Beer Steins

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About Antique Beer Steins

Antique beer steins, mugs and tankards are prized for their craftsmanship and colorful ornamentation and scenes. They can be found in many styles and materials, including copper, pewter, silver, pottery, ivory, porcelain, glass and wood. Many steins were imported to the U.S. from Germany in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, especially from the city of Mettlach, whose potteries produced thousands of the vessels.

The beer stein had its origins in the mid-1500's along the Rhine river in Germany, when small towns began producing functional drinking vessels decorated by enameling and glazing. Each town or area adding their own flair or nuance. By the 1860's, factories around Westerwald and Dresden began producing ornamental steins for display, and continued doing so until WW1, from which the industry never fully recovered.

Lately there's been renewed interest in collecting beer steins with unique designs, including reproductions of works by famous artists. Designs reflect everything from historical battles to comical faces and even car racing and baseball. While many steins have been produced and marketed as collectibles, the most valuable continue to be pre-1900 handmade vessels.

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Articles

An Interview With Antique Beer Stein Collector Frank Loevi

An Interview With Antique Beer Stein Collector Frank Loevi

I’ve been a beer stein collector for about 25 years. About 10 years ago I sold my business, a specialty dat…  [more]

An Interview With Breweriana Collector George Barone

An Interview With Breweriana Collector George Barone

George Barone, an executive at Bank of America, is an avid collector of American beer coasters and the webmas…  [more]



Top Websites (“Hall of Fame”)

Beer Stein Library

Beer Stein Library

Though partially restricted to members-only, this site has a huge amount of free, publicly available and incredibly…  [more]

Red Fox Chapter

Red Fox Chapter

The guys at the Connecticut Chapter of the Brewery Collectibles Club of America have created a full-on tribute to t…  [more]

Bottle Cap Index

Bottle Cap Index

Assembled by Gunther Rademacher with the help of several other contributors, this collection of over half a million…  [more]

Just For Openers

Just For Openers

This site features photos of beer advertising openers from the early 1900s, organized alphabetically by state. But …  [more]

British Beer Labels

British Beer Labels

This pre-1965 collection is organized alphabetically by brand and contains scans of seemingly thousands of beautif…  [more]

Plopsite.de

Plopsite.de

Norbert Lamping's collection of 600+ ceramic bottle stoppers, Hutter stoppers, swingtops, swivel stoppers, and ligh…  [more]

Bock Beer Labels

Bock Beer Labels

A quick tour of pre-Prohibition bock beer label designs with nice, high resolution scans. Do the whole slide show o…  [more]

Beuhbaba's Beer Collection

Beuhbaba's Beer Collection

This site features a fascinating variety of over 1000 beer bottle labels from around the world. Though focused main…  [more]


Got a site to suggest? Let us know.




Clubs & Associations


Other Great Reference Sites

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Top eBay Auctions    (get weekly Beer Steins email)

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Whites Of Utica Stein Whites Of Utica Stein$168.83 Ends Thursday 8 bids