I can’t say for others but for myself Darrin even back then I never really had a lot of “bulk” finds. It was usually a little bit at each stop. Whether it was a week road trip thru 3 or 4 states and 3500 miles or just a day or 2 jaunt to a swap meet. It might sound like there was stuff behind every corner but that’s not the case. You might knock on 25 doors and get nothing that day or spend 3 hours looking thru junk to find one or two things to buy that you shouldn’t have bought but felt guilty wasting some guys time.
Definitely there was more around back then but I see that also as a generation thing too. The old boys never threw anything away as they usually grew up with nothing.
Now first thing their kids or grandkids do is Clean Up. Need all new building’s equipment etc. So your cans and antiques are buried in the ground. I could go on with EBay and picker shows, etc but will leave it at that.
Don’t get me wrong it was and still is a thrill like no other to find something to put in the garage.
But I am a firm believer in the old adage “The harder you work the Luckier you get”

Wanted early tin litho signage.
petro, farm, auto, etc.