1951 M38 Fuel Can

[Rod]

I am completing a restoration on my June 1951 M38. This process has taken me 33 months and I will hopefully complete this process before September 17th. I need to know which of the two following Fuel cans would be the "best" to put on the back of my Jeep. Both of the cans are in very good shape and are dated 1951.

The stamping cans as viewed with the spout at the top left corner.

Can #1 has:
"USA" stamped in the lower front side
"G" stamped in the upper front side
"G" stamped in the upper back side
"QMC" stamped in the lower back side

Can #2 has:
"US" stamped in the lower front side
"G" stamped in the upper front side
"G" stamped in the upper back side


Which can would add the most in value and history to my M38?

[Mike Wright]

Rod,
Congrats on getting your M38 just about finished! AS for the cans, I would go with the QMC marked can. I have @ 30 cans and based upon what I can acertain, it appears to me that in or around 1951 is when the markings on the cans deleted the QMC marking. So since you have 1 can QMC marked and the other not QMC marked and both are 1951 production, I would say the QMC is earlier and (depending on your DOD) probably in stock when your M38 was delivered.
HTH

[lucakiki]

Rod,all that Mike said is right.On the other hand the second kind of stamping,which dispensed with QMC,and changed U.S.A into U.S,is what makes the visible difference in comparison to war time cans,which would arguably score a plus.My suggestion is that you keep both,and use one or the other as you feel in the moment.