hirsca Posted August 25, 2013 Share #1 Posted August 25, 2013 Recent find. Most pictures that I have seen of the Ethocel canteens do not have the flat topped cap. Am I just not finding the right pictures, or is this variation more scare? Value? Thanks in advance, Al. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hirsca Posted August 25, 2013 Author Share #2 Posted August 25, 2013 Back side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hirsca Posted August 25, 2013 Author Share #3 Posted August 25, 2013 Flat top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hirsca Posted August 25, 2013 Author Share #4 Posted August 25, 2013 American Insulator Company, 1943. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgutierrez Posted August 25, 2013 Share #5 Posted August 25, 2013 Al, You may be right that the flat top is a more scarce variation of these type of canteens. The two ethocel canteens that are selling on E-Bay right now are both standard grooved type. I checked past sales and the three that I saw sell since May all had the standard grooved caps. Two of those were also made by AICO. Now having checked that out and discovering that all five that are either on sale now or had sold had standard caps I began to think that maybe someone simply may have switched caps because of a break or crack in the original grooved cap. This, of course led me to think what type of cap I have on my ethocel canteen and who made it. After checking I found that my canteen is also made by AICO and also has a flat top cap. My canteen is in nearly mint condition and believe the cap and canteen are original to each other. So it may be that flat top caps are scarce to rare and may be that they are only made by AICO. The ethocel canteens that sell all seem to be over $100 with the highest price that I have seen for just the canteen alone was $175 in near mint condition with a standard grooved cap. I really can't remember what I paid for mine, but I am certain that I did not consider the cap style when I did. CG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hirsca Posted August 25, 2013 Author Share #6 Posted August 25, 2013 Thanks CG. I'm doing more research, but have not found anything new yet. Appreciate the info, seems like we have twins and possibly a precedent. Thanks again, Al. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Jerry Posted August 26, 2013 Share #7 Posted August 26, 2013 I just happen to be sorting though some wartime magazines and came across this ad-! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorin6 Posted August 26, 2013 Share #8 Posted August 26, 2013 A link to a part of this forum that I can no longer find had a great deal of information on the Ethocel Canteen. One of the descriptive items that I remember is that the 1942 dated Ethocel Canteens have the flat top, and the 1943 dated Ethocel Canteens can have either the flat top or the grooved top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hirsca Posted August 26, 2013 Author Share #9 Posted August 26, 2013 Thanks Mr. Jerry. Great ad. Flat top cap. What is the date of the magazine? Thanks thorin6. So mine would most likely be an earlier 1943 production until the type 3 caps were available??? Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorin6 Posted August 27, 2013 Share #10 Posted August 27, 2013 Thanks Mr. Jerry. Great ad. Flat top cap. What is the date of the magazine? Thanks thorin6. So mine would most likely be an earlier 1943 production until the type 3 caps were available??? Al I suspect that the early 1943 would have the flat tops, and once the grooved tops became available the manufacturers would use both until the flat tops were exhausted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaper Posted October 4, 2014 Share #11 Posted October 4, 2014 That makes a lot of sense, considering what I have seen and also what I have on hand. The '42s I have seen pics of in M-NM condition all had flat caps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browninggunner688 Posted October 5, 2014 Share #12 Posted October 5, 2014 Very interesting topic, I have just dug my ethocel canteen out, it has the type 2 flat cap and is maker marked as U.S. a G.I. 1943 sorry cant post pics of it I paid a little over £90 ( $143 ) for just the canteen, I had been after one for years and two came along at the same show from the same seller, the other one he had was a darker browny yellow, type 2 flat cap, and in mint condition with the paper wrapping he wanted nearly £200 ($319 ) for it, I passed on that one. Nick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronny67 Posted October 7, 2014 Share #13 Posted October 7, 2014 I paid $90 for mine. They usually have a White residue in them, due to the instability of the plastic. Yours looks dead mint. Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaper Posted January 7, 2016 Share #14 Posted January 7, 2016 My 1942 GI ethocel has the type 2 flat top cap (flat, with the reinforcing band around the bottom). My 1943 AICO ethocel has the same type 2 flat top cap. My 1944 AICO ethocel has the grooved 1943-style cap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted January 7, 2016 Share #15 Posted January 7, 2016 I have about a dozen of these over the years and kept a couple.All had flat tops and were the norm more than the exception in my findings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pep Posted January 8, 2016 Share #16 Posted January 8, 2016 My '43 Mack has a flat top type 2 cap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldabewla Posted January 8, 2016 Share #17 Posted January 8, 2016 Here is my two WWII plastic canteens one marked P.I. other Mack 1943's the odd thing is they are totally different sizes. One was a Christmas gift a few years ago and the other was purchased out of a antique shop for $8 inside a canteen rig. These are a two piece molded construction and ether glued together or sonic welded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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