A vintage Perone beer can has sold for an astounding US$62,830 in Massachusetts, setting a new world auction record.
The Perone Beer quart cone top can, described by the auctioneers at Morean Auctions as “the only known example”, leapt in the bids from a US$25 start and reached US$51,500 (US$62,830 with buyer’s premium).
Antiques reports detailed how Perone was a brand of Otto Erlanger Brewing Co. of Philadelphia, and the can was dated to the 1940s, when the cone top format was in circulation.
Speaking about the sale, auctioneer Dan Morean described the item as “a Grail can for many a quart and Pennsylvania collector.”
The sale had many other notable highlights for beer can collectors. A 1930s-era White Horse Pilsener Beer cone top can, contested by seven bidders, was sold at US$27,500 (US$33,550 with buyer’s premium).
Additionally, a York Brewing Lager Beer pre-Prohibition lithographed tin and embossed sign featuring the brewery building also sold for US$17,000 (US$20,740 with buyer’s premium). The auctioneers noted this was only the second example they had ever seen in the open market.
A final standout sale of the auction was said to be a Tru Blue Ale cone top can from the 1930s which reportedly underwent a long series of escalating bids before finally landing at US$15,500 (US$18,910 with buyer’s premium).
