yellow flowers extent covering a field is a sight that can't leave me indifferent, strikes the eye and conveys harmony signals to the mind, stronger than every other thought, giving relaxing meditation instants.

I always valued the luck of working outdoor, being into contact with the renewing sight offered by nature to those who want to perceive it: either in a secluded corner of the world, or among the usual sites of your daily life its landscape art is there, in its flowers bright colour in spring, rather than with spotless snowflakes in winter, an art in uninterrupted evolution, able to leave out of breath as well, and it's nice, after all the years I tread these stages, that I'm still overcome by such sensations.

Eye is the emotion room door, but the sight of a same thing causes different reactions in different individuals: how can, for instance, a sensitiveness provided human being consider even the nicest crown cap as a simple meaningless object?

In my personal collector concept I always attributed a different valence to every single bit, according to a very subjective mental scheme.

Beer caps represent aristocracy: the brewing industry is a refined sector, continuously renewing itself and somehow being an image of a Nation, and caps become its symbols, like a national football team valuable pieces, Champions League superstars well known by every fan. But just this may be their limit: they are the most diffuse bits of a collection and seldom represent a rarity, unless they are old.

Microbreweries are spreading in these last years, giving new impulse to this sector, even if only few of them (almost in Italy ) entrust the company logo to a crown cap, undervaluing, in my opinion, the power of collecting.

That's why soda crowns, mostly known just in a local ambit, for their short diffusion acquire a value surely unknown to the producer firm itself, and they need to be discovered, like anonymous regional team players, often better than acclaimed champions.
Unfortunately since many years small soda bottlers are forced to succumb, crushed by multinational companies and their less genuine but famous products, and only few of them, the bravest ones, succeed in carrying on their activity; however, an infinite number of wonderful soda crowns (gazosa, chinotto or other strange beverages) still survive to testify the glorious history of small forgotten firms.

The speech concerning wine caps is different: through many years they've been representing the cheapest and therefore most diffused products in a winery list, and in their unlikeness they almost always had a typical look distinguishing them at first sight from those sealing other beverages, also because some of them have a larger diameter (if stopping a 1.5 lt. big bottle).
Due to any alimentary scandals and the technical evolution quality of this sector, wines with cork closures have been privileged and banished the crowned seals into oblivion, often into ignominy, preferring screw caps or even packing economical wines (very low quality by now) by cardboard bricks. Still some firm are utilizing crown caps, but they often shamefully deny using it.

Things go better with fruit juices, fortunately, and Italian producers often turn crowns to better account giving them new lymph through the most various sets appearing printed over them.
During these years monothematic caps followed one another making us collectors joy, from the first flags with the Nation abbreviation, to the Olympic Games seats, up to the late Winx or Power Rangers, ending with the present series about Euro coins, and putting all the bits issued in the long run together we reach a very important number! I suppose the production is meanly addressed to children, but I'm persuaded that the most substantial sales part is to ascribe to collectors, ready to gulp down hectolitres of a not always appreciated liquid only to complete the set. Any hook in crown factories may naturally avoid this sacrifice…

I just hope that printing sets on plastic closures don't get a footing like in Japan , for example, but I'm sure they could never get the same quality level as our worship objects reached.

The ever growing P.E.T. bottles diffusion reduced more and more the crown caps used by mineral water bottling factories, that always supplied a great number of exquisite samples to the fans and renewed often their production.
Since I started going to producers and ask them to help me to increase my collection I've always had a good feeling with water firms: I pleasantly remember about one hundred caps forming his small gathering received in present from the owner of a water spring bottling plant near Trento .
A privileged place in my preferences is reserved to crown factories promotional or test caps, even if not destined to the natural purpose they were invented for, but often used as a valuable artistic expression to support a concern product quality image.

Crown cap is unfortunately not anymore the most used seal for all kind of bottles, its use by the factories is even more scanty, and the thought that time ago it stopped bottles containing liquors, medicines, vinegar (and other foodstuffs you find absurd to associate with) gives rise to a lot of regrets; therefore it's nothing left but go back to contemplate the owned old pieces, cultivating a shy hope that our beloved caps always get a place, on the top of bottles of any kind of drink…

Lorenzo