How much would you pay for a can of beer?
Last month, a special “can of mystery” sold at auction for a whopping $111,150 – probably more than most of us would pay for a bit of pilsner. Here’s how this can has reportedly fetched high sums multiple times.
“This is, in our estimation, THE rarest and most desirable crowntainer and among the very best cans in the hobby,” said the can’s Morean Auctions description. Crowntainers are a style of beer can that have funnel-shaped cone tops, per Crowntainer Central.
According to a Facebook post from Breweriania, founded by Dan Morean of Morean Auctions, the 12-ounce White Chief Oshkosh crowntainer from the Oshkosh Brewing Company in Wisconsin was probably made in around 1951, though details from that era are “are fuzzy,” and it is possibly older. Morean spoke to previous owner Bob McCoy about the can’s provenance.
There was already demand for the can – the only one of its kind known to exist today – early on in this tale. It features a graphic label depicting “a large, well designed image of Chief Oshkosh in full feathered headdress,” as described by Morean Auctions.
In the 1970s, the children of Oshkosh Brewing’s president had their eye on a car owned by their mailman that was on sale for $300. They were able to work out a deal thanks to Paul Essingler, who wanted the can. They got $300 for the can and they bought the car with it, to the chagrin of their father.
By 1980, a man named Dave Peck had gone through extensive efforts to buy the can from Paul Esslinger, who eventually sold the can to Peck for $600. Sometime between 1981 and 1993, a man named Chet Bartol acquired the Chief can.
“It is unclear if he got it from Dave Peck or someone else,” said Breweriania’s post.
Curt Boster of Columbus, Ohio, acquired the can in 1994, along with others collected by Bartol in a deal brokered by Dick Caughey, a prominent beer can dealer. Four years later, McCoy bought the can along with other crowntainer cans.
“It was the Crown Jewel of a mind-boggling collection of about 195 crowntainers for which Bob paid $81,000, a large sum at the time,” said Breweriania.
During this time Paul Esslinger, who allegedly regretted parting with the can, reportedly tried to get it back from McCoy. Esslinger even had an exact reproduction of the can that was carved out of wood and hand painted that he presented to McCoy in an unsuccessful attempt to get it back.
More than a decade later, Morean acquired the can and sold it to a private collector in Minnesota named David Hoelke. In 2013, a man named Gene Judd bought the can from Hoelke and in 2015, Bill Jacoby acquired the can from Judd. Another owner acquired the can from Jacoby in 2019 and then consigned it to Morean Auctions this year.
It was sold for the $111,150 price – a record for Morean Auctions – on March 9. That bid beat out 137 others.
According to Morean Auctions, it was in “outstanding condition,” with some small imperfections including what appear to be small factory color anomalies. It said the can will likely not be on the open market again.
A press release identified the winning bidder as a Wisconsin native who “expressed excitement about bringing the can back to its home state,” and mentioned that the Breweriania Facebook post inspired him to bid on the can.
“It was both thrilling and validating to see the price surpass $100,000. These old beer cans were never meant to be collectibles. They were designed to be disposed of, which makes them incredibly rare. Collectors have had a deep passion for them since the 1970s, and it’s gratifying to see them gain the recognition they truly deserve,” said Morean of the sale.