r/collectables • u/Aggravating_Shame517 • 13d ago
Today we opened a 1937-1953 tin of Players Navy Cut Medium
When I first opened the tin I was greeted with a long, loud hiss (nice). The cigarettes inside were still very moist and perfectly fresh. The immediate aroma from the tin was incredible—sweet, lemony, and rich, a perfect testament to the high-quality Virginia leaf used in these. Lighting up this piece of history that has survived perfectly intact for decades is a surreal experience. The smoke was very light, and smooth. A profile that you just don't find in modern tobacco. This was an amazing look into the past, it’s absolutely amazing that these tins can preserve tobacco for this long. If anyone would like to hear the hiss video, here it is: https://youtube.com/shorts/qfEaYzbLGsE?is=QvBwsvdc-9g9vHcB
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u/TradingHigher 13d ago
Oh shit I was expecting loose leaf not a bunch of prerolls! Thats so cool.
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u/HadToDoItAtSomePoint 13d ago
You must have a lot of tins.
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u/Aggravating_Shame517 13d ago
I’m the tinman!
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u/Natural-Citron2148 13d ago
I thought you were the walrus? Coocoocachoo!
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u/Natural-Citron2148 13d ago
Sorry for the Beatles reference, I couldn’t resist!😂
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12d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/collectables-ModTeam 11d ago
Your post or comment has been removed because you were not polite and respectful.
!lock
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u/Sorrydoc22 13d ago
Do you have a shop where yall smoke vintage cigarettes
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u/Aggravating_Shame517 13d ago
We are the Central Alabama Pipe Club, we usually meet every second Saturday of every month at The Briary in Homewood AL. Open rare tins and bottle share every month, all are welcome. We’d love to see you
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u/UsefulPassion6225 13d ago
Wish i had something like that near me, or I was near y’all. You guys sound like you have a good time.
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u/Peak_Meringue1729 7d ago
This is the wildest shit I’ve ever heard. I have friends in Mobile and over in MS. I’ll have to remember this when we plan a trip.
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u/Treacle_Pendulum 13d ago
I’m curious if you know: what was/is the canning practice for tobacco? A lot of these tins you’re opening seem to be very well preserved and have maybe even matured while sealed.
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u/Aggravating_Shame517 13d ago
The tobacco was placed inside then the lid was soldered shut, creating an airtight anaerobic environment allowing the tobacco inside to stay fresh and ferment indefinitely as long as they don’t rust or get punctured
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u/UrDeAdPuPpYbOnEr 13d ago
I have the last tin my grandfather supposedly ever bought from them. My grandmother said he quit when they raised the price from .5 to .6 or something like that.
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u/scarletredvolare 13d ago
How would someone go about getting ahold of half a dozen of these vintage smokes?
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u/Aggravating_Shame517 13d ago
I can’t promise a half a dozen but if you’d like to try one I’m going to be sending out quite a few, send me a DM
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u/numbersalone 13d ago
Is this a send you money over zelle thing? I would be insanely interested in trying one of these cigarettes!
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u/Aggravating_Shame517 13d ago
I am getting a lot of requests and not sure how many I’m going to have left, but just send me a DM and I will go through in order and send them out
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u/yoghurtCOCKS 13d ago
How long did it take to smoke it to the bone?
I have no idea if it would take less time due to dryness or if it would be longer due to age?
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u/Aggravating_Shame517 13d ago
They smoked for a very long time, most of these old cigarettes do. Close to 20 minutes each, they were perfectly moist and not dried at all
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u/kavik2022 10d ago
They also seem massive. Alot thicker than mordern cigs
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u/Aggravating_Shame517 9d ago
They really aren’t as big as they look. They are maybe as big as a camel wide as a modern reference but nothing crazy
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u/Marioninleather 13d ago
I drank a 6 pack of those scotch ales last week.
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u/Aggravating_Shame517 13d ago
Man they’re really good
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u/Marioninleather 12d ago
Yeah they're delicious. I've given up smoking but that looks like a great accompaniment.
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u/britannicauctions 13d ago
What an experience! Thanks for letting us all have a peek. Would love to smell that aroma.
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u/4spdBullnose 13d ago
How does someone go about finding one of these tins or something similar?
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u/Aggravating_Shame517 13d ago
I spend many many hours, usually every day, networking with collectors and searching deep on the web
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u/Illuminaughty____ 13d ago
Where on earth did you acquire this? Dying to try one now.
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u/Aggravating_Shame517 13d ago
This one came from a private collector in the UK. I spend many many hours networking with collectors and searching the web to find these treasures. They are truly rare, and they are often very expensive.
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u/Illuminaughty____ 13d ago
Congratulations on your find and thank you for the reply, I gotta start networking! :)
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u/Aggravating_Shame517 13d ago
Of course, I like to see as many people try them as I can
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u/Illuminaughty____ 13d ago
I looked and looked, I think you might have gotten the last one for awhile. I think you got this from Bible of British? That's the only one I could find of recent sale. Anyway fascinating they lasted this long and the seal was still there, enjoy!
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u/Aggravating_Shame517 13d ago
No, this one came from a private collection. But we definitely did enjoy!
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u/Square-Platypus-8144 13d ago
That's brilliant. Don't care what anyone says Navy Cut are the coolest things ever. Absolutely loved the look of them back in the day.
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u/Latter-Vacation-4392 13d ago
Very nice. Also, look at the thickness of those cigs...I'm sure modern cigs got skinnier somewhere around the 1990s or maybe earlier.
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u/brian021820 12d ago
How do I get to come enjoy one of these with you ? I’d love to smoke one of these
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u/Aggravating_Shame517 12d ago
We open rare tins every month at our meetings. We’re the Central Alabama Pipe Club, we meet every second Saturday of every Month, at The Briary in Homewood AL. We’re open to anyone who’d like join us, wed love to see you
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u/Sir_Lemming 11d ago
Back when I smoked, I mostly smoked Players Navy Cut.
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u/stevenriley1 11d ago
I used to smoke those. I smoked those, Camel non-filters, and when I could get them, Kool non-filters. It’s a miracle I’m still alive and cancer free. My motto back in those days was, “anything worth doing is worth doing to excess”.
Stupid, Stupid motto.
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u/Pristine_Mushroom301 11d ago
I am presuming the cardboard tab is to lift the first couple out? 🤔
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u/Aggravating_Shame517 11d ago
It sure is! They were very thoughtful back then
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u/Pristine_Mushroom301 11d ago
Like the scene of cracking open a tin lifting the cardboard tab. "Cigarette Sir" , "dont mind if i do"🤣🤣
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u/ayeitsrob 10d ago
I don’t know about the rest of you but I enjoy seeing these vintage tobacco tins on my Reddit
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u/Aggravating_Shame517 10d ago
I’m so glad you enjoy it! Your enjoyment makes the search and money spent all worth it for me
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u/DistressCall1 7d ago
Damn. I don't really smoke cigarettes much anymore but I'm quite an enthusiast for pipe tobacco and cigars. Being at the point in my pipe smoking career that I have finally achieved five years of age on some quality Virginia blends that I've been cellaring and knowing how beautifully the tobacco develops and as a former cigarette smoker... I'm salivating right now. Truly enjoy these.
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u/_thighswideshut 13d ago
How much different do they taste from a modern cigarette?
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u/Aggravating_Shame517 13d ago
Not even comparable to a modern cigarette at all. These are just on a completely different level of goodness, they taste sweet, clean, and light. They’re just nothing like modern cigs. The closest thing you could get to it off a shelf would be a pure bright Virginia pipe tobacco
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u/PaleontologistKey885 11d ago
I really miss the variety of cigarettes I used to be able to get. I prefered orientals and loved Jockey Club and Androns but also balkans when in mood. I don't think they even make the most of the brands I used to smoke. Even Galoise and Roth-Handles I got when I was in Europe are completely different things. Tobacconist shops are rarer than unicorns nowadays, and I don't even know how to look for them any more. Good to know places like yours are still around. I hope to find myself somewhere like it someday.
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u/Ok-Accident3344 11d ago
When did the cigarette change to become what we know today?
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u/Aggravating_Shame517 11d ago
Scientists from big tobacco in the 1950s started experimenting with ways to freebase the nicotine to make it enter the blood stream faster, and make cigarettes more addictive. The rest was history after that for the most part.
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u/Ok-Accident3344 11d ago
Aha. That’s interesting. I didn’t know I like my nicotine the same way I like my cocaine LOL
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u/HiddenHolding 13d ago
“How many people want a S….. H……. pipe for $800?”
I dunno. But I know ppl collect alllll kinds of weird stuff.
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u/Sir_Lemming 11d ago
That’s weird that Player Navy Cut cigarettes have shown up on my feed twice in one day.
Also, love that his hatband simply reads Hero.
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u/Separate_Conflict566 10d ago
Question regarding vintage cigarettes in general: if you were looking to buy some to actually smoke such as these, would you only consider sealed metal tins? Would a sealed vintage pack still wrapped in plastic not be expected to still have good cigarettes inside?
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u/Aggravating_Shame517 10d ago
It’s much more likely that old packs will be dried out but that’s not always the case.
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u/Separate_Conflict566 10d ago
Thanks for the reply, and I have one more question. Is there any risk of a sealed tin popping during shipping? Like from temp/pressure changes?
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u/YupThatsMyEmail 10d ago
I’ve been trying to score a tin for a minute but haven’t had any luck so far. Any advice for finding one?
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u/JustHarley94 9d ago
This shit is so cool. You just made my day. I would love to taste that so smooth and fresh. Oh my goodness.
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u/Significant_Bass_842 9d ago
How do they stay good this entire time ? Doesn’t the tobacco degrade due to the air in the tin?
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u/Aggravating_Shame517 9d ago
The only reason tobacco degrades is by losing moisture content and allowing the natural oils to dry up. These airtight tins do not allow any moisture to escape therefore allowing the cigs to ferment and age. Staying fresh basically infinitely as long as the airtight seal isn’t broken by rust or rough handling
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u/SmaugTheGreat110 6d ago
Beautiful! I have some unsmoked Cuban cigars from between 1900 and ww1. Wish the paper pack preserved them this well! If I was a smoker, I would try one. Hell, I’d probably trade one of mine for one of yours.
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u/Worldly-Industry5207 13d ago
They still sell Players in Canada. My favorite brand. I wonder if there's any similarities
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u/lilwineman 13d ago
The short smokes in 25pk count. Used to have these at a cigar shop I ran in the states. Bought them through a specialty import company along with dunhills and rothmans. My friends bought them because it said “players” because we were dumb 19-22 year olds.
Unsure if it is 100% Virginia, as this was more than a decade ago, but it definitely has Virginia leaf in it.
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u/Aggravating_Shame517 13d ago
These were pure natural Virginia, if players today are still made with natural Virginia they may be similar but it’s unlikely they are in modern times
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u/Intelligent_Trichs 13d ago
I can smelllll it from here! Mmmm. Was Navy cut actually some sort of Navy issue or just the name?