Label Misspelling: Goldmine for Collectors?

When is a specialty brew lager not good for market shelves? When the can misspells the beer as “lagar.” Officials at Japan’s Sapporo Breweries Ltd. were forced to halt the release of its new “Kaitakushi Beer Tailored” line after it was discovered that the word “lager” in a scroll on the front of the can had that misspelling. Junko Fukuchi, a spokeswoman for Sapporo, admitted that the error, though very small and easily overlooked, was “embarrassing.” The company isn’t saying how many cans of the 6-percent beer were produced, and said it is considering different options, including correcting the error on the original can and re-releasing it.

Labeling and other production mistakes can make an everyday item collectible. “Misprints are always collectible because they are so limited,” said Terry Kovel.

“We cannot sell it as it is, but we have not yet decided what we are going to do,” Fukuchi said in the South China Morning Post. “We do not want to simply dump the cans that we have produced — and we have been inundated with offers from our customers to help out by drinking them.” Other suggestions are that cans that have already been filled could be donated to health workers and others helping to combat the coronavirus. (If that happens, we suggest those workers save the cans for future collectability!)

Photo: South China Morning Post