Authentic 1979 Energy Crisis "Half-Gallon Pricing" Gas Station Pump Sign
Rare Stamped Metal Double-Sided Insert — Genuine Barn Find
(Free Shipping for Domestic U.S. Buyers)
Up for sale is a true mid-century barn find: an authentic 1979 energy crisis gas station pump sign, discovered wrapped up safely inside an old potato sack. Finding a metal version of this sign is extremely rare. This appraised at $325 to $375. I'm currently taking offers on this piece. Also considering interesting trades in comparable value, antique toys or WW2 memorbilia is of interest. When I first got this sign, I couldn't understand exactly what it was trying to say, eventually I talked to someone from the Peterson Auto Museum and they were able to give me some context...its a oddball piece of automobilia that I've never seen another exact example of.
**HISTORICAL CONTEXT:** During the 1979 oil crisis, gasoline prices skyrocketed past $1.00 per gallon for the first time in American history. Because older mechanical gas pumps were physically incapable of computing past 99.9 cents, stations temporarily switched their pump computers to calculate pricing by the half-gallon. This sign was mounted directly on the pump island to inform frustrated drivers to double the price shown on the pump face. The strict, official wording on the sign was to show customers that the double-pricing policy was an official system, not a scam by the station owner.
Metal examples of these temporary signs are extremely rare, as most were made of cheap cardboard and thrown away.
**SIGN FEATURES:** • Material: Stamped metal construction, typical of 1970s service station pump inserts.
.jpg "s-l960 (31).jpg
Views: 172
Size: 73.97 KB")
.jpg "s-l1600 (32).jpg
Views: 170
Size: 72.63 KB")
.jpg "s-l960 (32).jpg
Views: 170
Size: 43.36 KB")
