I started collecting Minnow Buckets after my Grandfather passed away and I got all of his fishing gear. He only had two, but I remember toteing them to the fishing holes growing up.

 Minnow buckets can take up a lot of space to display, but mass produced ones' came in two basic sizes. The standard bearer is the 8-quart (two-gallon), or No.10 size. These (almost) invariably consited of two seperate pieces. A (generally) solid round exterior made of either gavinized steel or aluminum that held a form-fitting inner perforated bucket. Both had handles. Early examples featured solid wood handles on each piece. Later models ( post -1970) were generally made of plastic. These handles being intact effect the buckets' value. The other size are what are refered to as "Wading Buckets".  These are generally from 6" tro 8" high, have no inner liner and were made to sling over your shoulder while fishing in a stream.

 Pre-WWII Minnow Buckets are rarer and can command prices of over $200 to $300, depending on condition and rarity. Homemade ones of this era are generally not collected and their value is more in the "folk art" relm. One company, Falls City, based in Montana, did commerically produce Minnow Buckets with theirs' and other companies names on them starting just after the turn of the century. These products are considered "Antiques" and can go for up to $1000.00 plus.

 The Minnow Buckets that most people collect are post WWII. Falls City, Old Pal and Frabill are the leading names among these. Adding to the confusion is the fact that these companies also made buckets for other businesses. Value is generally a result of graphics, condition and availability. Also effecting value are paint color, and any additional tooling on the bucket such as raised areas and embossing. These are much rarer as the extra steps involved in their manufacture added to the cost of production so fewer were ever made.

 Fakes have only recently become a problem in the on-line auction world. Several Chinese knock off's are being produced, most notebly the rare 1955 - 58 Lucky Waters series have turned up on ebay. Protect yourself by checking the sellers's feedback. or write me with a link or a picture and i'll give you all of the information that I know. I own almost 200 examlpes and am currently working on a reference book to be published later in 2009.