Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Richfield "east coast" quart can

What year(s)could can this be from? It has the number 16 to the right of a C.(has smaller "c's"inside the large one)I just found it the other day & not seeing alot of info on-line. Lots of photos but that's bout it. I noticed the COTM back in april or may of 2005 was Richfield. Still no luck. I'm not looking to sell this beauty just want to put a date on it. Should I re-lid it or leave it? The rust in my blood says let it be. Thanks in advance!

the bottom of it

Well it has the SAE markings. Didn't those start in the 60's?

3 "C" is Continental Can Company.
SAE = The Society of Automotive Engineers, 1905.
In 1933 the round 32oz Motor Oil Can was introduced.
SAE #'s were stamped on lids.
During WW2 to get aviation engines started in cold weather a multi weight was developed.

By replacing the bottom to straighten, I Think I can leave the top in place.

Didn't realize SAE started in the 60's. I'll keep that in mind for other cans. Thanks for the help!

SAE markings were first placed on seal cans in 1933 as Dick said...

The first Standards put forth by the Organization was in 1912... Modern Standards placed on Oil were adopted in the 1920s...

Thanks DB & Bob Richards! That's a good batch of information. The help is much appreciated. It's so close to mint idk what to do! It has me conflicted Thanks again fellas!

I don't have my books in front of me, but you're best clues are in the logo and corporation name. This is pre Atlantic Richfield so find that date of merger and date the logo. I'm sure some of the Atlantic specialists can put it in a time frame. I'm thinking this is from the 50's myself.

Yup. Thanks for clearing me up on that! Looks older than 1`960's anyway. Nice can.

That particular Richfield logo was introduced 1939-1940. The logo continued in use until 1964 when Sinclair (which had owned Richfield of NY since the 1930s) replaced Richfield NY with the Sinclair brand. However, about 1956-1958 a new series of Richfield cans came out, primarily white with smaller logos for both Richfield (regular grade) and Richlube (premium grade) oils. Can dates from between 1940 and 1956. I don't have pictures at hand, but it seems that there are three different versions of this can, with differences in the wording below the logo. I think this is the later version, and at least one of the earlier versions includes the wording "100% Pure Pennsylvania".

Wayne Henderson

It's a Folded seam, mid/late 50's - 80's.

The COTM shows all three cans(4/05). That's where I saw them called the east coast cans. Thanks for the info Wayne! 59fairlane it's no problem. I though it was older at first also due to ebay listings & other random info. But I needed to be sure. I love learning bout "new" stuff.