Empty Can of Perone Beer Sells for Record-Breaking $62K at Auction
(Photo: Morean Auction)
Within the world of high-end alcohol auctions, a small handful of usual suspects make the big bucks. Whiskey, wine, Champagne and the occasional cognac are typically the ones that sell for a headline-worthy five-, six- or seven-figure total. Beer? Not so much.
A recent auction in Brimfield, Massachusetts blew expectations away. A Perone Beer quart cone top can sold for an unprecedented $62,830 after buyer’s fees, up from a mere $25 asking price at the beginning of the auction.
Auctioneer Dan Morean described the underdog item as “a Grail can for many a quart and Pennsylvania collector.”
Cone top cans — as opposed to today’s ubiquitous flat top cans — were a popular choice for beer brewers around the 1930s and 40s. The design was particularly common among budget-friendly brands that didn’t have funds for dedicated canning machinery.
Vintage can of Esslinger’s Bock Beer, currently up for auction at $3,800. (Photo: Morean Auction)
Cone tops fell out of favor in the 1960s when large-scale breweries swept the industry. Today, these unassuming cans (almost always empty) have become coveted collector’s items for discerning booze historians.
Perone’s $62K beer can was produced by Otto Erlanger Brewing Co., which opened its doors in Philadelphia in 1937. A mere four years after the repeal of Prohibition. This is right around when cone tops were first produced and popularized, and thus, are the most desirable years for collectors.
Otto Erlanger Brewing Co. eventually shuttered in 1951, just as cone top beers were beginning to wane in popularity. In the hands of the right collector, a can of Perone is a perfect microcosm of history that came and went.
Read More:
Shake Up Women’s History Month With These Seven Women-Owned Tequila and Mezcal Brands
TikTok Goes Gaga for the Batanga Cocktail: How Tequila, Coke and a Knife Complete the Viral Drink
Here at Tequila Raiders, we do more than write about current events in tequila. We are the only media property reviewing tequilas and aggregating the scores and reviews of other significant voices in the tequila world in one place. If you’re interested in getting a shot of tequila in your morning email, sign up for our Deal of the Day newsletter
Follow The Daily Pour:
