Posted 10 years ago
Westtexasgal
(1 item)
My husband and I purchased this oil barrel top recently at a antique store. We love the look of it and plan to turn it into a bar table using glass over the top. Would love to know more about it- if anyone has any info.
Hey Westtexas,
Your drum/barrel top has a lot of interesting information on it (it looks like you have the top 1/3 third of full size 55 gallon drum). Some of it I am familiar with, some not. In the US, the Interstate Commerce Commission required an ICC code (e.g. ICC-5B or ICC-17X) as well as a the trinomial code that states Gauge-Volume Capacity-Year (e.g. 18-55-42) on all metal drums containing hazardous materials like fuel. ICC-5 means that your drum met the regulations for containing petroleum products. ICC regulatory functions were replaced by the Department of Transportation (DOT) beginning in 1969, so drums/barrels made after 1969 have a DOT (instead of ICC) code as well as the trinomial code on all metal drums. Your drum head mark “16-55-23” identifies the drum as 16 gauge steel, 55 gallon capacity and manufactured in 1923. The ICC also required a drum manufacturer name (e.g. Rheem, Myers), or initials (e.g. W&B, PMC Co.), or logo (USS, Boyco). I can see that your drum has an “anchor” logo that I believe is a trademark of the Meurer Steel Barrel Co., Inc. formerly of New York. This means your drum was manufactured by Meurer Steel Barrel Co. for the Gulf Refining Company. This petroleum company ordered a bunch of 55 gallon capacity drums with their name on it. Unlike the lightweight 18 and 20 gauge drums that are made today, these early heavier gauge drums (13, 14, 16 gauge) were expensive to make and so they were meant to be used over and over again, that is they were returned to the petroleum company to be refilled and sent back out. The last number 229204, I am not positively sure what it means, but it is probably just an inventory number so that Gulf Refining could kept track of their drum as it went out full and came back empty.
The Patent (Pat) date of June 1908 simply means that the Meurer Steel Barrel Co. had permission to use that patented drum design for their cylindrical-shaped (verses. barrel shape) drum manufacturing. You will find this same patent date on drums made by different manufacturers well into the 1920s.
Thanks so much for the info drumguy!
Wow and interesting Barrel indeed. I found a full barrel with the similar top on it that was probably from the same Factory the full Barrel. How would I go about finding how much is worth? They really are neat barrels! I haven't been able to find another barrel that's fully intact so I was excited to at least find a top to one