Gas Station Trading Stamps are a collectible that are often overlooked. These trading stamps were given with the purchase of gas & oil only usually. They are stamps that were given out most often by discount stations & sometimes just a single dealer, jobber, or distributor. Dealer associations often opposed them & wanted legislation banning or limiting them. From a 1961 Retail Gas Dealers News; Opposing Trading Stamps A 1916 US Supreme Court ruled that trading stamps could be regulated. A 1959 Wyoming bill banning trading stamps was upheld by there State Supreme Court. While 13 other states since 1937 have had there bills banding them overturned. Even the Wyoming bill as did as others allowed stamps that merchants gave & redeemed themselves lawful. So if a dealer or company gave there own stamps & redeemed them the legislation didn't apply. Some states only allowed stamps to be redeemed for cash or products. In 1955, fifty bills were introduced in 24 states attempting to penalize stamps in one way or another. I have a collection of about 100 stamp books covering 75 different brands or locations. Since I worked nearly 45 years for a jobber my collection started with ones I was familiar with.
Speedway 79 was founded by the Sucher Brothers in 1919 in Detroit, Mi. There 1st stations were combination coal yards- gas stations. Sometime after Aurora was founded in the early 1930's, Aurora became half owner of Speedway until 1947 when Aurora became full owner. Note the "Earl's" on one of the Speedway stamp books, Earl was a dealer at the newest Marathon station the jobber I worked for in late 1960's He took over a Marathon station when his Speedway was closed down after the street it was on was changed to one-way. Forgot to mention that when Marathon bought out Aurora in 1959, Aurora was a part owner of Gold Bell stamps More to come.
Monarch was a tank car operation based in Bay City, MI with 5 stations & used a punch card rather than stamps Red Head was based in Wooster, Ohio & bought by Ashland. Wareco was based in Jacksonville, Illinois. Zephyr was marketed by Naph-Sol Refining of Muskegon, MI & had stations in Michigan & Wisconsin.
