Collectible beer caps. Collecting beer bottle caps
Collecting caps (corks) from beer bottles is an interesting and exciting activity that every collector approaches creatively and individually. You can learn not only the territory and countries that produced the drink, but also enterprises, technologies, etc. Beer caps are miniatures representing a state, country, city, manufacturer.
Features of collection storage.
There are the following ways to store a collection:
in stationery plastic sealed files placed in a folder (the folder contains about a dozen files, and the file contains 5-6 columns, each of which has 9-10 plugs);
on tablet-substrates made of cardboard, chipboard, plastic (the cork is attached to the substrate, for example, with double-sided tape);
in boxes, pencil cases, boxes, etc.
The owner of the largest collection is Italian Franco Ferretti (about 200,000 corks). In the Russian Federation, the largest collection is that of Alexander Kolosov (more than 75,000 corks).
Professional collectors.
Let us immediately note Alexey Zakharchenko, a journalist and public figure. He tasted beer from many bottles, the caps of which he had been collecting for a long time. There are more than 3000 caps in the collection. They are united thematically: German, Baltic, post-Soviet, Eastern European, etc. There are even some from Italy (in Italy they drink wine more often, beer is not common). There is “exotic” - African, Latin American or Asian beer.
Professional collectors exchange, they have an “exchange fund” of caps. They are more interested in exotic things; almost everyone has global brands. A rare cap can cost several hundred dollars. They have their own amazing taste and mood, largely supported by the unique samples collected.
What is shown on the covers?
Everywhere - the name and composition of the beer, the manufacturer of the drink. You can study beer technology. But there are also exotic images, for example, in African ones you can see a giraffe, in Australian ones you can see a kangaroo. Various coats of arms and entire engravings are often found. But the value of the lid does not depend on the image, but on the rarity of the lid. Particularly valuable are samples from the USSR era of the 70s. There are only a few of them.
From the drawings and inscriptions you can learn a lot not only about beer and its production, but also about the country and locality. Very exciting!
Where to look for lids?
Eat search system for “Bottle Cap Index” stoppers by Günter Rademacher from Germany. Automatically populates its own database of collections (collectors) from catalogs and websites of the collectors themselves. There is also interesting information for cork collectors.
There is an Italian-Dutch interactive project Crowncaps.Info based on a global database of collectors. It has a Russian-language web interface, a collection rating system, simple system downloading (uploading to the website) and sharing.
Beer caps are searched on the Internet, from familiar collectors, on the streets and in parks, from friends who are beer lovers (especially those traveling abroad). The main thing is to collect an “initial” collection. And there it will spin, spin, captivate...
There are more than 22 thousand crowns in Sergei Parshukov’s collection! Those that crown the necks of glass beer bottles. For a collector from Lviv, each crown cap is a page in the history of beer and a geographical encyclopedia, a guide to 184 beer-producing countries of the world! Beer Box learned from its owner how to determine the weight, significance and value of a collection.
Dossier:
Beer lover: Sergey Parshukov.
Age: 38 years.
Lives: Lviv, is a member of the Lviv Collectors Club.
Profession: System Administrator.
Favorite beer brands: I loved unfiltered white, but now I don’t drink it.
Collects: beer caps.
Target: preserving beer history in traffic jams. I have never chased numbers; I don’t take part in ratings. What I want is to add new, interesting, rare stoppers to my collection.
- Sergey, how old is your hobby and how did your collection begin?
I started collecting the collection together with my brother in 1999. Then a large number of new types of imported beer began to appear in Lviv stores, and I loved beer and drank large quantities. At first I became interested in beer labels and even collected them. After a while, my brother and I switched to traffic jams. We rashly decided that traffic jams were taking less space than other beer paraphernalia, and they are more convenient to display.
The collection of corks began with beer, which they drank - they bought something from us, brought something back from business trips, then friends and acquaintances “connected” and told them about their hobby. In about a year and a half, the first 500 corks were collected. And when they found out that there are a huge number of birophiles in Ukraine and other countries, they began to collect corks not only for collection, but also for exchange. So in three years we had more than 200 exchanges with collectors from more than 50 countries. After this there were many meetings in different countries akh and regions, visiting a huge number of breweries, organizing and holding three international meetings of collectors in Lviv. Unfortunately, a year ago something bad happened - my brother Yura passed away, so I continue collecting myself.
- As a person with 17 years of collecting experience, tell me what is the most difficult thing about collecting beer caps?
The hardest thing about collecting anything is finding a very rare item to add to the collection. Well, but seriously, it’s probably systematization, which takes a lot of time. Often by appearance cork, it is virtually impossible to determine its origin, to understand what drink it comes from.
- What to do in this case?
I resort to the help of the Internet. There are a large number of resources, for example:
www.crowncaps.info
www.bottlecaps.de/index
www.h-rydzy.de/KK/Forum/Forum_Motive/FORUM_Start.htm - determining the origin of the cork by drawing. Friends-collectors often help out with information.
Corks that are identical in appearance may differ in the manufacturer of the cork itself, which can be identified by the icon on the skirt of the cork.
- Which stoppers from the collection are most valuable to you?
All the specimens in our collection are valuable to me, but the corks from the countries of the former USSR have always been of greatest interest.
- Which exotic countries have beer caps in your collection?
The collection itself contains corks from countries; I learned about the existence of some of them while determining the origin of the cork. For example, the Faroe Islands (part of Denmark), Eritrea (a state in East Africa) and Reunion (an island in East Africa, an overseas region of France). But for me, it is often more valuable and interesting, for example, an old cork from not entirely exotic Norway.
- Which Ukrainian brewer produces the most beautiful caps?
In Ukraine, all beer caps are more or less standard, unlike Germany, America or Canada. But if you still choose, the most beautiful ones for me are from my native Lviv brewery.
- By what principle do you systematize and how do you store the lids?
By country. And I store 420 corks in each in soldered A4 files and in special albums. At the moment I have 19 such albums. They contain only part of the collection (most of the series) - Ukraine, countries of Asia and Africa.
- Is it possible to approximately determine the weight of the collection?
Didn't think about it. Although it is not difficult to calculate: the weight of one album is about 1.5 kg. That is, 28.5 kg - only in albums. Plus the part that is in the files is another 21.5-22 kg. That is, the collection “tightens” 50 kilograms.
This is without the exchange fund, which weighs much more.
One of the ways to “obtain” labels is through direct communication with the manufacturing plant. For cork collectors, only “uncrimped” caps can be obtained using this method. How do you add to your collection?
One of the main ways to get new caps for your collection is to exchange with fellow collectors from all over the world.
Every cap collector has his own secret for removing the cap from a bottle without damaging it. Share your technology.
Since I smoke, I only use a lighter. If you get used to it, the lid won't wrinkle.
- Do corks need special care?
The plugs do not need special care, the main thing is dry air in the room. Main enemy corks - moisture, rust and oxidation.
- By the way, how do you fight rust?
It is “washed off” from old or dug up plugs automobile vehicle to remove rust.
In many countries, special editions of caps with their own faces are popular among collectors. In 2010, such a project was implemented in Ukraine. 76 people took part in it. Is your portrait on one of the caps? If not, would you like to participate in a similar project?
I know about the project, but I did not participate in it and have no desire to. This type of cork is not interesting to me, but in collector circles they already know me.
- Do you know the largest collectors in the world?
Of course, but with many only by correspondence and exchange. Among the famous cork collectors, I know Tino Nadler and Roberto Alscher from Germany, Grzegorz Gatskaya (Poland), Armand Gerard Blacher - he is French, but lives in Thailand. My big friend Jerzy Matyjaszyk from Poland (www.yoreck.ugu.pl), with whom I attended many Polish and European collectors' meetings.
- How has your hobby changed your life?
Very much! In particular, I gained a huge number of acquaintances and friends from different countries of the world, thanks to participation in meetings I saw and visited many interesting places.
- What are the prices in Ukraine for unique, rare traffic jams?
In Ukraine, unlike European countries, prices for traffic jams are more moderate. For example, at auctions they ask for 200-300 UAH for a rare Ukrainian cork from the 80s-90s. Prices for corks from African countries are around 1-2 euros per cork. But there are also exceptions.
- How much does the most expensive cork in your collection cost?
I try not to buy corks whenever possible, but I had to.
Probably the most expensive for me was the 1967 Canadian series of 85 corks, dedicated to the largest international exhibition Dow Expo 67. Approximately 150 US dollars. Although at the moment there are corks in the collection, the cost of which on auctions like eBay is around $100.
- Your main advice or wish for a novice cork collector.
First of all, effort and patience. And also, expand your circle of communication with your fellow collectors.
Interviewed by Tatiana Lebedenko
From glass bottles or plastic from plastic bottles.
Features of collecting
Largest collections
Currently, the owner of the largest collection of corks is Franco Ferretti from Italy. His collection included more than 200 thousand examples of corks. IN Russia The owner of the largest collection is Alexander Kolosov; his collection currently includes more than 75 thousand corks.
Popular Internet resources
Bottle Cap Index
Bottle Cap Index(Traffic Index) is a traffic jam search engine. The Traffic Index was created by Gunther Rademacher from Germany. The index takes data from many collectors' personal sites and puts it into its own database. Many collectors use this site as a “handbook”, since there you can easily find information of interest on most corks (manufacturer, drink, country, etc.).
Crowncaps.Info
Crowncaps.Info(CC.I) is a combination of David's Collector Database and Crown Stats projects. "Davide's Collector Database" is a database of collectors, which was started by Davide Mascherini from Italy, as part of his own site. The project represents a huge list of collectors from all over the world from USA before Thailand, from Argentina before Norway. The list was later updated by the Dutchman Wietze Veld. It became interactive, Davide was able to make changes online. The idea for Crown Stats dates back to the late 1980s. Collector Jiri Kozel accepted questionnaires from other collectors, in which they indicated the number of corks broken down by country. Jiri then combined the information from the questionnaires and generated a list of the largest collections by country. Further statistics organized different ways Davide Mascherini, Alex Monton and Javier Solero. Crowncaps.Info members can now enter their statistics online. The process has become much simpler and does not require labor-intensive mechanical analysis of information. At the beginning of March 2007, Javier Solero, Davide Mascherini and Wietze Veld decided to combine these two projects into one website, where collection statistics would be correlated with information about the corresponding collectors. On December 27, 2007 the site was published. From this day on, registered users of the system can edit information about their own collections and about themselves online. There is a Russian-speaking interface site. In addition, the site has a collector rating system that allows you to identify unscrupulous collectors (i.e. those who do not fulfill their obligations for exchanges - do not send the promised corks, or send the wrong corks not in full).
Cork catalog on Crowncaps.Info- since 2011, a Crown Caps Catalog has been created on the website Crowncaps.Info. Currently (September 2012) the catalog has already included information and images of more than 40,000 crown caps from almost all countries of the world.
CANACO
CANACO (idea of Artyom Zhitnik)- abbreviation of English "Caps Navigator community", that is, the Caps Navigator user community. This resource was created for crown cap collectors. The goal is to enable the Navigator user to create their own website by uploading data to canaco.org. Uploading to the site is extremely simple - you just need to press one button in the program. As a result, the user receives his collection online Internet with the address my_collection.canaco.org, with its own design (skin support), multilingual content (if necessary) and many others useful things. The collection on CANACO makes it possible to automate the exchange process: visitors mark on the exchange page what they want to receive, and subsequently their choice is uploaded directly to the Navigator, where it can be viewed by forming a selection.
