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The grading of beer cans is a subjective issue. It is the opinion of one collector versus that of another collector or collectors. A number of reference books will give examples of the various grades of cans; however, aside from a "MINT" can, no two cans are alike when it comes to grading, i.e., two cans may be labeled Grade 1, but their blemishes/flaws may be different.
The most common acceptable grading of cans is as follows:
Grade 1+ cans are commonly referred to as "store condition" cans. They may have slight blemishes, flaws, minor scratches, rub marks, dings (slight dents), or other minor faults that come with the production, distribution, and handling of the can from the can company to the consumer. The price of a Grade 1+ may be 10% to 20% below that of a Mint can with the exception of new or current releases.
Grade 1 cans have noticable blemishes, flaws, scratches, rub marks, wrinkles, dents, or other problems like spotting or aging. Some collectors use the 6 foot rule, i.e., at a distance of 6 feet it is hard to see a problem with the can, but upon closer handling there are the obvious faults. Grade 1 cans usually sell for 20% to 40% below that of a Mint can.
Grade 1- cans have very obvious blemishes and flaws; the problems may be many, a combination of things, and really stick out. Some collectors use the terms inside cans or outside cans, but no one ever explained this to me to my satisfaction. A Grade 1- cans would command a price of between 40% and 60% below that of a Mint can.
Grade 2 cans place you in the dumper area as far as I am concerned. Grade 2 cans will have rust on them, good dents, abrasions, very noticeable faults, severe scratches, chipping, small holes (pin size holes), etc., etc. The label is usually very displayable, but has been around and seen its days. Cans in this grade sell between 60% and 80% belowthat of the Mint value. Some collectors will list the cans in this grade as + or -, but how they are able to do this is beyond me.
Grade 3 cans are in bad shape. Only part of the label may be displayable and that part might be very small. Problems are obvious like holes on the can. Cans in this grade sell at between 85% to 90% below that of their Mint value. Again, some collectors will label a can in this grade as + or -. Lots of luck!
Grade 4 cans are in horrible shape. Their value is 3% to 10% of Mint value. Oh, yes, a couple of collectors that I know do have cans at this grade in + and -.
Grade 5 cans are completely worthless to me (but this is my opinion) because they are terrible. Only a very small part of the label may be seen. Only a true dumper collector would even consider such a can.
I hope this has helped you to understand the grading of cans. It is very subjective. How a can is opened can also add or detract from the price of the can. Most collectors today want bottom opened cans. On older steel cans, collectors will take them bottom or top opened, but prefer bottom opened and will pay the extra price for them.
Some collectors acquire the lower grade labels (if the price is right) in the hope that one day they will be able to upgrade to a better can; thus, building their collection while one day hoping to improve the quality of that collection.
IMPORTANT: PLEASE NOTE
If you wish me to evaluate a can or cans, please be willing to pay a consultant fee of $ 5.00 per can. Contact me at the email address below and I will forward the details of the information that I will need to evaluate your can or cans properly.
If you are interested in selling a collection, please be sure to state the price wanted, the number of cans involved, how opened, their grade, and provide, if possible, book identification/reference numbers of the cans as well as giving their names/labels. It is difficult to relate if I would be interested in a collection without knowing something about the collection. Relating that you have a 500 can collection isn't much help.
I receive numerous requests to evaluate cans and buy collections. There is not enough time to answer all inquires. If you are emailing me to ask where you can sell your collection, my suggestion is to place an ad in your local newspaper.
Most of any given collection is likely to be junk. If you want to sell, many collectors will ask the same questions: do you have any cone tops? Do you have any flat tops? Or both? If so, you might have something of interest. If not, a trip to the dump or recycling station might be in order.
Because collections will be immediately weeded down to their bare essence, most buyers offer surprisingly little. This is not intended as an insult, but, frankly, most buyers are not wealthy enough to lose their shirts buying a collection using its exact can-for-can value. The average buyer will keep the cans he/she needs, then turn around and try to sell a few of the rest to make at least some of their money back. On the whole, it's not about making a large profit (or even any profit); it's just a matter of wanting to recoup the investment.
Example: There was a collection that was offered by the owner at $10,000. It supposedly contained thousands of grade one flat tops. To the best of my knowledge, he had no takers, even though, in terms of resale value, it was well worth it. Why? Well, ten thousand is a lot of money to front, that's obvious, but the problem is turnaround time. Collectors have other things to do besides lugging big totes of cans around the country to try to recoup an investment, especially one of that size. The difficulty of quick turnaround times helps to further depress collection prices.
Distance is another problem. Now that we have an internet, buyers and sellers may contact each other from opposite ends of the nation. Mailing cans in large numbers becomes expensive.
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