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Do you ever think the repops that are out now might be tomorrow's collectibles? If not, what do you think will (if at all) replace the items we hunt for now? 20 years ago something from the 60s wouldnt have been viewed as worth anything, and today those signs are collectibles too.

Just something i was pondering over today.

Eddy, you're not quite correct.... 20 years ago, items from the 60s, were quite sought after.

We are Collectors of items that for the most part aren't Antique (100 years old and older)... Our items relate directly to the "Birth of the Automobile" and the expansion there of... Most of the "New/Younger" Collectors are not old enough to remember the "Explosion" of growth that happened after WWII into the late 1960s.... Once the Oil Embargo of 1973 happened, things seemed to go in reverse for about a decade.. (atleast IMO)

Gas Stations that were as "thick as fleas", suddenly closed... Taking a slow leisurely Sunday drive and not worrying about using a tank of gas ended abruptly... Gas jumped from 30 cents a gallon to over $1 in a few short months... Lines were at every gas station and one could only buy 10 gallons or less every other day...

As to repops ever being preferred and collected over originals? Depends on who is buying? As now, most Collectors would rather have the "real deal". New Collectors and/or Non-Collectors don't mind a facsimile... As long as it looks fairly close and gives an ambiance they are looking for, there will be buyers for the repops and fantasy items...

Thank God, for that! As long as Non-Collectors are happy buying repops and fantasy... They are NOT in competition with Collectors for "the real deal"...

Since so many Oil Company's and their Gas stations came on the scene so abruptly and so many of them closed just as abruptly. There will always be those who want to own a little piece(s) of that history.... (again IMO)....

Bob has thought this out well.

I think it's more then just advertising, it's an era and a time when life was simpler and everyone took pride in what they were doing. This was evident in every aspect of life from children wearing uniforms to school which displayed pride, gas attendants wore uniforms to pump gas and the list goes on. Policeman, teachers, our fathers were truly pillars of the community. Moms took pride in the home cooked meals and being moms and wives. The quality of materials and craftsmanship, items were designed to last a lifetime and if they broke down they were designed to be repaired versus being thrown out. People had a conscience honesty wasn't an option it was the norm. These items were not designed or anticipated to be collector items and no one thought they would disappear. Anyways you get the drift....

Do you think in twenty years people will be collecting plexi-glass with diecut vinyl letters, Hyundai's or massly produced reproduction signs? I don't think so. Will people romance the 80's and 90's in twenty years. No I don't think so.

Will they still be romancing the 50-60's? I think so. The post World War 2 industrialization and the baby boom of that era will never be replicated again. Those times are gone for ever but will be remembered for ever as the golden years of advertising, music, automobiles and ect. We just need to ensure that our children have the option of being exposed to that great era and history.

I definately agree with you guys and just wanted to add that from what I have seen, anything manufactured with the intent of being "collectible", eventually isn't.

I would say both of you gentlemen thought this out well, and that is the same feeling that got me involved in all of this. To be honest I'm disgusted with the America of today, and much like you said, don't see much to love after the 60s.

I'm only 24, but have done a lot of reading and talking to people about the good times. Sometimes I feel like God put me on this planet 60 years too late. All I have ever heard about the 70s+ is AIDs, Cancer, the white house went to poop, etc etc

Bob I certainly didn't mean to imply the stuff from the 60s wasn't valued. It was a poor example. I just mean that "everyday stuff" of today becomes highly valuable later on in the years. I question whether the America of the past 20 or so years has produced anything worth keeping.

Just like Dave said, I don't see anyone proudly displaying a plastic Honda sign over their garage in 10 years or 100 years.

Very great information from you both in my opinion.

What you are asking is what will be the next great collectible. Back in the early 70s, I had these thoughts, was working on VWs and realized these will be gone soon and people will be restoring them. Started buying out dealerships for the old part, even bought out the five state VW warehouse here in St. Louis. The parts are gone now, but it was a smart decision.

One day I got another bright idea, if baseball cards was such a great collectible, then state lottery scratch off tickets would become a great collectible. The were small, colorful, etc.

About 4 years ago I realized I had over 50,000 cards, also realized there were only about 10 collectors in the U.S., couldn't even get anyone to take them free, just pay the shipping.

I agree with most of what is stated above, but I do disagree that the 50s & 60s stuff will always be collectible. I started collecting things in the 1950s, I was collecting items from the 1920s & 30s. I was really into Model T Fords, now it is difficult to sell one if you have one, people don't remember them.

Look at what the kids are really into today, this is what they will want one of 30 years from now, just to remind them of their youth.

Jack Sim

All "collectables" will die off and a new one will replace it.

How many people in their lower 40's and below are interested in baseball cards any longer? Where has the value in them gone in the last 7 years? In the toilet! Just like everything else.

All collectables will die off when the masses who collected them have either died off or moved on and realized they don't need them taking up space.

All collectables are is: items which people remember from their youth and can now afford, so they get them.

Will the signs of today be collectable? Yes.....to the people who remember them from their youth. Seeing them on the walls of family or friends, or when they went shopping.

Well the 70's and 80's were sure being romanced in the opening and closing of the olympics. Not quite the spectacular I was hoping for...Was anyone else dissapointed?

People are collecting from the 80's now (think movie prop houses). The 50's made a comback for collectors when the movie 'American Graffiti' came out, followed by the sitcom 'Happy Days.' 'Auson Powers' movies and 'Mad Men' have spurned on a couple of crazes for furnishing and fashions from the 60's going into the 70's.

So never fear, the 80's and 90's will have collectable moments. Just wait for the big movie to come out. Might need a couple more decades though...

Here's a thread that started to touch on the future value of KNOWN reproductions.
Kinda wanted to hear more imput, but it was in the value section so maybe less interest.
repop value thread

IMO repros will always be repros and people who are serious about the hobby collect original items. The only reason why repros sell are A. People cannot afford originals B. they want something that looks nice C. They are uneducated. Certain reproductions such as parts, (globes used outside) have a place in this hobby to bring items back to a period correct look and teach future generations what a real service station use to look like. Eventually these barn hanger signs selling for crazy money will drop in value as well as common 50's 60's items. The ONLY reason why these common items command top dollar is, the babay boomer generation remembers them and....supply and demand. With all these tv shows sparking peoples interest the prices in this hobby have sky rocketed. Eventually the bubble will burst and there will be less buyers. Today a collector has to be highly educated on what they are buying. There are many reproduction items the decive many buyers. Quality will always be quality and junk will always be junk. I started out buying barn hanger signs and there is nothing at all wrong with this. This hobby has come to the point that many items are not affordable and one must work very hard to build a great collecton. Buy what you like, buy what you can afford, buy originals, and use this hobby for the true intent...service station history preservation and enjoyment.

Well said..

Repros are not something that all of a sudden appeared back in the 1980s. We have always had repros. Just watch "Antique Roadshow." They are always pointing out that a item is a repro. Sometimes the repros have become collectibles.

My wife and I have been into collectibles, antiques and in my case petro items for going on 40 years. We can pick up an item in an antique store and immediately tell you it is real or it is an repro. We have magazines that were printed in the 1920s that actually advertise items as reproductions of items from the 1890s.

Don't kid yourselves, things are not going to change, people out there are going to continue to make reproductions and not care about stating that they are repros.

Here in St. Louis there is a large warehouse. The name is AAA. I used to buy repro petro signs from them (early 1990s) because it cost me less than buying them directly from the makers of these signs, who were in Ohio.

The first day I took my wife there, she was amazed, she spotted some Nortakie (spelling is probably incorrect) choclate sets. I told her to look at the markings on the bottom, they were repros as was everything else in the warehouse.

I purchased the signs I wanted, they told me to pick them up at the dock. While waiting for the signs I started looking at the addresses of the boxes that were waiting to be picked up. Almost everyone stated, Joe's Antique Store, X Antique Store, Y antique Store, and Z antique store.

There are no antique stores anymore, they are all REPRO stores.

Somewhere that Nortakie Chocolate set is sitting in someone home and that person is telling all their friends that this set is over 75 years old, when it fact is is less than a few years old.

I am 77 years old, I have a head filled with knowledge that tells me if something is old or a repop. To those of you who are getting into this hobby or getting into knowing if something that is presented to you is real or is it a repro, the word I mentioned above is what you need. KNOWLEDGE, KNOWLEDGE, KNOWLEDGE.

You can't get this knowledge asking questions on this site or on Google, you have to get out in the field. There was a time when I was setting up at petro shows 26 out of 52 weeks a year, almost one every two weeks. In between we were attending auctions, even in the early 1990s were buying the contents of storage lockers. Also, there is a bookcase in our spare bedroom where there are over 100 antique value guides.

One last thing, values, I get at least two phone calls or emails per day from people wanting me to tell them what something is worth. My answer: Two years ago we had a family reunion in Gulf Shores, Al. The day before I left, a magazine I purchsed on Ebay arrived, I took a quick look through it and spotted an ad. Got very excited, wife didn't know what I was excited about. I told her this was an ad illustrated by one of the most famous illustrators of the early 1900s, Maxfield Parrish. It was in an auto related mag, and advertised Mazda (GE) bulbs. Within a few minutes I had it on Ebay and because I had no idea what it was worth, I did what I tell everyone, put it on Ebay for $9.99 and the world will tell you what it was worth.

The bidding on this ad ended at %$225.00, why, because I had the knowledge to be able to recognize an illustration by Parrish.

Again, I am back to Knowledge. If you go to a general auction, maybe to purchase a petro item and they have some pedal cars (this happened about a month ago), be sure you know something about pedal cars. You might miss out on the petro items and pick up a pedal car for 1/3 of what it is worth, this also happened and it paid for my spending a day in 105+ temperature.

I have written four books for this hobby, and it really pives me some days that people want me to supply them with a value rather that buy my book. I refuse to do it. Not only my books, but the great books by Benjamin and Henderson will save anyone more money on the first purchase than the cost of the book.

If you are going to get into something, be serious about it, buy the guides that those of us spent 6-8 months of our lives writing.

I apologize for getting somewhat off the subject, but I guess it was just something I wanted to get off my chest.

Jack Sim

I have your books and they have helped me on numerous occasions.

I don't think the repros will ever be collectible, except to those who grew up in those restaurants which decorate with them. I suspect that collectibles in the future will include:
70s: early calculators, handmade crafts, road maps.
80s: clothing, pottery, posters and lamps.
90s: no idea. Perhaps some failed food or beverage product packaging.
00s: newspapers and magazines featuring some of the events such as 9-11. Militaria.
Note that I didn't mention anything petro related, except from the early 70s. So many mom'n'pop stations failed in the gas crisis, and big companies pulled back their marketing areas. Does Texaco resonate with anyone from Illinois or Wisconsin under age 50?

Interesting thoughts there Maps.As it happens,based on reactions from visitors to my place,hopefully with your permission may I add a few things that attract attention.

Transistor radios from the 50's,stereo equipment from the 60's,travel alare clocks that glow in the dark and,heaven forbid,smoking pipes.These are in addition to your lists which I agree with;heavy emphasis on hand made crafts (folk art?)