Okay, first off, hello everyone. New to the forums. Thank you all in advance for any help. Couple questions, I guess. Well no, I have a lot. I have a brand new M-150. Original box with all the markings. And a manual, that does not fit in the box. The stamp on end of aluminum, cooking pot/cap I guess, is stamped U.S. Rogers-Akron Ohio 1951. The manual is, "TM 10-708 To 56A-40A-4 Department of The Army Technical Manual." October 1951. The box, which is in fair condition I would say, matches the manual and stove. Now for the question. This is not a coleman M-150, correct? And I saw that limited numbers were made aluminum. So does that add value or deduct? And finally how do it value the entire set? Oh yeah, wrench included.
>>This is not a coleman M-150, correct? Correct. It is a Rogers and as @snwcmpr noted, it's a model M-1950. >>And I saw that limited numbers were made aluminum. I've not heard of cases being made in anything but aluminum. I don't know about much added value, but yeah, it makes it a bit more desirable to have the case, making it complete. What makes that one more desirable is that it's unfired. It's not a rare model by any stretch, but unfired certainly makes it less common. I only know of some canisters being made of steel, but that was during WWII , and I've only found one with an M-1942. I think the military quickly realized that steel was a bad idea due to rust. If you slide the pump tube up and unscrew that lever from it, you will find spare parts in there. The pip and any gaskets won't be any good, but add to its completeness. The spare generator will be good and likely also the pump cup. If you decide to fire it up, you will need to replace the gaskets and the pip. There's an O-ring type gasket under the valve at the top of the fuel pickup that I consider the most critical. If or when it fails, you won't be able to shut the stove down. If that happens, you'll need to wait for it to run out of fuel or smother it. I call these 'Born to Boil' stoves because they heat water so quickly. For morning coffee, I heat the water in the percolator on an M-1950, and then switch to the less powerful 502 for the percolating. Lastly, Oldcolemanparts.com sells gasket sets that will have all you need for that stove, provided you plan to use it. Otherwise, I suggest leaving it. It's easy to bend that fount/tank if not kept perfectly even when removing the valve. I think I've given you far more information than you were seeking.
@Jcra1988 As Jim said, your stove is a M-1950, that is a Stove, single-burner Model of 1950. These stoves were made to a government design, known as a Military Specification, often abbreviated as mil-spec. Different manufacturers was awarded a contract to make these stoves for the government at different times. Rogers appears to be the first maker. The M-1950 was in service until the 1980s. The only steel canisters I've seen are for the M-1941 stove, which is taller than the M-1950. Your canister is often called the F canister because of the shape of the latch on the upper portion. The F canisters were designed to fit either the taller M-1941 or the shorter M-1942 stoves. The M-1950 is about the same size as the M-1942 so they continued in use with the M-1950. Some collectors get all excited about unfired stoves, others see no reason not to put one to use. It is a personal decision. That said, you could certainly get someone to trade you a used M-1950 and canister plus some extra for your unfired one if you want a user stove.
You certainly did. Any input on value? And should I try to fire it. I have 1969 coleman lantern I decided not to fool with and just use it as decor.
If you want an idea on value, I suggest looking at ebay sold prices for an unfired example. Of course, you won't know about the ebay fees charged to the seller on a transaction and I would have no idea because I don't know how to part with any of my lanterns or stoves. I'd be interested in an unfired stove for display, but already have three M-1950's, so I couldn't justify another one. Just a wild guess, but it wouldn't surprise me if yours was worth a minimum of $50 more just by being unfired. It depends on what buyers are looking that day and how deep their pockets are.
Take lots of good, well composed, well lit sharp pics and accurate description, start the bidding today at .99c for a 10 day auction ending about 11 PM PDT on Sunday night. You'll get a good price or market value.
Thank you all for the information. It helped more than you know. I will post an update when something happens with it. I do have one more question. Does anyone here know of a forum or website regarding old military memorabilia? I have a few interesting items I can't find info on. Thank you all again.
