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Digging Arizona For Beer Cans


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Getting ready to plan a trip near Yuma Az area digging "trash"...

I have a target in mind I would like to find... The quest is to find some Apache Beer cone tops buried in trash pits in desert sands. From knowledge of others digs condition of 1930s cans has shown good promise and recovery of quality specimens of other brands has been promising. I am drawn to Yuma Arizona area because in researching old newspaper ads I found this was one of just several cities they marketed Apache Beer for 6 months in 1936. 

Below is a newspaper ad from 1936 and a very clean example of the Apache Beer cone top which recently sold for 28,000.00 and you can see here in link http://breweriana.com/beer-cans-cone-tops/apache-export-beer-cone-2881/ Not a typo! those old cans actually sell for insane values.

My reason for posting this is to bring attention to just how rare some of this trash is to collectors and also to get some opinions or intel from anyone who might suggest areas I may find open to digging around the Yuma area.

As well, has anyone else dug old beer cans and kept them or left them behind in the past?

 

 

%40Apache here it is.jpg

apache-150-18-f.jpg

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They don't say for nothing someone Rubbish is someone treasure. 

Wish you luck. Hope to come back with a great story. 

 

GoldEn

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I haven't seen any real old mine dumps in the areas I go...I would try some old mines along hwy 95, way back!

Just a couple of cautions:

stay off Tribal land...

There are military lands for much of the distance from Yuma to Quartzsite...if you are military you might get permission and I have heard of others getting permission...

The BLM thinks that old trash is sacred...

fred

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An interesting quest, I wish you luck. Sadly I know nothing of the area so can't help much.

I never hunted for cans specifically but found some while underwater detecting in Alaska. They were down in the muck, and the cold water combined with an anerobic (oxygen free) environment kept them in a remarkably well preserved state. None were all that old or remarkable however.

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Thanks guys! and very cool story Steve on cans underwater in Alaska! I have seen recovery of them from diving and some are remarkable if buried in the muck as you state. Really the final frontier in the type of quests I pursue.

Speaking of Alaska, a number of years ago I did my research and put together several solid leads on digging sites with permissions from owners. I flew up and spent a week following up. The main quest was to dig a very rare Apex Beer cone top beer can from Seattle WA that stated it was made for sale only in Alaska in 1937. Very few examples existed at the time mostly because no one was detecting in Alaska for these. Shown Below mint example recently sold for 23,000 dollars as seen here https://breweriana.com/beer-cans-cone-tops/apex-beer-150-19-19621/.

Though I didn't find really clean examples of the Apex Beer I did find a number of very displayable ones which were very salable. As well I found a Horluck's Vienna Beer Can from 1937 which at the time was the best example known and is now one of just several known in good condition. The Horlucks can alone paid for my entire trip several times over and now is valued at 5-10k as seen here (my actual can)  http://www.ebeercans.com/Horlucks-Vienna-Style-Export/177/ 

The entire haul from Alaska trip was about 600 cans recovered and will go down as one of my most successful quests! 

Couple pics below of just a small part of what was recovered on trip shows just how clean the preservation was on cans fresh out of ground, not even washed off yet. They will be cleaned with oxalic acid and much of the surface light rust will come off.

 

Treasure can come in many forms, the cans are trash to many but is a niche in hunting and detecting I have mastered and has been very productive over 40 years of chasing.

 

 

!!!apex.jpg

alaska0009.jpg

alaska0006.jpg

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Just like gold prospectors walking over a fortune in silver at Virginia City all detectorists would be wise to keep an open mind and have an eye out for new things. I have probably kicked meteorites thinking they were hot rocks and perhaps tossed a can worth than the gold I was looking for. I will look at cans differently from now on. Great stuff, thanks for posting!

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3 hours ago, fredmason said:

The BLM thinks that old trash is sacred...

I think the cutoff is 100 years of age -- if a relic is younger than that, the 1979 law doesn't apply.  Also, I'm pretty sure coins are exempt, regardless of age/date.  Bottom line is (if I'm right -- I'm not a lawyer so beware) a 1936 can should be ok to keep if found on fed land prior to 2036.  (Doubt I'll still be detecting&digging then, although it's not impossible...)

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In some places that date is moved up to 50 years old, especially in individual state laws but also federal (see below). And anything of any age can be made an issue of if it is deemed to be in some sort of important historical context. There is lots of wiggle room to mess with you - digger beware.

Good Federal Land Overview Here

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Very much agreed, you are responsible to know the laws of the lands you hunt, Federal Land is restricted for digging of most artifacts.

Good research for finding private lands that owner gives consent is best choice, but getting tougher to make those connections all the time. 

Though not discussed above, most of these targets being dug are old 1930's privy or outhouse holes, and in many cases are not in rural areas as much as populated areas with residential homes or even new structures on property. Most landowners are unaware they even have this stuff buried in their yards, but with research, doing your homework can be difference of success or coming home empty.

 

 

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