Question About Vintage Sealed Seagram's Crown Royal Whisky

[bfishman]

I ended up finding 2 really old bottles of sealed Seagram's Crown Royal at my grandpas. I believe they are from the 1950's. The bottles have the purple bags, original boxes, and certificates. I was going to sell them on ebay but I guess it is illegal to mail alcohol unless you are a dealer. Anyone got any ideas of any places in WI that might buy these?

 

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p56/packers899/CIMG1714.jpg

 

 

[JoeHova]

Old Crown Royal is worth money? That's kind of funny to me.

[bfishman]

Old Crown Royal is worth money? That's kind of funny to me.

ya these same vintage ones sell on ebay from $100 to $200 a bottle.

[Invader3K]

I'd just say "drink up".

[JoeHova]

The reason it's funny to me is because the only place I've ever seen Crown Royal advertised (besides a few magazines) is on the sides of liquor stores, usually alongside advertisements for Night Train or OE. I doubt 40 year old bottles of either of those things are worth much, which is why I cracked a smile.

[mtrebs]

If you are just trying to get rid of them without throwing them away and not really trying to make money off of them, I may be interested in one or both of them. Crown Royal is my favorite booze and I never even knew it used to be Seagram's Crown Royal. I wouldn't mind trying out some vintage booze. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

 

 

[InsomniacInkRoss]

I am interested in such an item.

 

(I think) there should be an exact date stamped on the sticker strips over the cap? Yes/No?

 

Crown Royal is ok, I would put it near the top of middle of the road whiskeys. Some people like to pretend its more high end then it is I think.

[bfishman]

I am interested in such an item.

 

(I think) there should be an exact date stamped on the sticker strips over the cap? Yes/No?

 

Crown Royal is ok, I would put it near the top of middle of the road whiskeys. Some people like to pretend its more high end then it is I think.

The bottles have no dates on the labels. On the bottle it says Joesph E. Seagram & Sons Limited. On the certificate it says over 100 years of integrity craftmanship & tradition. Seagram's started making Crown Royal in 1857, so I am guessing these bottles are from 1957-1964. Ones on ebay with the same certificates say from the 1950's.

[JoeHova]

The bottles have no dates on the labels. On the bottle it says Joesph E. Seagram & Sons Limited. On the certificate it says over 100 years of integrity craftmanship & tradition. Seagram's started making Crown Royal in 1857, so I am guessing these bottles are from 1957-1964. Ones on ebay with the same certificates say from the 1950's.

This isn't quite right. Crown Royal was first made in 1939 and was not available in the US until 1964. Somebody could have got it from Canada before that, but the 1857 date is the founding of Seagram's, not Crown Royal.

 

Also, in looking around a little, they say that the Crown Royal bottles have subtly changed over the years, so you might be able to find out a pretty exact date by comparing.

 

It seems that people on eBay are getting away with selling alcohol by claiming the value is in the collectible bottle (which may be true in some instances), not the liquor itself.

 

I also found an interesting article that estimated the value of a half gallon bottle of 1950's Crown Royal as $75-$125. Yours look like fifths or 750 mLs to me, but it's hard to judge size from that picture. Here's another interesting article that says it should taste the same as modern stuff because it doesn't age like wine does. He says Canadian whiskeys are blended so that they keep a uniform taste from one generation to the next. He says the perception is that a bottle from 1951 tastes the same as one from 2005. He goes on to say that Crown Royal from the 1940's may be an exception to that rule and may bring double or so what a new bottle of Crown Royal would cost.

 

There isn't as much stuff online about this subject as you would think, I guess because the prices are not very high compared to wine. It seems a lot of people want to know how much their old whiskey is worth, but there aren't many answers out there. I think that might be a bad sign. In fact, here's an article that says old Crown Royal is worth less than new.

[cbustim]

You are correct when stating that you cannot sell it without a dealer's license. Typically these older bottles or specialty bottles that were originally produced to be collector's items are not worth much money at all. Too many were produced to keep them limited and the ones that were produced are still in the hands of collectors.

 

A fifth of Crown goes for about $30 bucks now, so I would expect that your bottles may be worth about $50. If the tax stamp seal is not broken, then you may find an avid Crown drinker who would be interested in them. The product stops aging once bottled but does evaporate over time.

 

Crown has been blessed with great marketing over the years, just like Jack Daniels. Below average whiskey at an inflated price.