I've always had an interest in old general stores, hardware stores etc. and wish that I had gotten my act together years ago to recreate an old general store, but well I didn't. But I do have a small collection of advertising tins and old kitchenware scattered about the house. So I guess I sorta got my wish in a smaller scale.
Advertising tins have been around for hundreds of years. Made to hold items like coffee, candy, tobacco and many other items. They also come in many sizes, I think the smallest I've every had was a Bell-ans for Indigestion, Vest pocket tin. 3/4 x 1" in size. Advertisng tins were also made in many different shapes. Cigarettes came in rectangular shaped tins, many tea tins are square. Figural tins in numerous shapes, everything from animals to cars, are hard to come across.
Coffee tins are also a nice colorful collectible and great to hold things, Band-Aid tins are also pretty neat. Maybe you have an old printers tray, many small advertising tins are available to fill it. Collectible medicine and other drugstore related tins are also very interesting. Some of the harder tins to find are the one that old razors came in, the earlier oyster tins are also tough to come by. Vintage advertising tins can run from a couple of dollars up to thousands for some of the rarest tins. Just recently an Austin Powder Co. Blasting Cap tin sold for over $10,000 at auction.
Advertising tins, because of their original use, often have scratches, dents, even a little rust, so don't let a few imperfections scare you off. But like most collectibles the nicer they are the more desirable. Many of the more recent tins are also collectible, more for the look than the value. But beware of repos of the older tins. Actually the newer type tins are collectible but are priced accordingly.
Maybe you would be interested in creating a small version of a general store, drugstore, hardware store in a corner of the house, a spare room, basement or garage. It can be done and you can control the size, of course it will out grown the space if you really get into it.
Part II
A few types of interesting vintage advertising tins and containers you can collect.
Small sizes such as automotive fuse tins, asprin tins, rouge tins, old bird and fish food tins, spice and mustard tins, typewriter ribbon tins, medicine and drugstore tins, talc tins, tobacco tins, nut tins, baking powder tins, peanut butter pails, lighter fluid cans, those little 4 oz. handy oil cans, like 3-1 oil, Singer Sewing machine oil, Esso and others. How about shoe polish cans, band aid tins and other household items. Did you know that many antique razors came in tins? Beers cans and soda cans are interesting and can branch out to other related collections.
Medium size would be coffee and tins, candy and other food tins, oil cans, cracker tins and larger tins such as oyster tins, lard tins and pails, pretzel and chips tins. This list could probably go on forever, but you get the idea.
Other neat advertising collectibles are,
milk bottle caps, ashtrays, advertising mechanical pencils, advertising pens, old blotters, old wooden advertising hangers, beer coasters, advertising beer can and bottle openers, rulers and yardsticks, old button hooks, bottles, lots of different cardboard and wooden boxes, advertising banks, calendars, tobacco advertising, old telephone dialers, old cardboard advertising fans, thermometers and signs, gas oil and service station advertising. Railroad stuff is also pretty neat, actually a line of it's own.
Oh, did I mention advertising matchbooks or cigarette lighters? Also restaurant china advertising hotels, railroads, or steamships, but some of these can get pricey. Planters Peanut items, which can be a collection of its own. Actually the list is sort of endless.
Please check out our advertising collectibles for sale below: