In my locale, it's beginning to be very difficult to find a (metal) coffee can. Only a few "exotic" (i.e. expensive) brands can still be purchased in metal, a few in "plastic cans" and most just in paper (albeit exotic paper) bags.

The metal ones with the "snap on" plastic lids, to keep the coffee fresh(?) after the can is opened, make great storage cans for dry foods like beans, rice, dry pasta, or even flour and cornmeal. It's easy to apply a coat of (non-toxic) paint to pretty them up and make identification of the contents easy. The lids do have a tendency to crack after a time, if used as daily-opened cannisters, but will last for a few years for pantry storage.

The plastic ones could be used in the same ways, but are really hard to paint/label, and I don't have the feeling that the lids are quite as vermin resistant as the ones on the metal cans. (Good enough for dry beans or rice, but maybe not for flour.)

One might debate whether a good metal coffee can is "too valuable" to use as cookware, since the cooking use almost certainly would be a one-time (or few times) use.

John