Posted 13 years ago
Gerard
(9 items)
I am sure most of have heard of calling a tobacco store and asking the clerk if he has Prince Albert in the can? The clerk replies, yes, we do. And the caller yells out, “Well you better let him out”! Well these Prince Albert Pocket Tins listed here are only a few of my 30 plus variations of the Prince Albert tin in my collection.
Let’s start with the 1st photo. Here we have 3 variations on the Prince Albert Pocket Tin. The 1st of the tins of the three is one with a different lid and on the bottom it’s stamped in black ink, “PACKED EXPRESSLY FOR THE COMMISSARY DIVISION PANAMA RAILROAD COMPANY”. The 2nd tin of the three is made of plastic with a paper label that’s hard to see the paper edge on its face. The 3rd of the three tins is actually an empty cardboard sample.
The 2nd photo is both sides of a Prince Albert with a premium offer of three types of pocket knives offered by sending, I believe, 5 coupons found on the wax paper wrapper inside the tin and $2 for a choice of one of the pocket knife offered on the back of the tin. Some of the tins had no advertising on the tin its self but it was advertised on the wax paper inside the tin. Pictured are the three actual “Old Timer” pocket knives made by Ulster which was taken over by Schrade and continued the Old Timer line under its own brand.
The 3rd photo is of two tins. The 1st of the two variations has starbursts announcing a new fresher foil liner in the tin itself. The 2nd one looks like an error. The black portion of the litho ink is off-center.
The 4th photo is what I consider “Pièce de résistance”. Please look closely. Both look similar but the one to the left has “NOW KING” below Albert in place of “CRIMP CUT”. The logo “CRIMP CUT” is under the “Prince Albert” logo. The one on the right is just an old common version that you can pick up at flea markets and antique shops for under $10 bucks. The one to the left, “NOW KING” is Ultra Rare and hard to find and depending on condition can be worth $1000 or more!
So, you are the one to call now ....huh ?
WOW... what is the deal with the pocket knives? Are they somehow connected to the Prince Albert franchise? Please explain if possible. Thanks.
I think I may have one of those "now king" tins, now I have to go and dig it up. It's like a treasure hunt! Thanks for all the info G.
Thanks Gerard, these are really neat things...................
As far as I know the knives were made by Ulster which was then taken over by Schrade. As far as the “Prince Albert” brand was actually part of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. tobacco conglomerate out or Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I do not think the two companies were related to each other except trough this premium offer.
"Hello."
"Hello, do you have Prince Albert in a can."
"Why, yes we do."
"Well you better let him out then before his air runs out."
Click...
Sorry, old phone crank call joke from my youth. I couldn't resist. Cool collection.
Oops, maybe I should have read the description first. Never mind...
I have an old Prince Albert "in a can" tin that is over struck and the picture is upside down on both sides. Is this a common piece? I can't find any info about it. No one has seen one. i didn't even see one listed on eBay. I had a person tell me it wasn't real and then offered $20.00 for it "as a conversation piece" it has a barcode on it so it’s not any earlier than the time they started. It also has a paper 5 cent Alabama tax stamp on it. Where did I get it? I was helping a church member who is downsizing and she had thrown it in the trash, so I asked her for it and she said I could have it. Can you help out? Should I have taken the $20.00 or is it just trash? I know one thing; it is not a reproduction or a fake.
David;
This sonds like it is a mistake tin. Made by mistake and you probably should have taken the $20. It's all I would have offered.
Gerald: nice collection of tins-I was in the grocery business 1950 to 1993 sure sold a lot of P.A. in a tin....Schrade Knife's have been produced in China since around 2000.In 1980 I purchase 2 gift sets of SGS3 and 2 gift sets of SGS1 was going to give them to friends for Christmas but decided to keep them.Gave one set of the SGS3 to my grandson last year-beautiful uncle henry steelhead fillet knife with sheath and uncle henry signature pocket knife-they were quality steel when made in the USA...Thanks for posting your photos and all of the great info.
Have any Prince Albert tins been reproduced?
Reproducing these would be like counterfeiting one dollar bills. The cost to reproduce them would cost more that its value. I still see these sold for under $5 in flea markets and antique shops.
Gerard- what can you tell me about the 1 5/8 oz Prince Albert cans. I have one, but there is no info regarding these, such when they were made.
The 1 & 5/8 were the latter ones. Old manufacturing ploy. You keep the price the same but you cut down on the quantity. The result is that you raise the price of a product without raising the price. Capisce?
Hello. What about an unopened can of Prince Albert?
Gerard - I have a 1 5/8 oz can without any barcoding and am looking for information about time period and value. I disagree with your statement about Old Manufacturing ploy, 1 5/8 oz is more product rather less then a 1 1/2 oz. Thanks for any info you can provide
I do have lots of knowledge on the Prince Albert Tobacco Pocket Tins but I do not claim to be an expert. The 1&5/8oz I was comparing to were the earlier Prince Albert such as the ones with the Series 1910 Tax Stamp which date back to prior to 1930. Those tins were a full 2oz of tobacco. In 1930 the Tax Stamps Started as Series 100 and ended as Series 125 (1955).
In the mix I have a plastic one with a Paper Sticker and Some sold with “Panama Canal Stamped on the bottom with completely different lids and no clue on their age
As per my collection, all the Bar Coded ones I have are all 1&1/2oz. So based on what I know the progression goes, 2oz, then 1&5/8, then 1&1/2.As for the tins themselves, early on they came with to what I refer to as “Flip Up Lids”. Earlier ones were deeper lids then narrower then notched and some were “Black”. Those had the Prince graphics only on the front of the tin.
Then the “New Improved Lid” or “Push up Lids” was introduced. At first I believe the push up lids were red (Not 100% sure on this) then they went plain silvery metal
During this transition the Prince graphics were added to the back of the tin. I also have some with the Prince on both sides with silvery push up lids and the 1&1/2oz but with no bar codes.
As for the value of these tins they are the most common. I can still find them at flea markets for a few bucks. Of Course the “Now King” Is the rarest and Probably the Knife Offer ones but not the ones offering Old Timer Knives but the 2 variations. One offering “Old Timers and Imperial Knives” combo and then the one with just the “Imperial Knife Offer”.
I hope to be adding photos of the other 2 types of “Knife Offer” I know about soon so keep an eye out in these pages.
I have a set of wraping papers. Never been used
I have a CRIMP CUT Prince Tin... Stamped from RJ Reynolds tobacco co Winston-Salem NC.. with a trifold paper holder, and the original order form inside wrapped around Alberts tobacco... that's full up...