What Is a Mann Co. Supply Crate Key and What Is It For
The Mann Co. Supply Crate Key in TF2: what it opens, why it became the trading currency, what it costs on Steam and where to buy or sell it for less.
The Mann Co. Supply Crate Key is a Team Fortress 2 item that opens Mann Co. Supply Crates. It arrived with the Mann-Conomy Update in 2010 and has been the main trading currency of TF2 ever since.
What the key does
A key opens a locked crate: you get an item, and the key and the crate are gone. Keys do not drop in game and cannot be crafted — only the Mann Co. Store sells them. There are special keys for event crates too, but a «TF2 key» in trading means the Mann Co. Supply Crate Key.
Why the key is a currency
- Its price is stable: the store always sells it for $2.49, and players keep using keys on crates.
- A key is easy to trade and easy to sell — it is one of the most popular items on Steam.
- TF2 item prices on sites like backpack.tf are quoted in keys and refined metal.
How much a key costs
$2.49 in the Mann Co. Store; the player price on the Steam Community Market. For real money a key costs less: the current price is on the TF2 key price page.
Keys and metal
Cheap items are priced in refined metal (ref), expensive ones in keys. The key price in ref moves too: when a key gets more expensive in real money, sellers ask more metal for it. That is why traders keep «change» in metal and larger sums in keys.
Restrictions
- A key from the Mann Co. Store or the Steam Community Market cannot be traded for 7 days.
- Players in Belgium and the Netherlands cannot open crates with purchased keys because of local laws, but they can trade keys.
- A free TF2 account becomes Premium after any Mann Co. Store purchase; Premium backpacks have 300 slots instead of 50.
How to check a key in a trade
Check the name — «Mann Co. Supply Crate Key» — and that the description shows no trade restriction date. Scammers slip in look-alikes: event keys, crates or items with a similar icon. On the exchange this does not happen: the bot sends exactly what you chose.
Where to keep keys
You can keep keys in your Steam inventory or in your storage on the exchange. In storage you can sell them any time without waiting for a trade; in Steam you can spend them on crates and player trades straight away. Withdrawing from storage to Steam is free.
Why people buy keys
To buy hats and weapons from players, open crates, add Steam wallet funds or cash out of Steam. Buy keys here.
Read next
- TF2 key price todayThe live price of the Mann Co. Supply Crate Key on the exchange: what it costs to buy and sell right now, how the price moved over the month and what it is in your currency.
- Buy TF2 keysMann Co. keys for USDT at the live exchange price. Buy instantly from the best offer; keys land in your storage and go to Steam in a trade offer from our bot.
- Tour of Duty TicketTour of Duty Tickets for USDT at the live exchange price: buy for Mann vs. Machine or sell spare tickets — instantly or at your own price.
- TF2 trading glossaryTerms you meet when trading Team Fortress 2 items and using an exchange, in a sentence or two each.
- Where to Buy TF2 Keys Cheaper: Comparing the OptionsWays to buy TF2 keys compared: Mann Co. Store, Steam Market, private sellers, shops and an exchange — price, payment, speed, risks and the Steam price.