Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Old VARSITY neon sign - value?

I have this neon Varsity sign. It measures 30" wide by 18". All the tubing is intact but I don't know if the gas is still there as I don't have a ballast. Anyone know what its worth? Any offers?

I'm in Lancaster, PA and would not dare try to ship this so it's either pick-up or for enough cash I'll deliver within a few hours' drive.



Click thumbnail to go to larger image.

I collect stuff from the Varsity company and love the sign. But I'm in St. Louis, MO, not exactly a short drive to Lancaster, PA. Wish we could work something out.

You can take the sign to a neon sign shop and they can test it in one minute with a tool that lights up the neon through induction without hooking up any wires. The shop near me does the test for free while you wait. Take your camera with you and snap a picture while they light the sign for a few seconds.

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Jim "Oldgas" Potts
Your host and moderator

Neon shop.... duh, never thought of that. I'll do that this week and post the results.

Has anyone seen one of these anywhere else? I'd still like to know what it's value is.

Jim,
If you buy the sign it will give you an excuse to go to the Carlisle/Hershey swap meets in the fall.
Jack Sim

The guy at the neon shop was amazed, as was I. After a quick test he insisted on hooking it to a transformer to see it fully lit. WOW. He also said it was "the work of a master" and added that the colors used can't be duplicated any longer.



Any ideas on value now?

It is worth whatever someone will pay.

Hard to put a value on this one if the name is not nationally known or sought after. It is very nice, but how desireable?


That being said, if Jim makes a Deal with you I hope for the following;

That someone that reads OLDGAS, helps out and does their utmost to get the sign to Jim , intact.. he deserves it!

I will even chip in to help him buy it..dodogas

I'm with you dodo.... I would really like to see Jim get it as well..... there is nobody as deserving as he is..... count me in for adding $$ to the get the sign for Jim campaign.....
bob

That is a sweet sign...We could relay team that puppy all the way to MO slicker than grease on pumpshaft. I'd get it from Steve and deliver to Columbus, OH. Oldgas roadtrip!

Hi, Varsity was a exclusive product line of my favorites Manny, Moe and jack The Pep Boys and was sold in all their stores. Awesome sign great find.
Erik

Pep Boys it is! This photo is from the 1930's and shows the Varsity brand just as it is on the sign. The thumbnail leads to a nice big version.



I still don't know what to ask for it, but it's clear that you've all decided that Jim's gonna be the buyer I know signs of this age and quality are very rare, but the dealers I've looked at aren't consistent with prices, ranging from $1000 up to over $5000. It looks so arbitrary!

Any "experts" out there please put your two cents in. All I can tell you is it's 1930's-40's, it works, colors are rare, and it's made from only two tubes. "Varsity" is one tube and "guaranteed auto products" is all one tube. The neon guys who tested it said that signs this complex and old are super tough to find intact.

I will chip in for the Jim neon sign fund for sure...He really should own this...he deserves it

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Hubba: GAS GEEK , OIL FREAK and humble moderator

This sign looks nice for sure. My .02 here, if the neon was attached to a porcelain sign with the same script I could see asking $1k plus for the sign but without I would pay less then 1k. Sure it is cool and and the glass was made with workmanship that is not available today but does that make it worth 5k? In following the auctions I do not see many neon's without a sign going sky high. Keep us posted on your outcome.


Scott

Lets not get carried away guys. I like the sign. But I think Scootdog has it right. Since the sign is tubing only with no graphics or porcelain sign, it isn't worth those big bucks in my opinion.
The Ditzler neon sign I got last year on eBay has die-cut porcelain lettering and a neon backlit reverse paint sign attached. I got it for $580.
But I do like that sign...

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Jim "Oldgas" Potts
Your host and moderator

As I understand it the sign was meant to hang in a window, and hence was back-less to allow viewing from inside as well. This looks very cool, but also makes breaking it 1000 times easier and makes this one's survival all the more amazing. In any case I can't find another neon Varsity sign of ANY kind out there. Jim must have them all It's a possibility that this is the only one, or at least one of a very few.

I could probably do more research and find a venue where I could make some really nice money off of this, but you guys all wanting Jim to have it so bad that you'll chip in and Jim himself on the verge of dehyrating from drooling too much is all killing me.

I'll take $1,000 even for it. Professional crating and shipping is another $200. If you guys honestly want to pass it down the road like an Olympic torch I think that's very cool and will want to see photos.

Oh, and Jim has to promise never to sell the sign.

Put the sign on ebay to determine that value if you are really interested in selling it. My guess is that you will get 4-600. Another avenue would be to contact Aumann Auctions or another auction house to consign it. You will have to find the 'right' guy to pay 1k for it but I hope you do!

Scott

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[This message has been edited by bettin (edited 08-22-2005).]

Ebay auctions sell, on average, for 50% or less of their "real world" value, so that would not speak to what the sign is worth to a collector buying from a dealer outside Ebay. I buy stuff on Ebay frequently and sell it at an Antiques mall here for 3-4 times what I paid for it or more.

Duplicating the sign get you a replica. I got a quote from the neon sign maker in fact, as I do really like the sign. He said to do an "exact" copy would be $600 minimum and the colors can't be matched because the chemical used then can't be legally used now.

I agree completely with the shipping issues. The guy I know who sells a lot of neon said he does it all the time, but I'd be sweating like crazy. However, it can be securely crated by a custom crate house here for $50-$75. If the Oldgas gang really wanted to do a road relay to MO. this would make the effort safe and viable. I may not trust the UPS guy, but someone taking this personally to a friend in a custom crate... I think we could all agree that chances would be very slim that anything would happen.

I had a neon shop 40 ft from where I worked for quite a long time, plus I know another neon maker.
A few comments; colors as far as I know are derived by type of tube coating, color of gas and combinations of the 2. Now some glass used mercury or other coatings, which may not be in use anymore. So if it is a rare color it may be the tubing.

Now this sign appears to have a continuous tube on the varsity word, however it looks to me like that tube is built from at least 3 pcs. The joints I can see from here are bottom of the V, , top of the T, and bottom of the Y. Now that may be good because if it breaks and you can find the tubing it can be repaired. I cant see any joints or welds on the lower words, but those are doable in 1 piece while the top word would be very difficult.

By old type work they likely mean the type of bending, some are still capable of that kind of work, espescially if they were trained by a very old or already departed gl;ss bender.

If you want to see difficult, my buddy has a motorola sign, the motorola is in Script, I believe about 16 inches overall length.. now that one is difficult to get done these days!..I will see if I can find a link to it.

Proper crating is a must, not showing a bidder or buyer that it will be properly done will affect pricing, im my opinion.

Good and different points as usual, part of the fun.
If it were my sign and I did not want to keep it I'd put it on ebay and not expect it to go to $1000, but you never know..the best price would come from a couple of Pep Boys collectors that wanted it, and they might want it bad. It seems to me ebay brings higher prices than an antique mall for a special item like this..how many Pep Boys collectors would walk into that mall?

Shipping would be dangerous no matter what and neither the seller or the buyer would jump up to claim responsibility, but seems to me the buyer has to abide by the sellers terms, like if you want it it's your responsibility to pick it up or make arrangements you are comfortable with.
And what good is insurance with something like this? If it's broken you end up with something that is no longer completely original, and we know nobody pays off if they can say it was not packed properly, and that's what they would say.
Maybe the relay idea is not a good one, especially since I've only owned one neon and I broke it! (beer sign) Hows that for comfort level?

Good luck to all!
(All above and forever more stated in the future is my opinion and subject to change without notice.)

Shipping is not as big a hurdle as packing it properly..

Ebay is not "Real World" pricing?? I think ebay has shown may items are not as rare as once thought and are overpriced in the marketplace. Why would someone go and pay 3 or 4 times more somewhere when you can buy the same thing on Ebay for much less? In my opinion Ebay is Real World.

This topic is becoming similiar to the pumpjockie thread regarding the visible.First you solicit an opinion about the value of the sign,then you determine on your own it's worth a $1000.Now it's a debate to see what it's worth.I say move this thread to "For Sale or Trade".

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Sorry been busy the last week & didn't have time to deal with this.

We could argue about Ebay all day, but the truth is that Ebay values are "bargain basement" and that's why Ebay thrives. The "second chance" spoof thread also says alot on the subject of how great a venue it is.

ANYWAY I would like to see Jim get the sign as much as anyone at this point. He loves it, and it really is a great rare find for his collection. If you guys are really willing to help him buy it like you say, I'll drop to $700 if you guys figure out how to get it to him.

Thought I would throw another log on the fire here. Ebay is "bargain basement" prices?? That's pretty funny. From an antique shop's perspective I get where you're coming from. The antique malls in my area have been reduced to glass shops because Ebay has made the world a smaller place. Collectables are much easier to find. It pushes the prices up for truly rare pieces and it appropriately places value on the not so rare pieces. The mom and pop stores have had to deal with Walmart. The mom and pop auto parts stores now have Autozones to compete with. As a former independent gas dealer the conveniencer stores drove me out. And now the antique shops have Ebay to contend with. It's America.