DATING ENGLISH TINNED TOBACCO/fr: Difference between revisions

[A note about some of the above older tins as they are found today. The two principal problems presented by older tins today are dried out tobacco and rust. The inner top of a knife lid tin should be 'puffed out', if it is not there is a good possibility that a small hole has developed somewhere in the tin. Also regardless of external condition there is a tendency for knife lid tins to develop internal rust. The thick metal of coin twist tins generally means that external rust rarely penetrates to the inside. The particular danger presented by coin twist tins, especially the rectangular variety, is that in time the top will slightly lift away from the bottom breaking the air seal - gently pulling up on the top with your fingertips will not break a sound seal but will generally expose an already broken one. Also note that the oversized rubber gaskets or stoppers used in some early '50s coin twists have deteriorated by now and most probably are no longer air tight. The pop top tin metal tends to thin towards the top making pin prick rust holes a danger. Unlike wine and cigars however, the forgoing problems do not necessarily spell disaster. Dry tobacco may almost always be rejuvenated with good, sometimes exceptional results and even when rust is involved the rust generally effects only a small portion of the tin often allowing the bulk of the tobacco to be rejuvenated.]

[Besides dating, tins and similarity of tins can also be used to identify the actual manufacturer of blends. For instance blends in the '60s - '70s from the famed English 'high end' pipe shop Simmons come in exactly the same 4 ounce 'tall boy' coin twist tin used by Dunhill at that time - obviously Dunhill was the blender. Likewise, in the comparison the English made Ashton pop tops and those of the last English blender of Rattray are from the same English blender. As we know that the Rattray blender was Robert McConnell it follows that it too was the Ashton blender. Similarly, the McConnell coin twist tins of the '60s-'70s are fairly distinctive, so when one comes across 'store brand' 'Made in England' tins from Leavitt & Peirce (a famed Cambridge, Massachusetts pipe shop) in the same distinctive style and with McConnell blend names the conclusion is self evident. More intriguing is that at the same time Leavitt & Peirce offered its 'Made in England' blends in 8 ounce key top tins, assumedly also produced by McConnell. English key top tins however, are unusual otherwise known only from Fribourg and Treyer and John Cotton, both important albeit deceased UK pipe shops, which in turn leads to the speculation that perhaps McConnell was the blender of these blends as well. Hopefully, response to this article will allow for better definition of the 'true blenders' of the many British and American 'store brand' 'made in England' blends.]