Vintage spark plugs

[Joe in Canada]

A friend passed and I inherited a box of new spark plugs that came from his grandfathers automotive store that closed in the 60s. Here is a sample of a few of the plugs I got. Any info on usage or rarity would be appreciated. On the end of the box with the dark insulator it says nine lives spark plugs from the Canadian Carbon Co. The second one says all in one  by the Frontier Specialty Co. with a patent date of  Jan 1900 . The other two are different as one has a handle and both are Campion Priming Plug.  The picture on the box does not have a handle I can see so I guess they came both ways. 

  Thanks for any info Joe

Edited March 4 by Joe in Canada (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

The priming plugs are made so you can give the cylinder a shot of gas for easy starting. Some cars had priming cups built into the engine, but these were usually the more expensive makes.

There are spark plug collectors who could give you a line on rarity and value. Or you could look them up online.

[keiser31]

1 hour ago, Joe in Canada said:

A friend passed and I inherited a box of new spark plugs that came from his grandfathers automotive store that closed in the 60s. Here is a sample of a few of the plugs I got. Any info on usage or rarity would be appreciated. On the end of the box with the dark insulator it says nine lives spark plugs from the Canadian Carbon Co. The second one says all in one  by the Frontier Specialty Co. with a patent date of  Jan 1900 . The other two are different as one has a handle and both are Campion Priming Plug.  The picture on the box does not have a handle I can see so I guess they came both ways. 

  Thanks for any info Joe

Sorry about you loss of your friend. Check out the spark plug collections in the Memorabilia section of this forum. There may be someone there who can tell you more about them or may want to purchase them from you.

Edited March 4 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[wayne sheldon]

I don't actively collect spark plugs, and have never seriously studied them. But I do know that all four of those are somewhat desirable.

The picture doesn't show it well, but the first one with the dark insulation looks very similar to a couple early ones that I happen to have. I believe the ones I have, the insulator is a stack of mica discs, one of them was broken when it came to me, so I got a pretty good look at it. Not very common, somewhere in all my stuff, I think I have four or five of them in two different sizes. In my years in this hobby I think I have seen maybe a dozen others. A spark plug collector I spoke with years ago said these were not known for being reliable in use. Might be part of why they are seldom seen?

[marcapra]

Seems like a priming plug would tend to flood the engine.  

[Fordy]

One of my Hupps has priming cups. Much easier to start from cold than the ones that don't have them. It's only a small shot of gas to get it to fire over so no flooding as the supply is not constant.

Steve

[CChinn]

Terry Bond is a spark plug expert and has several posts in the memorabilia section and here. If he sees this thread, he will provide excellent commentary and answers to your questions 

[Terry Bond]

8 hours ago, Joe in Canada said:

A friend passed and I inherited a box of new spark plugs that came from his grandfathers automotive store that closed in the 60s. Here is a sample of a few of the plugs I got. Any info on usage or rarity would be appreciated. On the end of the box with the dark insulator it says nine lives spark plugs from the Canadian Carbon Co. The second one says all in one  by the Frontier Specialty Co. with a patent date of  Jan 1900 . The other two are different as one has a handle and both are Campion Priming Plug.  The picture on the box does not have a handle I can see so I guess they came both ways. 

  Thanks for any info Joe

Hi Joe, thanks for posting. I'm familiar with the plugs. Of course I'd be interested in seeing any others you might have or even adding some to my collection. I'll be glad to tell you all about them and answer any questions you have.

The Champion plugs are called "needle valve" and the earlier versions did come with the little wrench to help open the needle valve. Later teens they used a lever style priming cup like on the All In One. That plug was made initially by the Frontier Specialty Company. Champion bought them in the late teens and eventually dropped that brand name.

 

They are desired by collectors but the Champion and All in One plugs are actually one of the more common brands of them around. NOS with the box examples are always great Of course and that increases their value.

 

The other plug has an insulator made of thin layered mica wafers. It was at one time thought to be great insulation, but better quality porcelain soon proved more practical. It is one of hundreds of different brand plugs made over the years.  It dates from the 29s.

 

I'll send you a PM with my contact info and will be glad to help with values if you decide to sell any. They are good plugs of interest for a collector. 

 

You could also start a spark plug collection. There were thousands of different plugs made over the years.  The more unusual varieties are always great. Obscure brand names are also what us collectors look for. 

 

Looking forward to hearing from you and learning more about your treasures.

 

Terry

[Paul Dobbin]

I have a box of really old plugs, 10-15.   I'll have to get them out and identify them by brand.   I know there are couple Edison Plugs

in there, maybe an  Essex too, I'll check back in on Wednesday.

[wayne sheldon]

Edison plugs numbers 13 and 14 are desirable to model T Ford owners due to the close friendship between Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. Both numbers fit the model T, the 13 is a dual electrode while the 14 is a singe electrode. They came in many slight variations and matching up a set of four is not easy. Other numbers fit other cars, and although more rare, are not nearly as desirable.

[Terry Bond]

Hi Joe, I sent you a message but haven't heard back yet.  Did you get everything ok?  Reach me also at terryaaca at cox dot net if you wish. 

Terry

Edited March 5 by Terry Bond (see edit history)

[Terry Bond]

Enjoyed the chance to talk Joe, appreciate the call.  Looking forward to seeing you at Hershey this fall.

Terry

[Joe in Canada]

Nice talking with you also Terry and will drop by at Hershey for a visit. Also thanks for the info posted above. 

   Anyway the start of a collection seeing I have more than three items if that is the general consensus rule. Using an Alumite display box I am thinking from the teens that I bought somewhere in NY state years ago. Made of wood then wrapped in tin. 

I will have to search the barn as I am sure I have a couple of tin boxes full of old spark plugs I bought at auction again years ago. 

What do people collect in plugs like everything, a brand, country of origin or oddball?? 

 

[Terry Bond]

Your display will be neat. Lots of ways to do it.  I've made some wood trays with soft padding and carpet in the bottom.  When the thick plexiglass covers are screwed in place the plugs are pressed into the carpet to hold them in place.  I've got several of these that are somewhat portable.  I can take them to car club meetings or rearrange them to display as needed.  I've got others mounted in a good-sized wall mounted display I made.  It too has a plexiglass cover to protect the plugs from dust and handling.  I'm in the process now of installing lighting in this case and have plans to make room for a few more similar cabinets.  Still other plugs, especially those NOS in their original boxes or display cabinets are mixed in with other accessory items in my recreated early auto parts store. 

 

Collecting has so many possibilities.  Most new collectors are looking for as many different named plugs as possible.  Newer collectors tend to buy whatever they don't already have.  That's fine if you just want (and have) lots of money to toss at the hobby, but soon you'll realize that having the most isn't a reasonable objective.  Years ago I stopped playing the numbers-game with my plugs.  First question usually asked of a collector is 'how many do you have?"  My reply - I stopped counting at 2000!   From this point, I'm concentrating on the earliest examples, in the best condition I can find.  Having some unusual feature is also important to me.  I've found you can have a collection numbering in the thousands if you wish, but I'd much rather have a smaller and  better quality collection to display. 

 

Another key item in this is to educate yourself.  One of my own personal rules of collecting is to do just that.  Know all about what you have.  There are lots of fakes and fraudsters out there so knowing as much as possible about plugs will be key to avoiding the mistakes collectors often make buying stuff at silly prices that is totally bogus.  Yes, even spark plug collecting is fraught with fakery!   

 

Best way to be a safe and wise collector is to know what the original is supposed to look like, or even if one was ever made that way.  Original advertising can be a great source of detail. 

 

Join the Spark Plug Collectors of America (SPCOA) and you'll have access to loads of info in the regular newsletter The Ignitor.  there is also a great Facebook site you can use to post questions on.  Our club President, Rick Ciccarelli has had a set of four books published that contain period advertising for hundreds of US and Foreign made plugs.  It'll help you to learn dates of your plugs and also what a correct original should look like. 

 

https://spcoa.net/

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/863043883888157

 

i could go on - it's the one thing I've collected longest and am most enthusiastic about. 

 

Looking forward to meeting at Hershey.  The meeting of the SPCOA at Hershey is held at 10:00 Am on Thursday.  It's usually at the flea market spaces of Lanning Baron.  Anno8ncements confirming that will be in the newsletter (The Ignitor) and on the Facebook site.

 

Happy collecting!

 

Terry

 

 

Edited March 7 by Terry Bond (see edit history)