The Museum Turns 3 years Old, Part 4: The "Cream of the Crop"
Reader Gene once asked me about doing a top 20 list of my favorite tap handles, the "creme de la creme" of the collection, although he stated that "I guess it would be like naming your favorite children." And how right he is. With well over 500 tap handles in the collection, how could I possibly pick out 20 of my favorites? I scrapped the idea, but it has always remained in the back of my mind, a seed of thought that Gene planted that just won't go away. Thanks alot, Gene!
As the anniversary of the Museum drew closer and I was thinking about what kind of posts to write, the topic of the "favorite taps" came to mind once more. As I mulled it over, I found that if I approached the subject a little differently, I could make it work. Basically it boils down to this: if I had to start collecting all over again, but in doing so I could keep any 20 of my taps, which 20 would I keep? This is of course a fantasy exercise, as I have no intention of giving up my taps. But to satisfy Gene's curiosity as well as my own, and perhaps yours, I thought I'd at least make an attempt. There are many taps I've missed out on over the years that I'd like another shot at, but the scope of this post is to simply cover the taps in my own collection.
Click through to read more about "The Cream of the Crop"...
My criteria for determining which taps to keep boiled down to two factors: Rarity and Price. I applied this criteria as follows:
Rarity: How easy is it to come by the tap? Is the brewery out of business? Have I ever seen another, and if so how many? Am I likely to ever see the tap again?
Price: What does the historical price data look like for the tap? Could I afford to replace the tap, or would a tap that was once affordable now be out of reach?
The taps below are not ranked in any order, they were simply listed as they sprang to mind. I've thrown in some estimated prices for fun, but realistically it's impossible to predict what taps will cost. Note that the list is missing the names of some of the entries...out of the 20 taps I picked, only 12 have appeared on the site so far. This means that 8 out the last 128 I have purchased have made the list, so you can expect some great and rare tap profiles to look forward to in the coming months. Maybe I'll drop hints...
If you have read my post on this tap, when I started the Museum this tap was #1 on my wishlist. The secondary market price just hit close to $1000. Even broken ones often sell for $300 - $400.
My favorite advertising icon with a secondary market price of $350 makes this an easy inclusion to the list. I've only ever seen 3 intact handles, and as my post asks, when was the last time you saw Mickey's on tap?
Another steampunk tap that is hard to find, with an estimated secondary market value close to $250.
Extremely rare and stunningly beautiful, I've only seen 1 other. Estimated secondary market value is close to $400.
Conceptually it's one of the finest taps ever made, and I've only seen 1 other. Estimated secondary market value is $250+.
It's not the most detailed tap ever made, but it's a cryptid and I've only seen 1 other, with a secondary market value of $500. Wow...
After missing out on my first chance to get it and expecting I'd never get one, do you really think I'd give this one up, especially when I've only seen 1 other after mine? Estimated secondary market value is $250+.
A superbly detailed tap of which I've only seen 1 other. Estimated secondary market value is $250+.
Features a turtle and is the more rare of the 2 beautiful Charleston taps, I've only seen 1 other...are you seeing a pattern here? Estimated secondary market value is $300+.
With a beautiful brunette and excellent detail, I can't conceive giving up this tap, of which I've only seen 2 others. Estimated secondary market value is $200+.
Coveted by Stooges fans as well as tap collectors, I've only seen 1 other. Estimated secondary market value is $400+.
This is a tap I couldn't give up simply due to rarity - I've never seen another. Estimated secondary market value is $250+.
Here ends the taps I have already profiled on the site. The following taps have bumped out some taps that would have normally made the list - Rattlesnake Mountain, Hops Clearwater Mermaid, Strangeways, Peckerhead, and Steamworks to name a few - and as promised I've dropped a hint about the tap...
I hope you enjoyed this list. It was very tough to select only 20. I never want to have to do that for real!!!
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