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I just talked to the gentleman(Burgie) who is selling the sign in question, on the phone. His dime. He is positive that he has a one of a kind sign and I don't know for sure that he doesn't. He said that he has gotten a number of emails telling him it is a fantasy sign, his word on that is prove it. He told me that Texaco said they would buy it sight unseen for $2k. He also told me that a San Fran auction house appraised it for over $10k. Now I can't or won't doubt this gentleman, just relaying what he told me in our conversation. According to the seller(he is part owner) he has at least one party on the Westcoast and a party in Florida who want the sign and have offered atleast $10k. He did say that according to Texaco's historian, all their early reconds, that could verify this sign were lost in a 1950's fire. So they couldn't say if it was an original or not. As of 5:48 pm PDST, there have been two bids on this sign, the high bid according to Thermactor is $3.45. I would have thought that one of the parties from either coast would have put in a offer by now, but what the hell do I know?lol
Bob

I wrote the guy and told him I thought it was a fantasy sign. He wrote me back and told me I was uninformed and had more info on the sign. He suggested I call him and he would give me more info. I'll pass, don't need to get into any arguments.

I also wrote the seller asking him if he would pay for the shipping if i used buy it now ?

Doug

Maybe Ron Bettin or Amistadi can weigh-in and give us their opinion.

Here is the response I received from him.

"Hello, I saw shop talk so what that does'nt mean my sign is fake. E-mail me your phone # so we can talk. I have more info about my sign. Thank you"

I will be interested in if he knows the Texaco historian, becasue I do know him.

Okay, Let's look at just the logo. The sign is trying to spell out U.S. REG. PAT. OFF. Texaco for the most part got rid of that in 1931-1932. Went to REG. T.M. after that. So i guess that Douglas plane is from the 20's or 30's RIGHT ? Hell maybe even the teens. Wilbur and Orville if you look closely are in the cockpit !

The guy is a joke.

Doug

Alex, he(the seller) told me that the historian is a woman and lives in New York. I wonder if his phone call to me broke the bank. It does seem a little strange that a person trying to sell such a rare and valuable sign would want you to call him instead of the other way around. What little research I have come up with, still leads me to believe that Texaco never made a sign like this one, but as my ex used to ask, When have you ever been right? Would like to know if this is a long lost original, tho. The seller said he would come on the site and tells us more about this sign and answer questions about it.
Bob

The DC-3 first flew in 1935. It would have been at least somewhat after that that the sign would have been made, if it were original. If Texaco started using "REG T.M." in 1932, I'd say that casts serious doubt as to the authenticity of the sign.

Wes

I just got off the phone with him. He said that the Texaco historian in New York and California are interested. He said they were both women. I used to deal with a male historian in CA, but maybe he retired. He says they took it to an auction house in San Francisco (?? I think). He mentioned the name Butterfield Auction. They said he was quoted a price of $10K by them. I told him that this sign causes concern because no one has any original pictures. He says Texaco lost much info in a fire in the 50s, but you would think that someone would have a snapshot somewhere. Who knows??? I know I found a Fire Hat (Like the Texaco Fire Chief) and it had a plaque that it was given to Ed Wynn (spokesman for Texaco and comedian in the 30s) and it had the newspaper clippings and notes from an estate. I contacted Texaco and they wanted it real bad. Unfortunately it was already sold when I got back to the antique shop. Anyway, may be has something, maybe he doesn't. He was very polite and seemed sincere. He says he has been getting many nasty emails. I think we should be polite to him and express out concerns in a professional manner. My intent when I posted this originally was to see if it was legit, not harass the guy. Perhaps others who may know of this sign will weigh in.

Alex

[This message has been edited by Alex (edited 08-03-2006).]

I wood go at least 24.14 with Monopoly Money..

...fake, fake, fake...

If you look at the back of the sign I think that tells all. My opinion this is a reproduction/fantasy sign. Joe

SInce I still have questions on this sign and it sounds that others do also. I e-mailed the Chevron/Texaco Corporate office, in care of the corporate historian. Since the seller has used the historian as his authenticating authority, I posed the question to him/her did they say the sign is real and did they offer to buy it? My hope is that once they know that the seller is telling people that Texaco made an offer on it, they will give me a reply letting me know if they do think this is an original sign. I will let you know if/when I get a reply back and what that reply is. My opinion still is that it is fantasy piece, hopefully we'll see what Chevron/Texaco thinks.
Bob

Wheres the proof from Texaco supplied by the seller that they are willing to pay $2k for it?

And if 2 people have offered him $10k for it why didn't he take them up on it? Instead he would rather take offers on ebay and pay ebay fees.

Yeah, I believe his story....NOT

GUYS...this is an Ande Rooney repo from about 10 years ago...nothing more, nothing lose. Don't waste your time trying to substantiate this guy's convaluted story. This is a simple, cut and dried case. I handle repop signs EVERYDAY OF MY FREAKIN' LIFE and this is one!