Pull Tab Collection - Info & Tips?

[TCosbyJr]

Nothing seems to say your in the metal detecting hobby more than having a pile of pull tabs. Well I've got close to 60 pull tabs since I re-started MDing only ten days ago today - and started to wonder about them.

I found a thread about pull tabs How do you tell the age of pull tabs? at another forum which helped with many questions.

• Pull tabs started in 1962
• "Beaver Tail" pull tabs are dated from 1962 to 1975
• Modern pull tabs started in 1975

It also seems some of the earliest pull tabs were not much more than a "beaver tail" with a tiny square tab - so I will have to look through mine to see if I have any. As I have detected several "beaver tails" without the ring, but I imagine most were simply snapped off.

The pull tabs can also be a great indicator of detecting conditions of an area as well as explained by Dan Hughes...

If you're digging lots of pulltabs and lots of coins, you're the first one there.

If you're digging lots of pulltabs and nickels but no other coins, you're the first one there with notch discrimination (or a number-system readout).

If you're digging lots of pulltabs but no coins, you're the first one there without notch discrimination (or a number-system readout).

In ALL THREE of the above scenarios, if a gold ring was lost there, it's still there waiting for you.

I do have some questions that remain about the 'ole pull tabs. Is there any value to the tabs? Does anyone else collect and display them? What is the best method to clean them (as the beaver tails snap off so easily)? Or is there any other information/details/tips you could contribute about them?

For example here is a photo of the current pull tabs I found MDing that are unique from each other (I have several repeats of some in a pile). I remember #12 was what seemed only on RC Cola products, especially Big Red soda. #13 is the most modern tab I have found.

I'd like to know which is the oldest tab? I am guessing #1 as it is one solid piece and seems to be perfectly round. Anyone else have any clues to what/when the pull tabs came from?

 

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[Lakemonster]

From what I have read... I believe you are right about about #1. Some things I have read said they got away from that first design as they were prone to lifting the edge of the opening up and giving people lip cuts.

This is also one of the really early ones.... I dug a few at a spot where kids liked to drink back when.... Hamms beer if I remember right.

 

[TCosbyJr]

Thanks for the details and photo, it is great to see a original pull tab. Easy to see why they abandoned the first design.