I’m old enough to remember the time before pull tabs, but we didn’t have a ton growing up because neither of my parents drank beer. I know we had one, but I don’t know if it was purchased or a “gift” from someone advertising something.
But this is the type of item that I could imagine people collecting. It’s borderline obsolete, cheap, and ubiquitous. So, I checked eBay for “vintage church keys” and found 446 results…with a mix of styles. There were some Pabst ones available that had the punch part mounted on a ballpoint pen. Never seen that before! The price range seems to be from around $3.00 to a max of $75 (yikes!). The most common price is around $4.00 - $5.00. For people looking for collections (I won’t do it…I’m a bit OCD in that direction and could easily end up with a billion of the things), it might be a fun hobby. Also, there are all kinds of ways of displaying them that could be rather attractive. I’m thinking of those displays of antique weapons in old British castles…only with church keys/bottle openers!
When I worked in a service station after school in 1974, I gave tons of those church keys away as well as road maps. After you had run over the bell hose, I was the fellow hopping out to pump your fuel & check your oil, windscreen wipers etc.
I once bought a car that had over 200 church keys in the back seat & on the floor. The previous owner was a know “drinker”. It also had at least 50 P-38s.
I carry a P-38 in my wallet & one in my watch pocket. All my rigs have at least one church key in the glove box. I am not a drinker, yet they can be handy for other uses. They all were free.
I often find them in junk boxes at yard sales or estate sales. They are usually still free. Sadly, I still will pick up a few each time. I must be a collector.
I wonder if you could intimidate somebody by saying something like “The next time you see me I’ll have my P-38 with me. Maybe that will teach you some respect.”
The key to the church, of course. I should know; I did that job for a while, way back when. I was the church janitor, and among my duties was opening up the church on Sunday mornings and making sure that everything was clean and ready for Sunday services.
So, I had a keyring with both the Key to the Church, and a Church Key on it.
If it is not TOO MUCh of a hijack, and since we ARE talking about keys - how about skeleton keys? Still have any? Or locks that require them?
My childhood home - Chicago bungalow, built 1927 - had a few doors that had them. Mostly interior doors. The exterior basement door had an added deadbolt. I always assumed they all used the same key, but as a kid, I never really compared them. We had a couple in drawers, and other ones hanging from nails next to the door with the lock. It has been quite a while since I last used - or even saw - one.
I wonder when they stopped making that type of key/lock?
Just opened a can of paint to touch up a small crack in my dining room. I used the Sherwin Williams supplied **almost church key. One end opens bottles and the other is perfect for prying open paint cans. I got this one just over a year ago free with my paint and stir sticks.
Twist-offs can air into the bottle, or so I’ve heard, causing the beer to get skunked. It’s more of an issue for beers that are sold on quality and spend more time in the beer drinkers cellar.
Oxidized. Skunked is a result of light, not oxygen. And yes, the seals on twist-offs can be iffy over time. I wouldn’t trust my 2005 Anchor Christmas ale to twist-offs.
Back when I did garage sales, I’d often come across people who had boxes of promo items. Beer-related things were common. Often going for a quarter each but presumably giveaways before they became throwaways (and therefore suitable to sit on a garage sale table forever).
One item I remember seeing were caribener-style key rings in the shape of a beer bottle outline. Those interested me and were worth a quarter for the fun of it. But church keys, not so much.
There’s a lot of beer company promo crap out there.
