Lot of Twelve Keywind Coffee-Tin Keys

A dozen loose keywind keys — the small flat metal T-shapes, each a short stem with a slot at one end and a flat looped handle at the other, scattered for the photo. On an unopened tin a key like this was soldered to the underside of the base; the owner broke it free, engaged it with the pre-scored tear strip near the rim, and wound the strip off to get at the coffee. By the time a collector finds a keywind tin the key is almost always gone, so a spare stash of loose keys is useful for display and for demonstrating how the tins actually opened.

Instagram 2017-08-02: Keys to open tins.