Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Cans: Value in full?

My question is simple enough. After doing this a couple of years I still cannot decide if there is a real premium added to a can in it's full state (unopened with original contents) or is this purely an individual preference with value in their own mind?

Welcome to old gas Lordparaffin. I believe it doesnt affect the value of a can by emptying it. Most large can collectors I have talked with feel the same way. I have run into a couple of people who only collect full quarts though. Personally I prefer my quarts drained.

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Hubba the GAS GEEK , OIL FREAK of Shoreline WA

I also welcome you Lordparaffin. I agree with you Hubba on the drained cans. All of mine are empty. Some people won't buy it unless it is full though. I have even heard that people will buy empty and refill them.

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Scott in Kansas City
quarts@mindspring.com

Hey there Lordy

Good question that I had years ago. My opinion is that the value is based on the appearance of the can. If I get a mint can and it is full, I carefully empty it from the bottom and wash it out. There is no good reason to keep it full. Good reasons to empty the can are 1. old oil can leak and make a mess 2. old oil can eat through the can and ruin the can, especially with paper cans. 3. Weight 4. Fire, you do not want to have a house or garage fire and feed it with oil. and 5. with that said, insurance, if you have alot of full cans of oil in your house, your insurance company could void your insurance. I am sure some guys would prefer a full can over an empty can, but not most of the guys I know. Once the can is on the shelve, I can't tell if it is full or not. Lets see what the rest of the guys think.

Craig

hi and welcome... its a 2 way street.. some want em' full and some want em' empty.. either way it doesn't detract from value.. people (me), like em' for the colors or graphics.. thats where the value comes in ... also.. drop a full tin can... kiss it goodbye ... and... these cans are displayed in my house so its simple and sane reasoning to empty them.

I just finished selling several cases of Sinclair oil cans on Ebay and I gave the buyer the choice of wanting them full or empty. I charged a couple extra bucks for shipping on the full ones. My findings on this was most people wanted them FULL and paid the extra shipping. I had emptied a few before I started and they sat around for a while before they sold. Also seemed like they sold better if people had a choice on full or empty. I have kept my personal cans full but have thought about draining them but once drained there is not much chance of refilling them. So what do you do??

Unless its a rare or highly desireable can drain them.

Over the past several years its become much more common for collectors to drain their cans. Must guys prefer both ends in the can, but contents don't matter too much.

The biggest reasons for draining are leakage, and to lessen the likelyhood of damage if you drop a can.

I don't see fire as a big issue. Did you ever try to get oil to burn? It isn't easy. LOL.
If your house or shop is already burning hot enough to ignite motor oil there isn't much chance of saving anything anyway.

I've had several home owners insurance carriers and I've never had a policy that said anything about storing flammible liquids......but there are guys that swear their policy limits the amount they can store. A collection of beanie babies is much more of a fire hazard than sealed oil cans.

I drain my cans from the top and wash them out with a combination of Brasso, liquid dish washing soap and water, followed with a rinse with clean water. Why drain from the top? If you drain from the bottom you have to be 100% sure the can is totally drained and dry. If you drain from the top you don't have to wait for that last drop of rinse water to drain. It can evaporate while the can is displayed.

RE: Keith's experience selling cans. The cans he was selling were composite Sinclair cans. My guess is most of the buyers were newbies or Sinclair collectors and expected the value to be more if the cans were full.

There are several guys that can re-lid metal quarts. (Did anyone else see Rich, Gene and Mike re-lidding cans at Peotone during set up? They should have charged admission. It was kinda like the Three Stooges. LOL).

Welcome LP!! Flyingaman hit the nail squarely on the head with his points. Also kmann mentioned drop a full can & you have a dented, crushed & possibly leaking can. Drop an empty can & see how many times it will bounce with little or no damage!!!

I have a question regarding draining a full can;
Which end do you punch and what kind of a punch pattern?
Sounds silly but you just get one shot at doing this "alteration".
Thanks!

Neal Dunn gpf

Neal,
Some guys drill small holes in the bottom. I prefer to open mine from the top. I use a church key.
Bob

Casting my vote for full cans. I have some emptys, but most are full. I just like to pull a nice can off the shelf once in a while and hold it and look at it. I just like the feel of a full can. I don't plan on dropping one.

Vern

Ok, I just have to give my two cents here too. Many years ago when I started collecting cans, I realized that I'd never be able to get all the cans, and if I did, I'd never be able to find a place like Fred's that was big enough to store them all. So, I decided that to "limit" my collection the cans had to fit two criteria. 1- they have to be metal cans. I have one composite can, it was a gift, and I can't get rid of it. 2- they have to be full. I have passed on some remarkable cans, and some of them were cheap too at the time, but I passed because they were not full. I often kick myself for limiting my collection in that manner, but it was a conscious thought, and I've stuck by it. Yes, I know I could have had the empty one's refilled and lidded, but it just didn't seem the same.
When most people look at my collection, I can see the wonder in their eyes, but when I hand them that first quart can, they hold it in their hands, and I tell them that every quart can they are looking at, is full, has never been opened, and explain how difficult it is to find a full can after this many years. Now they are EXCITED ! The look in their face changes. Now they get it. This is History! Saved History. It gives me that "warm and fuzzy" feeling that I've converted another uninformed person. Could it be done with empty cans? I'm sure it's the same, some great examples of old logos and images. Like I said, I've kicked myself many times, but it works for me. As far as value? I'm with the rest of you guys. It doesn't matter one bit if they are empty or full ! to anyone but me.

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Don "oltoydoc" Sherwood
Vintage Gas

Where have I been???????? I collect a lot of cans and have drained all of them that were full. If I plan on resale for the can I leave it full for the buyer to decide what they want to do. For all the REAL can collectors and by REAL I mean you have to have a minimum of 1000 cans. I find all guys I know drain them. Yes it takes a lot to get oil to burn but when you do it's hard to stop. My insurance would not cover me if I had a 1000 full quarts. I prefer to drain my quarts with a small nail on the bottom and let them drain for a couple days. I then clean with spraying a mild cleaner in the small hole. Let it drain some more and away you go. As for full cans if you ever drop a metal one you will figure out why you drain them. I have collectors insurance which covers if the cans I haul to swap meets or some not so careful lookie-loo drops one and damages it. Do what ever you want but thats my 2 cents. Ted Big time can man.

Hi I have almost 700 5 qt cans all empty- thats why most of them survives as many are without lids- were used for maple Syrup nails etc- weight would be tremendous if full- if I ever had a fire it would take a week to put it out- would most likely make the top ten in Toxic dump sites- If I have a decent full quart for sale I leave it full as some collectors like it that way- I have dropped a few 100.00 cans and ended up with a 20.00 can- A lot depends on wher you keep your collection- if in an area - garage- barn etc that gets great swings in temp and humidity full cans will sweat and rust along bottom edge if not wiped off ea time- Just my thioughts- don

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Wanted 5 quart cans

I think this an awsome forum and never dreamed of such a place as this! I thank everyone for all the feedback.
Can I assume then that small drain holes are good while large holes from oil spouts or other such devices are on a can by can basis? I know that graphics are the lure, but tops and bottoms do have wonderful embossings to offer and even add to the nostalgia of the item. So if they have been cut into, does this detract or is this an acceptable flaw?