Hi Spook,

There's no best before or expiry date on them, so I personally wouldn't hesitate to use an old oil filter that's perhaps as much as 25 or more years old as long as it's been stored in a reasonably dry environment so the cellulose paper hasn't gotten damp and possibly gotten mouldy or started to deteriorate. A 50 year old filter, maybe not. The paper mounting rubber-like compound inside isn't exposed to UV light and there's minimal air flow to encourage oxidation.

Having said that, the oil filter companies will of course tell you they do have a shelf life, without being specific as to how long that is. They want to encourage you not to trust an old filter so you'll decide to buy a new one just to be safe.
https://www.gopurepower.com/blog/do-oil-filters-expire/#:~:text=We%20have%20the%20answer%20you,do%20break%20down%20over%20time.
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Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now