Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Pure Oil Sign Authenticity

Attached are two photos (front and back) of a Pure Oil sign that I recently purchased on eBay.

The description on eBay included the following:

Vintage Pure Premium Porcelain Sign 1948 Gas Pump Sign Be sure with Pure Antique

Condition:
Used: An item that has been used previously. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections.

Type of Advertising: Sign

Original/Reproduction: Original

Date of Creation: 1948

Country/Region of Manufacture: United States

Pure Premium Gas Pump Sign .

"Be sure with Pure"

Porcelain, made in 1948.

The Pure Oil Company U.S.A.

Measures approximately 10" x 12"

Great condition.

After receiving the sign I would include the following additional description:

Actual size: 10.0" x 11.95"

Pump plate is "lightweight" porcelain and not the normal "heavier" porcelain that I would have expected in a pump plate. The plate is somewhat flexible and not stiff like the normal pump plate - it could easily mold to a slightly curved pump surface.

The back is not the normal white porcelain but almost feels like there is some sort of rubberized coating (black).

What are your thoughts on this piece? Is it a reproduction, phony, authentic, real, or??? Any thoughts will be appreciated.

Please feel free to call or email me if you need additional information to evaluate the sign.

Thank you for your assistance, I appreciate your time.

Terry Kelley
830-431-0358
tnkelley@gmail.com

it might help if you listed the ebay item number.you can tell alot with the info it has about seller, orgin of seller and what he sells.it has no grommets,looks like thicker metal,and the lppks of the back.

Looks good..But need to see it in my hands.. Should measure 10"x12".

Is this the auction and seller ? Ebay # 321874476075 The only odd thing is theres no comma between company and USA in the Pure seal. And the Circle R looks funny.

Original Sign


Sign in question

The eBay item number was 321874476075. Thanks.

You can use the posted item (auction?) number to search for the listing of this item. I have already purchased this item. The seller was Istanfield of Savannah, TN. Thanks

Pure Oil made both thin and thick versions of their pump plates. back side should be porcelain also so scrape or clean off a little of what you feel and see.

This seller may not have known what he had so it could go either way as he's not your normal sign seller.

I go along with Brian that missing the comma seems, weird so either you have a rare original or a new repop that's not been seen around before this as all the repops of this version have squared corners.

The one question I have is are you sure the front is porcelain??

The front does indeed feel like a "thin version" of porcelain, but I am not sure as I am not a sign expert. The coating on the back can be scraped off to reveal shiny metal - does not appear to be porcelain. Thanks. Terry

To check the front, take a small knife point of a razor blade point and scrape a small area. If it scratches and /or scrapes up the color or clear, It's painted or baked enamel.

Without porcelain on the back it's fake.

Is it me or does the ebay mouse over close up of the font look less than crisp, like the letters have all bled to keep from having the sharpness?

I'm leaning toward repop, looks like these Pure plates are filtering into eBay now.

Hate to say it but I agree.

As Mike suggested, I took a small knife point and was able to scrape up a small white chip from the front side - I assume that this tells me that it is not porcelain. The back is definitely not white porcelain. However, the black coating can be scraped off - I assume that this tells me that the back is not porcelain either. I now assume that I probably have a fake and should initiate the process with eBay to return the item as not described - not porcelain, not original, no comma between Company and USA. Anything else that I can use to get my money back? Thanks for your help. Terry

I've never seen a Pure plate that is wavy like this one. I have one that was slightly curved that I questioned for a while but think it was just mounted on a pump with a slight curve to the panel. My original plate like this is white porcelain on the back and has the comma. I have two more original Pure-Pep plates and both have the comma. I have not seen this exact one before but my bet is it is a repop. Just my two cents worth....GB

Terry keep it simple with E-bay....tell them it's painted not porcelain and missing porcelain on the back proving it's not original. E-bay will take your side.

And always remember baked enamel is not the same as porcelain. Porcelain is Glass and that is why when you scrape it nothing comes up. It's also an easy way to check for clearcoat on signs.

Thanks Mike, I appreciate your help. Terry