The Unexpected Vintage Treasure You Should Stop Overlooking At The Thrift Store

Vintage items fascinate us because they speak to a different time. To those born after the year 2000, cassette tapes and rotary phones are as foreign as feather quills and oil lamps are to their parents. Vintage items either hold nostalgia from a time in our own pasts, or make us think of what life must have been like in another era. 

One such treasured antique item that you should stop overlooking at the thrift store is the tobacco tin, which harkens back to a time when tobacco was all the rage, and its ill-effects had yet to be discovered. Tobacco tins were invented in England in 1810. At first, paper labels were used to advertise the contents, but in 1882, lithographed versions started to appear. Vintage tobacco products such as signs, trading cards, posters, and even cigarette packs are all highly collectible, but tobacco tins are the most sought-after. Although most post-World War II tins are worth less than $25, very early or rare tins are valuable and can be worth thousands. These unexpected vintage treasures can often be found at thrift stores, estate sales, and flea markets for a good price. If you're lucky, you could stumble upon a rare tobacco tin worth a lot more than its meager price tag.  

The vintage tins you should keep an eye out for at thrift stores are ones in good condition, with the lithography in-tact. Tins with famous sportsmen — particularly baseball players — can fetch a pretty penny (a Ty Cobb tin sold for nearly $89,000, while the more common Bambino tin can fetch over $3,000). Wm Morford Antiques has sold quite a few rare tins for several hundred dollars over the years from tobacco brands U.S. Marine, Maryland Club Mixture, Trout Line, Yacht Club, and Wagon Wheel. The company also sold a rare Rock Castle tobacco tin for $1,200 and a Torpedo brand tin for $2,760. In 2016, a Gold Dust Tobacco tin sold at auction for $7,015 (the brand used to sell gold-tipped cigarettes). Tobacco tins from any of the above mentioned brands are valuable items to seek out at the thrift store.

Common, easy-to-find tobacco tin brands include Prince Albert, Velvet, Tuxedo, Sir Walter Raleigh, Dill's Best, Model, and Union Leader. Currently, online sites like eBay and Etsy are selling these tins for around $10 to $40. These tins are still worth collecting, especially if you can find them for a good price. Tobacco tins are very decorative and make a lovely display, as manufacturers used bright, colorful images to make their products eye-catching. They can also be repurposed to hold or organize small objects.