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How to Collect Oil Cans

Collecting oil cans can be a fun and rewarding hobby. Many models of oil cans are available for reasonable prices. There are only a handful of rare and hard-to-find examples that fetch in the low thousands or in the high hundreds of dollars. There are many different things you can do to collect oil cans, but getting the proper information is key.

Things You'll Need

Oil can books
Oil cans

Instructions

- 1
  Find copies of "Collecting Oil Cans" by W. Clark Miller and "More Oil Cans for the Collector" by Miller and Sabra Sonewald. These books include photographs of oil cans dating back to the 1880s, as well as more modern examples. You'll also find tips on collecting oil cans and the value of different cans.
- 2
  Join the Petroleum Petroliana online group. This website offers books on collecting oil cans, classified ads from people selling gas memorabilia and other information for collectors, such as places to find memorabilia. There's also a large forum where you can ask questions and chat with other collectors.
- 3
  Look for oil cans that are in good condition, because these are worth more. Serious collectors look for oil cans that still contain oil, cans that feature bright colors and those that are in near mint condition. You should also look for cans that are unique and older, because these are more rare.
- 4
  Collect oil cans that appeal to you, rather than ones you think you should own. There are thousands of different oil cans available, but unless you have a lot of space, buy only those you like and have room to display. Some collectors buy only those from a certain era, such as World War II, while others specialize in a certain company, such as Mobile.

Antiques