the Altoids i routinely find in the stores are in the
genuine metal tins.
if the statement that it's hard to buy "just the tins"
with the contents having already been consumed, that
might well be the case (ouch!), but i've also seen
unpainted tins that look remarkably like the Altoids tin
for sale on the net and in some parts rag. worth a google
or two.
-mo