Prince Albert Tin Dater

How the tin dater works

Prince Albert tins changed in small, datable ways over more than a century. Each clue you tick sets an earliest or latest possible year, and the tool shows the window where all of your clues overlap. The more clues you can find, the tighter the range.

Where to look on your tin

• The lid: early pocket tins carry a 1907 patent line, and many older tins still have a strip of paper tax stamp across the lid or remnants of the glue.
• The back panel: the maker's name and address. “R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Winston-Salem, N.C.” with no ZIP code points to an older tin, a ZIP code means 1963 or later, and a barcode means mid-1970s or newer.
• The material: all-metal lithographed tins came first. Cardboard bodies and plastic lids are later packaging.

Want the full story of the brand, the famous prank-call joke and what tins sell for? Read our history of Prince Albert tins and the vintage tobacco tin value guide.