John and Tina Staples of Kingsville, Ont., found a rare 3 Strikes tobacco tin while renovating their bathroom.Miller and Miller Auctions Ltd.
Advance bidding for a Canadian tobacco tin from the early 1900s is smokin’ hot, having already reached $29,000 for an item originally estimated to fetch a third of that price. And to think that the consignors almost gave it away for nothing.
John and Tina Staples of Kingsville, Ont., uncovered the exquisitely preserved tin while renovating their bathroom more than 15 years ago. Thinking it “looked cool” but was worthless, they used it as a kitschy knick-knack in their home. It sat on a shelf until they recently tired of it. The plan was to donate it to the local Value Village.
Fortunately, their daughter-in-law decided to investigate the item, a red vertical 3 Strikes-brand pocket tin from the long-defunct Erie Tobacco Company. When the flip-lid container was brought to the attention of Ben Lennox at Miller and Miller Auctions Ltd., he almost flipped his own lid.
“It is the holy grail of tobacco tins,” said Lennox, head of sales at the New Hamburg, Ont., auction house. “The condition of it is out of this world.”
The piece is part of Miller and Miller’s online auction on Sunday of antique soda, tobacco and general-store advertising items. The collection of “breweriana” on tap is said to be top of line. The soft-drink aficionados are no doubt fizzy over the Coca-Cola memorabilia.
The turn-of-the-century home in which the tobacco tin was found is roughly as old as the tin itself. In fact, the Erie Tobacco Company factory once stood just 200 metres from the house. The lithographed container, featuring an old-timey baseball player in a uniform with the “E T Co.” logo emblazoned on his jersey, sat untouched for a century or so inside a wall until the Staples’ renovations.
“For us, it was something you might pick up in a second-hand shop,” said John Staples, a retired HVAC system designer. “That the bidding has reached $29,000 is astonishing, actually.”
Astonishing to him, but not to those in the know. There are only a handful of 3 Strike tins known to exist, and the relatively pristine state of the container now up for auction makes it rare upon rare. While Canadian collectors will naturally be attracted to the homegrown piece, interest will be international in scope.
“American collectors like tins that are pretty, and some of the Canadian tins are very pretty,” said antiques dealer Ed Locke, of Renfrew, Ont. “It’s hard to say where the bidding will end up.”
Advance bidders have already blown past the original estimate of $9,000 to $12,000. The item is known as a “cross-collectable” because it appeals to both tobacco tin enthusiasts and the baseball memorabilia crowd.
Retired Toronto lawyer Christine Blaus is a former tobacco tin collector and a current Miller and Miller consultant. She’s not surprised the 3 Strikes container has attracted such competitive bids.
“Miller and Miller are typically conservative in their estimates, but this is in spectacular condition,” she said.
Blaus said collecting is in her blood, as her parents owned an antiques store. Her current interest is Mickey Mantle baseball cards. Earlier this year, a 1952 Mantle card sold for $42,500 at a Miller and Miller sale.
“No, I didn’t buy it,” Blaus said.
As for the 3 Strikes Tin, she thinks the sky is the limit: “The real collectors are sitting in the weeds at this point. I expect on the day of the auction they’ll come out.”
At $29,000, the price is already more than the consignor could have imagined. John Staples, not a collector himself, is “flabbergasted.”
Insiders predict bids will reach $50,000 or more before the hammer comes down. At that price, the Staples would be flush with cash, their bathroom renovation worth every penny.
