Latest news with #ErieTobaccoCompany
CTV News
26-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
‘Holy grail': Tobacco tin tracing roots back to Kingsville fetches $55K at auction
A tobacco tin from the defunct Erie Tobacco Company out of Kingsville sold for $55,000 at an auction in New Hamburg, Ont., on May 25, 2025. (Source: Miller & Miller Auctions Ltd.) A glimpse into Windsor-Essex's past in the tobacco industry fetched $55,000 at auction over the weekend. A 3 Strikes cut plug pocket tobacco tin from the defunct Erie Tobacco Company sold at an auction in New Hamburg, Ont., on Sunday. Ben Lennox, the head of sales at Miller & Miller Auctions Ltd., told CTV News the sale exceeded estimates indicating the tin would sell for about $12,000. 'There was a number of bidders active on the tin, but what took it to the end and really to the stratosphere was two folks that really wanted this,' Lennox said. The tin was found by a Kingsville couple who discovered the piece of history in their walls during renovations. 'The reality of it is people don't necessarily know what they have in their homes, and there's treasures everywhere,' Lennox said. The lithographed tin would have been used to store tobacco or cigarettes and features an image of a baseball player and ET Co. on the jersey. Erie Tobacco Company operated a factory in Kingsville. 'The reality of it is the gold that is on these tins oftentimes would have oxidized to the point where it almost rusts, and in this case, there was very little, if no rust. The gold was mainly there,' Lennox explained. 'The image was striking, that on top of the fact that it has crossover collectible appeal into the baseball world just made it a holy grail.' According to Lennox, this marked a record amount for the sale of a tin in Canada. He noted the treasure will stay in the country after being purchased by a Canadian.
CTV News
26-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Tobacco tin makes Canadian history at New Hamburg, Ont. auction
Ben Lennox held the 3 Strikes Cut Plug tobacco tin at Miller & Miller Auctions Ltd. in New Hamburg, Ont. on May 26, 2025. (Colton Wiens/CTV News) A tobacco tin in Ontario can now be considered a piece of Canadian history. The tin is being packed up in New Hamburg, Ont. before it hits the road to its new home. The small piece fetched an eye-popping price at auction, making it the highest selling tin in Canadian history. 'This is a record in Canada: $55,000. With buyer's premium, $64,900. There are some tins in Canada that have certainly hit five figures, but this is an exceptional result,' Ben Lennox, Head of Sales at Miller & Miller Auctions Ltd. said. What some may think of as just an old tin from the early 1900's, is worth more than a brand-new vehicle to the right collector. 'This is a piece that you look for many, many years to find. And I don't know if we'll ever find an example quite like this,' Lennox said. 3 Strikes Cut Plug Pocket Tobacco Tin record setting auction The rare 3 Strike Cut Plug tobacco tin stood in front of other tins in this undated image. (Courtesy: Miller & Miller Auctions Ltd.) It's known as the 3 Strikes Cut Plug Pocket tobacco tin. It stands vertically, has a flip lid, and features a baseball player with the Erie Tobacco Company Factory logo on his jersey. It's considered one of the last known examples of this type. 'It's the best-known example found of this tin rarity. We talked to somebody who's been in the advertising collectible business for 50 years, and this is only the seventh one he knows of. Then that crossover appeal to the baseball community. Baseball and tobacco go hand in hand all the way back to the early 1900's,' Lennox said. The tin sold during an auction on Sunday, but almost never made it to the block. According to Lennox, it was discovered by the sellers while they were doing renovations and didn't know what to do with it. 'At one point, the people were considering taking it to Value Village. It was just a tchotchke that they had in their house on display,' Lennox said. 'The daughter-in-law did some due diligence and tracked down an old auction record and recognized that there was some considerable value.' In the end, it sold for much more than the predicted sale price of between $10,000 and $12,000. The buyer is tin can collector Glen Paruk, who is a lawyer in Vancouver. Lennox said there is an American counterpart, the Ty Cobb Tobacco Tin, that has sold for similar prices. But he's happy to say this piece of Canadian history is staying in the country.
