Most vintage beer cans are worth $1-10 as of November 2026. Pull tab and stay tab cans from the 1960s to the 1980s were made by the billion and saved by the million during the 1970s collecting boom, so they sell for a few dollars each or by the box at about $1 a can. Common 1950s and 1960s flat tops sell for about $8-25. The money is in older and scarcer cans: early flat tops with printed opening instructions, cone tops from small breweries, and a few cans known in one or two examples, such as the Chief Oshkosh crowntainer that sold for $111,150 at Morean Auctions in March 2025.
Three questions sort any can in a minute: how is it opened (flat top, cone top or tab), does it carry a federal tax statement or opening instructions, and how much rust, fading and denting does it have. Brewery comes after that.
Quick answer
- Pull tab and stay tab cans, 1963 to the 1980s: about $1-10 sold singly, about $1 a can in lots.
- Flat tops of the 1950s and 1960s from big brewers (Falstaff, Schlitz, Stroh's, Carling's, Lucky): about $8-25 in clean condition.
- Common cone tops: roughly $15-100 on thin sales, such as a Grain Belt Special 3.2 at about $64 on Mercari and two worn cones at $15-20 on Poshmark. Small-brewery cones and crowntainers in clean condition bring more.
- Flat tops with an "Internal Revenue Tax Paid" statement or printed opening instructions were filled before about 1950; clean ones from small brewers bring tens of dollars to thousands.
- Records: Chief Oshkosh crowntainer $111,150 (March 2025) and Brown Derby opening-instruction flat top $93,600 (December 2024), both at Morean Auctions.
How to identify and date an old beer can, step by step
- Look at the top. A flat lid punched with a church key is a flat top (1935 to about 1970). A funnel top closed with a bottle cap is a cone top (1935 to 1960). A ring or tab that pulls off is a pull tab (from March 1963). A tab that stays on the can is a stay tab (from 1975).
- Look for the tax statement. Cans sold from June 1935 to March 1950 had to carry an Internal Revenue Tax Paid statement, which collectors call IRTP. It is usually small print on the side; wording varies, but "Internal Revenue Tax Paid" or a close variant means the can was filled before 1950.
- Look for opening instructions. Early flat tops printed how-to-open instructions for the church key. Full-length side panels showing the opener appear from 1935 to 1937; multi-panel instructions mostly 1938 to 1945; a single small panel mostly 1940 to 1950. Most brewers dropped them by the late 1940s.
- Identify the cone type. Low profile cones (short spout, mostly 1935 to 1942), high profile cones, J-spouts (an elongated spout, Crown Cork and Seal, 1937 to 1942) and the Crowntainer (a one-piece body with a concave bottom, about 1940 to the mid 1950s).
- Check the metal. Steel cans attract a magnet and rust; aluminum does not. Coors introduced aluminum beer cans in 1959, so an aluminum can is from 1959 or later.
- Note the brewery and city. Small-town breweries that closed early made fewer cans, and their cans are scarcer. A brand made by a big national brewer is almost always common.
- Grade the condition. Collectors use a 1 to 5 scale, where grade 1 is like new and grade 5 is barely recognizable. Rust, fading, dents and scratches each pull a can down a grade, and the value drop between grade 1 and grade 3 is steep.
What are old beer cans worth?
Sold prices from Mercari, eBay, Poshmark and auction results as of November 2026. On eBay, read through the 130point sold-price search, big-brewer flat tops such as Falstaff, Coors and Meister Brau sold for about $4-20, in line with the range below, while regional brands such as Gold Bond, Genesee 12 Horse and 905 sold for $60-215. On Poshmark, single pull tab cans sold for $4-15, most near $8-10, and lots for about $1 a can (32 Falstaff Bicentennial cans for $35, 24 mixed cans for $15); 1950s flat tops sold there for $10-35, and 1960s steel regional cans such as Dixie and Schmidt's for $6-10. Values assume an empty can in grade 1 to 2 unless noted.
| Can | How to recognize it | Typical sold price |
|---|---|---|
| Pull tab and stay tab cans, national brands | Aluminum or steel, ring tab, 1960s-1980s | $1-10 singly, a few to $15; lots about $1 a can |
| 1970s commemorative and novelty cans | Special designs made during the collecting craze | $1-10; Iron City Steelers cans sold for $5-14 on Poshmark |
| Steel straight-sided cans, 1960s-1970s regional brands | Steel, often 12 oz, small brewery name | $3-40; Dixie, Schmidt's and Modelo $6-10 |
| Flat tops, 1950s-1960s, big brewers | No IRTP, church key holes or unopened top | $8-25 |
| 16 oz and quart flat tops of the 1950s | Larger size, steel | About $15-30, on few sales |
| Cone tops, common brands | Bottle-cap spout, often rusted | Roughly $15-100; sales are thin |
| IRTP and opening-instruction flat tops | Tax statement and printed opener panels | From tens of dollars to thousands for clean scarce brands; price each can by brewery |
| Unique and near-unique cans | One to a few known | Five and six figures at Morean Auctions |
If your can has a ring tab and a brand you still see in stores, its honest value is a dollar or two in a lot, and rarely more than $10 on its own.
Why are a few cans worth so much?
The prices at the top are set by single survivors. Antique Trader reports that the white Chief Oshkosh crowntainer from the Oshkosh Brewing Company of Wisconsin, in near-mint condition, sold for $111,150 at Morean Auctions on March 9, 2025. The previous record, also at Morean, was $93,600 for a Brown Derby opening-instruction flat top on December 22, 2024. Both were scarce brands in condition almost no survivors have. A rusty example of the same brand sells for a small fraction of that.
The history explains why early cans are scarce. The Brewery Collectibles Club of America dates the beer can's official birthday to January 24, 1935, when Krueger's Finest Beer and Krueger's Cream Ale went on sale in Richmond, Virginia. Cone tops followed in September 1935, first from G. Heileman of La Crosse, Wisconsin, according to the BCCA. They appealed to small brewers because they could be filled on bottling lines. By 1960 the national brewers had driven many of those small brewers out of business, and the cone top era ended. That is why a cone top from a one-town brewery is worth looking up, while a Schlitz cone usually is not.
What do BCCA grades and references mean?
The BCCA, founded in St. Louis in April 1970 as the Beer Can Collectors of America, is the main club. Its reference United States Beer Cans (2000) pictures most known US flat tops, cone tops and gallon cans from 1935 to the mid 1960s, and sellers quote its catalog numbers so buyers can identify the exact variety. If you list a pre-1960 can, finding its number in that book is the single most useful thing you can add. A seller who writes "grade 1+" is claiming near-perfect condition, and photos should show it.
The club peaked at nearly 12,000 members in 1978, and breweries turned out commemorative cans to feed the fad. That is why so many 1970s cans survive in perfect condition and sell for a dollar or two.
A worked example
Say you find a box in a basement with forty cans. Thirty-five have pull tabs: Schlitz, Budweiser, Hamm's, Schmidt, some 1970s commemoratives. One is a 1950s Falstaff flat top with two church key holes and no IRTP statement. One is a cone top with a bottle cap, from a Minnesota brewery, with rust on the shoulder. One is a flat top with a small panel of opening instructions and the words "Internal Revenue Tax Paid" on the side.
The pull tabs are a lot: roughly $30-70 for all thirty-five. The Falstaff is about $10-20. The cone top, at roughly grade 3, is in the $15-100 band depending on the brewery. The opening-instruction can is the one to research: it was filled before 1950, and if the brewery is a small one and the can is clean, it may be worth far more than the rest of the box together. That is the one to photograph carefully and show to a BCCA member or Morean Auctions.
How to sell vintage beer cans
Sort by the top first. Pull tab and stay tab cans from national brands, 1970s commemoratives and most 1960s steel regional cans go as one lot, where they bring about $1 a can; singly, the fees and postage outrun a $4 can. Big-brewer flat tops of the 1950s and 1960s can go in small lots or singly at $8-25 if they are clean. List singly: every IRTP or opening-instruction flat top, and every cone top and crowntainer from a small brewery.
Common cans and lots sell on eBay or Mercari, or locally to someone decorating a bar. For a pre-1950 can from a small brewery, ask a BCCA member to identify it first, and if it is clean and scarce, ask Morean Auctions about consigning it.
A can collector wants to see:
- the front label straight on, in daylight without glare
- the side panel with any tax statement or opening instructions
- the top and the bottom, showing how it opens and any can maker's marks
- rust spots, dents and fading close up, with an honest grade on the 1 to 5 scale
- the catalog number from United States Beer Cans for any pre-1960 can
Pack each can in its own wrap of bubble wrap inside a sturdy box, since a dent costs a grade.
Do not scrub rust off with steel wool before listing, do not call a can "grade 1+" unless the photos show it, and ask a buyer before draining a full can, opening it from the bottom if you do.
Common mistakes
- Cleaning rust with steel wool or a wire brush. It removes the paint with the rust. Collectors would rather see honest rust than shiny bare metal.
- Throwing away rusty cones without checking the brewery. Small-brewery cone tops can be worth real money even at grade 3.
- Missing the tax statement. The IRTP line is small print; read every side before sorting a flat top into the 1950s pile.
- Draining a full can from the top. Full cans sell differently, and shipping full beer has carrier restrictions. Ask a buyer first, and if you drain it, open it from the bottom so the top stays intact.
How WorthPic reads beer can photos
WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From your photos it reads the brand, the brewery and city, the can type (flat top, cone top, crowntainer, pull tab or stay tab), any IRTP statement and opening instructions, and the condition: rust, fading, dents and scratches. It then gives an honest value range with a most likely figure, and says when a can looks like one worth sending to a specialist. What it cannot know from a photo: rust on the back side you did not photograph, a repainted surface, or exactly how many examples of a scarce variety survive. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise.
What to photograph
- The front label, straight on, in daylight without glare.
- The side panel with any tax statement or opening instructions.
- The top and the bottom, to show the opening and any can maker's marks.
- The worst damage, close up: rust spots, dents and fading.
- For cone tops, the cap and the spout from the side.
When to get it looked at in person
Any IRTP or opening-instruction flat top, any cone top or crowntainer from a small brewery, and any can you cannot find in sold listings deserves a second opinion. BCCA members trade at the club's annual CANvention and can identify varieties quickly. Morean Auctions sells the rare cans; expect a seller's commission, and remember that the published price includes the buyer's premium, so it is more than the seller received. Common cans sell by the lot on eBay or Mercari, where seller fees run about 10-15 percent, or locally to someone decorating a bar. For other brewery items in the same box, see our guides to vintage signs and beer steins, and for glass from the same era, old Coke bottles and antique bottles. Our guide to collectibles value covers the other advertising, breweriana and oddities that fill the same boxes.
Sources
- BCCA: History of the Beer Can: the January 24, 1935 Krueger launch, the first cone tops in September 1935 and the Heileman credit, the end of cones by 1960, pull tabs in March 1963 and stay tabs in 1975.
- Wikipedia: Brewery Collectibles Club of America: the club's founding in St. Louis in April 1970 as the Beer Can Collectors of America and its peak of 11,954 members in 1978.
- eBeerCans: How to date beer cans: the IRTP years and the dates of the three styles of opening instructions.
- Rusty Cans: collecting definitions: the 1 to 5 grade scale, the cone top types and United States Beer Cans (2000).
- Antique Trader: rare beer can sold for over $100,000: the Chief Oshkosh sale of March 9, 2025 and the Brown Derby record of December 22, 2024.
- Poshmark sold listings: vintage beer cans, pull tab cans, flat tops and cone tops: single pull tabs at $4-15, lots at about $1 a can, flat tops at $10-35 and two cone tops at $15-20, checked November 2, 2026.
- 130point sold-price search (eBay sold listings): eBay sales of big-brewer and regional flat tops, checked November 2, 2026.
- Mercari sold listings: flat top beer cans and pull tab cans: the common-can price ranges.