For years, Leo Mercer would buy car-shaped Avon after-shave decanters. “Then I’d just stash them away,” he said.

But recently, Mercer decided to get them out and put them where he &045; and others &045; could enjoy them: the living room of his apartment at Senior Tower in Albert Lea. And when he got the decanters out, and combined them with the collection his brother had shipped to him, he discovered he’d amassed well over 100.

Mercer began buying the little cars some 30 years ago, when he was a truck driver. He and his wife knew a woman who sold Avon, and whenever a new one came out, she’d save it for them.

Mercer said he liked them because “all men like cars.”

He’s got everything from a stage coach and steam locomotive to campers, fire truck, military tank, dune buggy, golf cart, Volkswagen bus and Beetles, Thunderbirds and just about anything else one could imagine.

“Everybody’s got a favorite,” Mercer said.

He started to display them first on a corner shelf in the living room. When that filled up, he bought two more shelves to go on either side. Those, too, are now full.

Mercer then got the idea to add even more color to the shelves. He put red, white and blue stripes and paper on the shelves to dress them up. Then he added strings of lights around. “Red, white and blue sounded like a good idea,” Mercer said. “Most of them are American cars, and America runs on cars.”

The collector said most of the cars have the original cologne in them, and he’s saved the boxes in storage. “If they’re in their original boxes with cologne in them, they’re worth about twice as much,” Mercer said. “But they’re not worth much. Avon flooded the market with them. They’re here for me to enjoy.”