It may not be too long before coffee cans are ebay items drawing large bids.

My whole childhood was spent filling 3lb coffee cans with stuff....marbles, teeth, bones, rocks, nails, rabbit chow....you name it.

I stopped using them as backpacking cookkits in the 70's but as an emergency kit container they would be great. If you look at the winter videos done by Les Stroud, he took a coffee can kit.

http://www.exn.ca//oneweekwild/oneWeekCold/video.asp