European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 19, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Two by Mike Spear stall writer Hank struck and his son. 11-year-old Daron Are in limbo right now. But it won t last forever. They Are part of a growing army of Beer can collectors but they Are in Turkey which produces Beer in cans Only for Export but Frank and Daron continue to add to their col Lection which now numbers nearly 1.000 cons. Their trading is done largely by mail and the recent easing of Apo restrictions by Turkey has opened the door for them again. One whole Wall of their living room is filled with Beer cans producing a Kaleidoscope of color that grabs the Eye As soon As you enter. And they have More cans in the states. The Stucks began collecting while he was stationed at Oshkosh wis. On Roth duty two years ago. Krank currently is a sergeant first class with Tus log Del 33-2 at Izmir. During the past year or More. Apo restrictions put a Damper on their col. Letting but not on their  be got cans from pretty much All Over the world now says stuck. Who often wears a shirt with Schuhtz labels on it. Some come from As far away at South Africa and Australia. Beer can collecting is getting to be such a big Hobby people Are really importing the stuff into the states. In Osh Kosh the liquor stores carried quite a few different Beers from around the  to Cater to the hobbyists Many stores sell Beer to them by the single  brewing companies apparently Are catering to collectors in America too by issuing a variety of can designs and changing them often. For example the Pittsburgh brewing co. Is producing nearly 60 variations of its Iron City Brand and has issued them one at a time or in sets. During 1976, Many Compa Nies issued special Bicentennial  there Are currently about 225 different brands of canned Beer available in retail stores across the . The steucks1 collection is nearly four times that. But they feel they have Many cans to go yet before they get anywhere near a Complete col  you be got most of the current cans you have to Start looking for older ones. Stuck describes the most Likely places As in ditches alone Side roaa5.es specially in the Back country in old bars and Beer joints in the Comers Arr under things around Tram depots around any building that is being torn Down and around  there Are conventions where traders gather with their trader cans. The Stucks have had As Many As 40 cases of trader cans to barter for cans they want from other collectors it was t until 1968 that canned Beer outsold bottled Beer Leuck said. There Are now about 18 Bil lion Eer cans produced in the . Annually. Sapt Tofu by Lloyd Park inf father and son collectors Frank left and oar on Steuck with some of their 1,000 cans. Cans May be Howit than Battles As Beer containers but they have in in around for quite awhile nevertheless. Even before prohibition american can co. Looked into the possibility of using cans and before the 1930s Large Brewers experimented with them. It was t until ims. However that the Gottfried Kruger brewing co. Of Newark. N a. Began using cans with Success i Fahsl and of Choiu followed and by the end of that year More than 200 million cans of Beer had been sold under lax is from 211 brewing companies. Frank and Damn Haie Collet Ted Beer cans from Aman Beer Amana Iowa co Nienus 12 ditches and byways in a Large area of the Northern us and naturally Many of their finds arc quite Rusty when Fresl discovered. You d be surprised what you can do with a rusted can Frank said. To clean one we use acid but there arc various things you can use. Lemon juice and water work Well. Also. The acid solution cats the rust off but does t Hurt the  1 produces surprises too. Struck tells of the time he found a Cone top ran that was so rusted he could t read the Label. He and Daron soaked it in antacid soul Ion for several Days it had no holes in it Bill it was just too Rusty to read the  he said after All inc scrubbing and soaking we finally got to where we could read the Label. And it turned out to be a Brake fluid  there Are several very rare cans that Steuck would like to gel. One is a "007" can that did t sell Long another is the playmate can whose Gate folded alter a court injunction was obtained by Playboy Magazine. Another is Apache which was brewed in Arizona. He say there Are Only five Apache cans in existence. The 007 is Worth about $200 a can he  Only made about 18,000 of  the Stucks figure the most valuable Beer can they have currently is an Amana " can distributed in Iowa. A religious group took court action to get the use of the name stopped after about 40.000 of thebans were produced. The Stucks also have a can labelled Canadian Ace from a Chicago brewery which Steuck says was once owned by mobster Al Capone. But he admits freely that he would dearly love to get my hands on a 007 or an Apache  two other cans they value come under the labels Bull Frog and Paul Bunyan. In the states the two Stucks go to collectors conventions about once a month although there Are enough meetings in Roost areas to attend them weekly if they had the time. Stuck. A native of Minnesota comes by his Hobby with a solid background. His father came from Ger Many made Beer occasionally it was really out standing and is an avowed Long Lime Beer Dunker. His favourites Are Coors and Olympia but there arc some that he does t like. He d just As soon avoid scottish ales and he puts the English Beer while Bredat the Bottom of the list. When the Stucks leave for the slates next year they will be burning to get Back on the Beer can Trail. Frank has planned it so they la be returning in the summer. Well have perfect Beer  he says. Sunday june 19, 1977 the stars and stripes Page ii