Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Gas/Oil Leather & Metal Tags-Usage & Age

I was wondering what the oval leather tags and the skinny metal & brass rectangle tags were used for? I am assuming that the leather tags are older??? These were in a box in a storage compartment when I bought my 1938 Chevy Shell Fuel Delivery Truck. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks, Bill

Leather tags are left overs from WW2

I am most likely wrong, but I believe they designated valves, piping and possibly tanks at refineries and bulk plants. They sell for fairly good money on ebay, especially the brass tags.

Used on the tanker trucks, to identify the product in the tank. A truck would make numerous deliveries each week, sometimes gasoline, sometimes kerosene, sometimes solvent. The loaders would tag whatever valve, with the needed tag. Modern trucks, which carry a less diverse range of products, have rolling labels, like a James bond license plate.

Where are our "Suicide Jockeys" when we need them?

Bill that is a added bonus with the truck

These look mostly like valve and pipe tags, like Bob mentioned.
They still use them today, but most are aluminum now.
The Leather ones were probably used mostly on Oil Dispensers. (lubesters). Don't think they would weather well outside.

The old truck tags we use to use were quite a bit larger.
We use a dial on ours now that can be set for 12 different products. Some trucks use the rolling labels.

The early tankers hauling motor oils probably used them too.

Chuck

Like Gaspedler said these are tank identification tags. tank drops ,and pipe line valves and lubesters. Any thing and product that needed to be identify to keep drivers and bulk plant employees from putting the wrong product in the tank.

I've also seen them attached to 5 gallon bulk cans and 50 gallon drums in a bulk plant.Dick's correct about the leather ones they were made from leather during WWII to conserve metal for the war effort.