The crown cork (also known as a crown seal, crown cap or just a cap), the first form of

bottle cap A bottle cap or bottle top is a common closure for the top opening of a bottle. A cap is sometimes colorfully decorated with the logo of the brand of contents. Metal caps with plastic backing are used for glass bottles, sometimes wrapped in dec ...

, was invented by William Painter in 1892 in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. The company making it was originally called the Bottle Seal Company, but it changed its name with the almost immediate success of the crown cork to the ''Crown Cork and Seal Company''. It still informally goes by that name, but is officially

Crown Holdings Crown Holdings, Inc., formerly Crown Cork & Seal Company, is an American company that makes metal beverage and food cans, metal aerosol containers, metal closures, and specialty packing. Founded in 1892, it is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. As ...

Overview

A Dutch patent application from 1892 This style of closure is still in widespread use. Prior to the invention of the external crown cork bottle stopper, soda bottles had ordinary internal

cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

bottle stoppers and often had rounded bottoms so they could not be stored standing upright. Corks have a tendency to dry out and shrink, allowing the gas pressure in the bottle to cause the cork to "pop", so bottles were stored on their side to prevent the corks from drying out. After the invention of the crown cork bottle stopper, this problem was eliminated, and soda bottles could be stored standing upright. Crown corks are collected by people around the world who admire the variety of designs and relative ease of storage. Collectors tend to prefer the term "crown cap" over "cork". The

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. Budweiser is a filte ...

brand of beer has, on more than one occasion, used an inverted crown cap to mimic a

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

shape in their advertisements – specifically in conjunction with its "King of Beers"

tagline In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, so ...

References

External links

Live Counter of produced crown corks
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The Crowncap Collectors Society International

Bottle Cap Index

Davide's Crown Caps Homepage

Collection of Alex and Gemma
American inventions Food packaging Bottles {{drinkware-stub sv:Kapsyl#Kapsyltyper

Overview

See also

References

External links