Royce's SPAM collection: more evidence of hoarding behavior

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My collection of Hormel SPAM cans began as a joke.

I was working on an anti-spam project at work, and some friends bought me a regular can of SPAM for my cube.

Then someone else brough me a second can, but it was ... different from the first one.

And I thought to myself ... "Well, just how many different kinds of SPAM are there?"

Things sorta snowballed from there.

• The Collection
• The Usual Suspects - edible items in the collection
• Non-edible items in the collection
• SPAM on the Lam - list of wanted items
• Suicide Pill - why I don't eat 'em
• Other collectors
• Links

The Collection

Here is my collection as of September 2015 - 101 unique cans and packages (food only)):

Royce's SPAM collection, 2015 by Royce D. Williams (CC License).

Feel free to use this photo of my collection of Hormel SPAM cans - the more, the merrier!
Please attribute it to me, with a link to this page. Here is the license:

This image of Royce's SPAM Collection by Royce Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 US License.

• Please link to this page in your attribution as "Royce's SPAM Collection" (or just "Royce SPAM" if you're short on space).
• You can use http://xrl.us/rspam as a short URL. Share and Enjoy!

I've seen the photos of my SPAM collection around the web - in PowerPoint presentations about email spam, on blogs and forums, on Photobucket, and in other places. Here are some older pictures of my collection, under the same license, with links to other people using the photos:

• 2013-12 - 49 unique cans (search web for current filename)
• 2007-06 - 21 unique cans (search web for current filename) (old)
• 2005-04 - 14 cans (search web for current filename) (old)
• 2003-03 - 10 cans (search web for current filename ) (old)

The Usual Suspects

Here is the lineup of what is in my collection as of December 2013, with credit given (where I can remember):

SPAM "Classic" (regular flavor) 12oz sizes, in a variety of packaging:

• SPAM with "get SPAM stuff" blurb
• SPAM with "Free SPAMMOBILE" offer
• SPAM 70th Anniversary (acquisition)
• SPAM In Honor of Guam's Liberation (courtesy of Michael Jacques of Guam, 2009-09)
• SPAM Island Special Edition (only available in Guam, Spam Kelaguen recipe on the back)
• SPAM Realtree edition (camoflauge brand) (2015 acquisition
• SPAM retro can with key (2015 acquisition)
• Eleven other variants not yet catalogued (2015 acquisition) (

Domestic standard 12oz size, different flavors:

• SPAM 25% Less Sodium (acquisition)
• SPAM 25% Less Sodium - 70th Anniversary (acquisition)
• SPAM 25% Less Sodium - Hawai'i collector's edition (courtesy of Donna Graham)
• SPAM 25% Less Sodium - 2010 can design (acquisition)
• SPAM 25% Less Sodium - Hawai'i No Ka 'Oi edition (acquisition)
• SPAM BBQ (?)
• SPAM Black Pepper (courtesy of Michael Jacques of Guam, 2009-09) - without "Limited Edition" on the label
• SPAM Black Pepper, 75th Anniversary edition (acquisition)
• SPAM with Cheese (?)
• SPAM Garlic (courtesy of Dan Solodon)
• SPAM Golden Honey Grail (courtesy of Pat Whitesell and Keith Riley)
• SPAM Hickory Smoke - Great New Look (acquisition
• SPAM Hickory Smoke (acquisition)
• SPAM Hickory Smoke 2010 design (acquisition)
• SPAM Hot & Spicy (courtesy of Dan Solodon)
• SPAM Hot & Spicy SPAM Stuff (acquisition)
• SPAM Hot & Spicy 2010 design (acquisition)
• SPAM Jalapeño (acquisition)
• SPAM Lite Great New Look (courtesy of Dan Solodon)
• SPAM Lite - 70th Anniversary (acquisition)
• SPAM Lite - Crazy Tasty (acquisition)
• SPAM Lite - SPAM Stuff (acquisition)
• SPAM Lite - 2010 can design (acquisition)
• SPAM Lite - 75th Anniversary (acquisition)
• SPAM Lite - fave other variants not yet catalogued (2015 acquisition)
• SPAM Oven Roasted Turkey NEW! (?)
• SPAM Oven Roasted Turkey - "New Great Taste" (as opposed to the original un-great taste) (?)
• SPAM Oven Roasted Turkey standard can (acquisition
• SPAM Oven Roasted Turkey 2010 redesign (acquisition
• SPAM with Real Hormel Bacon (direct acquisition from Casey Collins, April 2005)
• SPAM with Real Hormel Bacon - 2010 design (acquisition)
• SPAM Teriyaki (acquisition)
• SPAM with Chorizo Seasoning (2014)
• SPAM Portuguese Sausage (2015)

International 12oz size:

• SPAM Arabic (90% Pork warning)
• SPAM Japanese regular (acquisition)
• SPAM Japanese 75th anniversary, two variants (acquisition)
• SPAM Korean regular (acquisition)
• SPAM UK A Great Taste Around The World - 2006 Football World Cup - commemorative limited edition
• SPAM UK 75th Anniversary (2013 acquisition)
• SPAM UK Rugby (2007 limited edition can)
• SPAM UK with Stinky French Garlic (2006 UK edition, taller can, courtesy of Jason Alexander)

Empty cans and banks:

• SPAM Honoring America's Armed Forces
• SPAM Smoke Flavored - 50th Anniversary and Spambled Egg variants
• SPAM Family Size
• SPAM Spamburger!
• SPAM 100th Anniversary
• SPAM Korean with pull top
• SPAM (Spanish can, unknown date)

Different sizes and SPAM-based products

• SPAM - 7 oz oblong with plateful photo (and third-party "IT'S PORKTASTIC" label (a "You Don't Know Jack" reference), both courtesy of Josh Buesseler)
• SPAM - 7 oz oblong with burger photo (unkown source)
• SPAM - 7 oz oblong (five other variations)
• SPAM Lite - 7 oz oblong (two variations)
• SPAM spread - 3 oz round can, four eras (acquisition)
• SPAM Spreaders, three different flavors (eBay acquisition)
• SPAM Single (courtesy of Keith Riley)
• SPAM Single Classic (acquisition)
• SPAM Single Turkey (acquisition)
• SPAM Single Lite (acquisition)

Spamalot variations

I actually have three variations of the Golden Honey Grail, but only one is pictured. They are:

• The empty one handed out at the New York debut of Spamalot (eBay acquisition)
• The full can available only from the factory (courtesy of Keith Riley)
• The full one for sale at the Vegas show (courtesy of Pat Whitesell)

Non-edible SPAM-related items:

• SPAM puzzle (courtesy of Curt Ehrhart)
• SPAM cookbook (courtesy of Ann Fernandez, not yet pictured)
• SPAM-ku: haiku book (?)
• SPAM can made into a coin bank (?)
• SPAMMOBILE toy car (acquisition? - not yet pictured)
• SPAM mug (courtesy of Robert Stiver, given to him by a Hormel employee! - not yet pictured)
• Old-time Hormel SPAM delivery truck (UK, LLEDO die-cast) (not yet pictured)
• SPAM pen (not yet pictured)

SPAM on the Lam

There are a number of variations I'd still like to have in the collection. If you are aware of any other variations not listed here, please let me know!

Standard United States modern cans

• SPAM Lite - multiple alternate designs
• SPAM Operation Education (standard can with small badge)
  
• SPAM Classic with "Book of Spam" offer badge
• SPAM Boricua (Puerto Rico) - maybe limited edition, maybe Tocino variant?
• SPAM Dollar General "$2 Every Day"
• SPAM Black Pepper ("Limited Edition" variant)
• Generic "Pork Luncheon Meat" (packed by Hormel) - the generic version of true SPAM

International versions

• SPAM 1937-2007 "70 Years of Great Taste" 340g (Canada)
  
• SPAM Mild (Korean, maybe also Japanese)
• Japanese - multiple styles
• Korean - Fresh Onion, Mozzarella Chicken, Sweet Potato, Single Classic
• SPAM Black Pepper (UK can)
• SPAM Bacon (UK can)
• SPAM Smoke Flavoured (international variant of "Hickory Smoke")
• Mexican variants Pavo (Turkey), Reducida en Grasa (Light), and multiple deviled ("endiablado") types, including regular, Jalapeño, Pimiento, and Champiñon (mushroom)
• SPAM Ma La greatdeals.com.sg

Retired US forms

• Deviled SPAM - multiple sizes
• SPAM with Cheese Chunks
• SPAM Family Size
• SPAM Smoke Flavored ('70's edition)
• SPAM Special Economy Label
• SPAM Special Spamburger can edition (1997)
• SPAM round soup-sized can

Non-standard formats

• SPAM Spread
• SPAM 7oz Lower Sodium (25% and 50% versions)
• SPAM Spreaders - multiple formats - original, bacon, black pepper (British)
• SPAM Fritters (launched 2006)
• SPAM Single Classic (updated version of the one in my collection)
• SPAM Single Turkey (both with and without the word "Turkey" in large letters)
• SPAM Single Lite
• SPAM 25% Extra Free (British)
• SPAM 50% Extra Free (British)
• SPAM Spread Snack Kit
• SPAM Spread with Pineapple (circa 2003) (Australian?)

Non-food items I'm interested in

• Spam 130pc Puzzle - same can size.
• Spam Dice Game - same can size.
• Spam Crazy Eights card game - same can size.

But of course, I'll never get them all.

Suicide Pill

No, I don't actually eat them! But since I'm allergic to eating birds, the office joke for a while was that I could take one for the team by popping the top off of a can of Turkey and wolfing it down before being interrogated by the competition (if they broke into our building in some act of physical corporate espionage).

Other collectors

• Mr. Whitekeys has a much larger SPAM collection than I do.
• The guy who writes the Splenda Sucks blog apparently has a much larger collection of canned meat, including SPAM variations that I don't have and an amazing pre-1937 Hormel Spiced Ham can.
• Flickr user 2yay has a SPAM collection.
• Flickr user spamburger has quite a SPAM cube.
• Gerry Freed has an amazing SPAM collection.
• Troy Nunnelee collects SPAM.
• Facebook user Mike McCutcheon collects SPAM.

Links

• foodists.ca is where I first found out that there was a special SPAM for Guam.
• Disturbingly, there are SPAM Hot Dogs in Hawaii (official Hormel link)
• History of the SPAM Brand from Hormel.
• The SPAM UK site has some historical timeline information.

Fellow sufferer Gerry Freed assembled this list of official Hormel SPAM sites and Facebook pages.

• SPAM USA https://www.spam.com/
• SPAM China http://spamchina.com/
• SPAM UK http://spam-uk.com/
• SPAM Australia https://spambrand.com.au/
• SPAM Philippines https://spam-ph.com/
• SPAM Japan https://www.spam-jp.com/
• SPAM South Korea https://www.cj.co.kr/en/brands/spam
• SPAM Canada https://www.hormel.ca/brands/spam/

• SPAM US on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/spambrand
• SPAM UK on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/spambrand
• SPAM Australia on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/spambrand.au
• SPAM Japan on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SpamJapan
• SPAM Philippines on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/spamcanph
• SPAM South Korea on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/spam.korea
• SPAM Museum on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pg/SPAMMuseumMN

Thanks to all enablers friends who have donated!

Trivia

Per a Hormel query from a fellow collector:

When did Hormel stop using the KEY on a SPAM can?

Probably in 1989, when the pull tab was added.

When did Hormel start using the side pull tab on a SPAM can?

Originally started in 1967 for a few years, then tried again later, only to eventually be fully discontinued.

When did Hormel start using the Top Pull Tab on a SPAM can?

Started in 1989.

Royce D. Williams (royce@tycho.org)
https://www.alaska.net/~royce/spam/
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