Reference Books

Many of these books are out of print, but can be found on the internet, in used book stores or at beer can swap meets.

• The Beer Can Collector’s Bible by Jack Martells, Hard back, 1975. Paper back, 1979. 124 pages. Reference guide over 5,000 photographs and is one of the only guides with approximate dates. Out of print. Only available used.
• Beer Cans Unlimited: A Value Guide To Beer Can Collecting by Art and Pete Ressel, 1976. 237 pages. Reference guide with a history of beer cans and over 7,000 photographs of US and foreign beer cans in the following categories: cone tops, flat tops, quarts and gallons. Can values in this book are long out of date. Out of print. Only available used.
• Class Book of U.S. Beer Cans by Jeffrey C. Cameron, 1982. 128 pages. Reference guide featuring over 2,000 US cans and has many rare cans that were not pictured in Beer Cans Unlimited. Many photos are black & white photos. Out of print. Only available used.
• American Breweries II updated by Dale P. Van Wieren, 500 pages, 1995. Paper back. First edition by Donald Bull, Manfred Friedrich and Robert Gottschalk. This book is the definitive reference of all known US breweries. Although it is not specifically about beer cans it is an excellent resource for dating beer cans and breweriana. In print. Available new.
• United States Beer Cans with Opening Instructions by Kevin C. Lilek, Hard back, 1998. 900 pages. For the beer can collector who is interested in Opening Instruction cans THIS BOOK IS A MUST HAVE. It is the only book that is dedicated to Opening Instruction cans. Almost 900 opening instruction beer cans are featured showing the front and sides of each can. Also includes minor variations of every opening instruction beer can ever produced and a rarity rating scale instead of prices. In print. Available new.
• United States Beer Cans with Opening Instructions Supplement by Kevin C. Lilek, Hard back, 2006, 250 pages. This is the addendum to United States Beer Cans with Opening Instructions and was published a few years after the original masterwork. It includes over 250 newly discovered can variations and corrections. In print. Available new.
• United States Beer Cans Volume I by the Beer Can Collectors of America, Hard back, 2001, 247 pages. This is the current gold standard in US cone top and flat top reference guides. It contains nearly 7,300 photographs and is the most comprehensive compilation of cone top and flat tops. It discusses methods for dating cone top and flat top beer cans. As far as reference guides go, this one has the most current pricing, however, that is always a moving target. In print. Available new and can be ordered from www.bcca.com. NOTE: This is the source of the reference numbers on the Steel Canvas website for the flat top and cone top beer cans.
• United States Beer Cans Volume II by the Beer Can Collectors of America, Hard back, 2007. This is the perfect addendum to United States Beer Cans Volume I and picks up where Volume I left off, covering US pull tab beer cans. It has thousands of color photographs and a thorough history of the self-opening beer cans. It discusses methods for dating self-opening beer cans. This Volume has the most current pricing for pull tab beer cans, however, those are subject to change. In print. Available new and can be ordered from www.bcca.com.  NOTE: This is the source of the reference numbers on the Steel Canvas website for pull top beer cans.