nothing new here , you can ' t beat death ( although I succeeded once ). Just saying these collections ( and many others ) go up for sale and the " crème de la crème " gets upgraded back into other collections and once people upgrade , their unwanted flotsam then goes back into circulation . Or stashed in a closet . So , again I ' m just saying there are a lot of beer cans out there .
Next observation , the Buy / Sell / Trade shows . We were at Ft . Wayne Canvention , 3 years ago and the amount of beer cans there was a mind numbing , Exaltation ( a group of Larks ) of Beer Cans . Also , a large rental truck showed up with around 20,000 ( yes , 20,000 ) Beer Cans in it . They set up shop in a parking lot across from the hotel and let the feeding frenzy begin . By the way , it was a sight to behold . Where did all these cans go ? You can find most of them for sale at the next show you go to . Just saying there are a lot beer cans out there .
This last year we were at Milwaukee Canvention and the amount of beer cans on the " trade " floor was , let ' s see what word can I use , it was a mind numbing , Steam ( a group of Minnows ) of Beer Cans . Just a guess here but , I would bet that at Milwaukee Canvention there were probably 2 to 3 hundred thousand cans available . I arrive at this GUESS by the number of tables ( 400 ) and I estimate 500 cans average per table and I think that ' s a conservative number . At any show you go to , almost every table will have a Parliament ( a group of Owls ) of Beer Cans and the prices are most always quite high , when compared to the amount of the same cans on other tables . Many collectors and dealers have totes and boxes of the same cans . So , I ' m just saying there ' s a ton of cans out there .
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