ALTOIDS COLLECTING 101:



I have been collecting Altoids for years now as I am not only a 'PaCRat', but a collector.
 I happen to love tins, advertising, small & limited edition things. That is what 1st attracted me.

What attracted you?

• Was it the magazine, postcard & billboard advertising that first got your attention?
• Did someone offer you a mint & you were hooked?
• Were you into tins when you decided to add these to your collection?
• Do you collect small things?
• Do you collect all the Altoids boxes / tins ... or only the Limited Edition versions?
• Do you collect one flavor (peppermint - the original, wintergreen, cinnamon, spearmint, licorice or ginger?
• Do you collect the newer additions to the Altoids family... the sours?
• Do you save them in 'mint condition' sealed in the plastic?
• Do you eat the mints & save the tins?
• Do you buy more than 1 of each so you can trade or sell them later?
• Do you only buy those you personally find in the stores or do you buy them on eBay?
  
• Do you use the empty tins to store little things (they do make great little boxes to store things like paper clips, nails & screws, push pins, change, etc.)?
• Do you collect the BIG tins? tiny tins?
  

What is your favorite tin?



Sorry for all the questions, but these are the basic (aka: 101) reasons why one might collect Altoids Tins.  Something to think about & possibly share with other fellow collectors.

More "About Me!"

• I was already into little tins, then they had a BIG tin available at the Holiday time that I bought for a friend.  That was it for me.  Although I do not have every limited edition tin ever made... I have many.

• I have one of each of the older BIG tins. 

• My favorite design is Sindy on Ottoman. 2000, (with her devil horns) - Altoids favorite "spokesdevil." Then Sindy  (cinnamon) with no horns.

• Limited at the same time was the Muscle Man peppermint & the Boy with Tongue Stuck to Wintergreen Tin.  Some of these have a yellow Limited Edition TIN sticker & some do not. These were from 2002.
  

• As an artist, I love the ALTOIDS TIN CANVAS Set of 3 from 2001, before I was serious, so I had to buy these later. 

Virgil Marti. Bully Wallpaper (detail). 1992
Jessica Craig-Martin. Las Vegas 1997
Dario Robleto.  Polar Soul (detail). 1998
In this set, they each have a large sticker: "Altoids TIN CANVAS.  The Original Celebrated Curiously Strong Peppermints. (R)"

• Bumble the Abominable Snow Monster, The Heat Miser & Curious George were cute limited tins from 2003

Sours are cool, but they get sticky & melt inside the tins. I pretty much have 1 of each tin with no candy inside.

Well...gotta go for now...till my next edit.  Peace, PaCRat!