Hey all, I found 2 very interesting snuff tins this weekend. They were at Indiana’s famous “Covered Bridge Festival”. I saw what looked like 2 TINY snuff tins, Levi and WE garret. I had never seen snuff containers this small so I took them out of the case and it said they were sample sizes. They both had the blue tax stamp on them. I hoped the seller didn’t know what he had and would sell them to me at a cheap price (his other items were 2-7 dollars), but alas he knew and said he wanted 20 dollars apeice. Me being a broke college kid there was no way, even if I could talk him down to 15 each. My question is, what is an unopened, promotional sample size, with tax stamp, in good condition Levi and WE garret worth? Has anyone ever seen such a thing? The diameter of the tin I would guess as 1 inch with a height of 1.5 inches, a normal tin being about 1.75 and 2.5. Would it be a wise investment to scrounge the money, and resell on Ebay? I can’t justify paying for them for collection purposes, but if you guys think it could be profitable, or heck, even want to make an offer yourselves, please tell me what you think.
I wouldn’t drop 20 on them. Maybe 5 each, maybe. You won’t get your money back from ebay.
1.15oz retails for about 5 bucks. It doesn’t sound like those tins are any more than that. Also it’s been stated that Levi and WE are one in the same. Frickin fantastic too, mind you, but I think you’d be able to get 7 or 8 of them for forty bucks.
Are little cans like that still made? I wouldn’t mind those just for collecting.
I bought a little can like that at my local tobacco shop, was the first snuff I tried. All they have are that and Red Seal. - I think it was 0.75 oz and cost me like $2.50 - this was 3 months ago
I can’t find any pictures of these anywhere. I did see on the Conwood site, they list a variety of can sizes, pocket, small, thrift, and bigger, but doesn’t list weights.
I know of them only by reputation too. @ FyL: can you post a pick? @ mrmaroon: I’m with cstokes, I could see spending $5 a piece on them, even if they are a little rare. Its a neat thing to have in the collection, but that’s a high price.
What generally determines the value of a collectible are the factors of 1. Rarity 2. Condition 3. Age I have seen these sample cans on ebay, but don’t recall the prices. But if it’s from a major brand, chances are they made quite a few. They are cute, and I wouldn’t mind having some, but I wouldn’t pay more than $5 either.
I’ve often wondered what happened to the smaller american snuff tins. All I see now are the 1.15 oz tins. But, when I was in college several gas stations carried the smaller ones.
I was incorrect about the size of the W.E. Garrett can, it was a 1/2 oz, not 3/4 as I said earlier. Anyway, here are pics of the little Garrett can next to a 1.15 oz can of Red Seal, for size comparison. (click the pictures for larger versions). 
That’s the one. I wonder if they are still in production. Not that I regret any of the American snuffs I’ve bought from Nicotine Rush, but considering I’ve now bought about 30 it would have been slightly cheaper to try them all in the smaller cans first.
Tom does sell sampler packs of the US snuffs, you know. I’m sure if the pocket tins were still available he’d carry them. Then again, that may have more to do with the distributor than the retailer.