Socony Mobil "A Mobil Product" 5 Gallon Oil Can with Red Pegasus, Stenciled Arctic Oil 155
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A general Mobil can, stenciled for refrigeration oil
The Socony Mobil "A Mobil Product" five-gallon can is a printed steel pail with a white body, a red base band, a red flying Pegasus and the words A MOBIL PRODUCT in dark blue. The printed design names no product, and the contents were stenciled or labeled on separately, as with the ARCTIC OIL 155 in black stencil letters on the back of this one. The red band gives the net contents as 5 U.S. gallons, 4.16 imperial gallons or 18.92 liters, and 35 pounds, with MARCAS REGISTRADAS, NEW YORK, N.Y. and MADE IN U.S.A. in small print below.
Mobil grew out of two old companies. Matthew Ewing and Hiram Bond Everest founded the Vacuum Oil Company in Rochester, New York, in 1866, and it sold lubricants under the Gargoyle and Mobiloil names. In 1931 Vacuum merged with the Standard Oil Company of New York, known as Socony, to form Socony-Vacuum, which took up the red flying horse. The company was renamed Socony Mobil Oil Company in 1955 and Mobil Oil Corporation in 1966.
That name history dates the can. Two other "A Mobil Product" five-gallon cans for sale print TRADE MARKS REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. BY SOCONY MOBIL OIL COMPANY, INC. around the red band, which puts the design between 1955 and 1966. The art agrees. The Pegasus here rises to the right in the older drawing with white lines through the wings, and Mobil's 1965 redesign reversed the horse, set it on a white disk and made its lines bolder. The blue Mobil lettering also has no red o, which came with the Chermayeff and Geismar wordmark of 1964. The side of this can that would carry the company line isn't shown in the photos, so the exact year can't be pinned down.
Arctic Oil 155 is a refrigeration compressor oil, and Mobil still sells it as Mobil Gargoyle Arctic Oil 155. Today's data sheet calls it a naphthenic mineral oil that is nearly free of wax, so it stays fluid at very low temperatures, with an ISO grade of 32. It is used mainly with ammonia in food freezing plants, cold storage and marine refrigeration. When the 155 grade was first sold couldn't be found. It should not be confused with Mobiloil Arctic, a winter motor oil sold in printed quart cans.
This can still has its dome top, a tall spout with a threaded cap, a second small cap and a wire bail. Five live listings of the same printed five-gallon can were found on October 29, 2026, stenciled or labeled for gear lubricant, Vactra Extra Heavy and other oils, but none for Arctic Oil 155.
Which Mobil can is it?
Mobil used several five-gallon designs, and the logo dates them. From this can and listing photos, checked October 29, 2026.
| Version | Marks | Tells | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Socony-Vacuum and Gargoyle cans 1931 to 1955 | Socony-Vacuum or Gargoyle names, Mobiloil brand | Printed product names such as Mobilgrease or Mobilube | Quart to 5 gallons |
| "A Mobil Product" This design, 1955 to 1966 | "TRADE MARKS REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. BY SOCONY MOBIL OIL COMPANY, INC." on the red band | White body, red band, right-facing red Pegasus, blue "A / Mobil / Product", small Mobil shield badge, product stenciled or labeled | 5 gallons, about 15 in. tall per one seller |
| Chevron-shield cans Later Mobil Oil Corp. | Mobil with a red o | Blue Mobil wordmark in a white shield over red and blue chevrons | 5 gallons |
| Blue and white Mobil cans Later Mobil Oil Corp. | Mobil with a red o | Big blue Mobil on white over a solid blue lower half, small Pegasus disk or none | 5 gallons |
- No red o. Any Mobil can whose wordmark has a red o was printed after the 1964 logo, so it is later than this one.
- Which way the horse flies. The pre-1965 Pegasus rises to the right with lined wings, while the redesign reversed it and put it on a white disk.
- The stencil names the oil. The same printed can held gear lubricant, Vactra oils and others, and one copy prints separate net contents for liquid, grease and gear lubricant.
- Arctic Oil is not Mobiloil Arctic. Mobiloil Arctic was a motor oil grade in its own printed quart cans.
- Restored cans. Repainted cans with new logos exist, and RM Sotheby's sold a 1940s five-gallon can "restored with Socony Mobil Arctic oil logos" in 2006 for $98 Canadian.
A white five-gallon pail with a red base band and a red flying horse
The can is a straight-sided steel cylinder printed white (an off-white, now dusty and stained) with a wide red band around the bottom formed with two rolled ribs, and a thin dark blue pinstripe just under the top rim. On the front a red Pegasus flies to the right with its wings raised, the feathers marked by fine white lines. Below it, in dark blue, the word A sits on its own line over Mobil and then Product, in bold letters with small slab serifs. A small shield-shaped Mobil badge is printed on the red band beneath.
The back is stenciled ARCTIC OIL 155 in black spray-stencil capitals, with the breaks in the letters that a stencil leaves. The net contents and trademark lines are printed in white on the red band below the stencil, with a small printed code above them too small to read in the photo. The top is a dull gray dome with a tall steel spout and threaded cap, a second small screw cap and a wire bail handle hooked into ears at the rim.
- Front: red right-facing Pegasus, then A / Mobil / Product in dark blue, Mobil shield badge on the red band.
- Back: ARCTIC OIL 155 stenciled in black, net contents in white on the red band.
- Top: gray dome, tall spout with threaded cap, second small cap, wire bail.
- Bands: thin dark blue pinstripe under the top rim, red base band with two rolled ribs.
- Base: not shown in the photos.
- This copy: heavy dust on the top, chipped paint and rust spots along the top rim and body, scuffs and stains on the white, the red band scuffed, stencil letters partly faded. Contents and inside not checked.
Front: A Mobil Product Back (stenciled): ARCTIC OIL 155 Red band, back: NET CONTENTS 5 U.S. GALS., 4.16 IMP. GALS., 18.92 LITERS 35 POUNDS, 15.87 KILOS ® MARCAS REGISTRADAS NEW YORK, N.Y. • MADE IN U.S.A.A small code above NET CONTENTS and a tiny line under the address are too small to read in the photos.
- A Mobil Product 5 gallon can
- Mobil Pegasus oil can
- Socony Mobil 5 gallon can
- Mobil Arctic Oil can
- Mobil Gargoyle Arctic 155
- Vintage Mobil oil pail with spout
Copies for sale right now
Five live listings of the same printed "A Mobil Product" five-gallon can, found on eBay and Etsy on October 29, 2026. None of them is stenciled Arctic Oil 155, and the Version column says what each held. These are asking prices, not sales, since eBay's sold prices need a sign-in and aren't here yet. Shipping a can this size adds a lot, so compare delivered prices.
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Who made the "A Mobil Product" 5 gallon can?
Socony Mobil Oil Company, Inc. of New York. Other copies of the same printed can carry the line TRADE MARKS REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. BY SOCONY MOBIL OIL COMPANY, INC. around the red band, and this one reads NEW YORK, N.Y. and MADE IN U.S.A.
How old is this Mobil 5 gallon can?
Most likely 1955 to about 1966. The company was named Socony Mobil from 1955 until it became Mobil Oil Corporation in 1966, the Pegasus is the older drawing that faces right, and the blue Mobil lettering has no red o, which arrived with the 1964 logo.
What is Mobil Arctic Oil 155?
A refrigeration compressor oil. Mobil still sells it as Mobil Gargoyle Arctic Oil 155, a nearly wax-free naphthenic mineral oil of ISO grade 32, used mainly with ammonia in cold storage, food freezing and marine refrigeration.
Is Arctic Oil 155 the same as Mobiloil Arctic?
No. Mobiloil Arctic was a winter motor oil sold in quart cans with its own printed labels. Arctic Oil 155 is an industrial refrigeration oil, and on this can its name is stenciled by hand onto a general A Mobil Product can.
How can I tell an original Mobil can from a restored one?
Look for repainting and new logos, like the 1940s five-gallon can RM Sotheby's sold in 2006, restored with Socony Mobil Arctic oil logos. On this can the lettering, Pegasus and fine print are worn and chipped along with the paint around them.
What is a Socony Mobil 5 gallon can worth?
On October 29, 2026, five live listings of the A Mobil Product five-gallon can asked $34.99 to $185, or about $65 to $185 delivered, since shipping a can this size often runs $15 to $90. These are asking prices, not sales.
- Owner's photos of this can, front and back
- Wikipedia: Vacuum Oil Company, for the 1866 Rochester founding by Matthew Ewing and Hiram Bond Everest, the Gargoyle and Mobiloil brands, the 1931 Socony merger and the 1955 and 1966 renamings
- Wikipedia: Mobil, for Socony-Vacuum (1931), Socony Mobil Oil Company (1955) and Mobil Oil Corporation (1966)
- University of Vermont, Landscape Change Program: Socony and Mobil, for the 1965 Pegasus redesign with bolder lines, the horse reversed and a white disk
- The Henry Ford: Mobil Pegasus Sign, circa 1940, for the older right-facing Pegasus drawing and its use from 1934
- Logo Design Love: Mobil logo, for the 1964 Chermayeff and Geismar wordmark and its red o
- Mobil: Gargoyle Arctic Oils data sheet, for Arctic Oil 155 as a nearly wax-free naphthenic refrigeration oil, ISO 32, used mainly with ammonia
- RM Sotheby's, Toronto 2006, lot N072, for a 1940s can restored with Socony Mobil Arctic oil logos, sold for $98 Canadian
- eBay: "A Mobil Product" gear lubricant can, for the Socony Mobil Oil Company, Inc. trademark line, the same net contents print and the same body and top
- Etsy: Vactra Extra Heavy can, for a second Socony Mobil copy and its 15 x 12 x 12 inch size
- eBay search for "mobil 5 gallon can pegasus" and "mobil arctic oil can", for the other Mobil can designs, the Mobiloil Arctic quart cans and the asking prices on October 29, 2026