Posted 12 years ago
DMyers
(2 items)
Can anyone tell me what this old key might have been used for? It's
magnetic and appears to have been plated at one time. It's about 3 & 7/8 inches long by 1 & 1/4 inches at the widest part. It's just unusual and I'd like to find out what it might have been used for. Thank you!
It looks like the kind of key to open a coffee can or canned meat can... this isn't my area of expertise, so I certainly could be wrong. The key end looks similar, but I've never seen one with a round ring.
I'm with stef on this... back in the day every coffee can came with one attached to the bottom. Those were about an inch long and the loops were rectangular rather than round. Don't quite recognize that form, but can imagine it being used on a larger (5 lb or gal) container and the user putting something thru the round loop to assist with the twisting necessary ~ doing your basic can of coffee was a chore (which my arthritic mother would delegate to me). The prong end was for pulling out the metal tab constructed flush to the side at the factory so you could get a start.