FROM THE APPLES AND ORANGES DEPARTMENT.

Pictured here is the pump plate about which Old Iron is actually inquiring.
There are two versions of this sold on eBay at present.
One is an obvious reproduction and sold as such for around $25
The others that match this one exactly command around $200 to $350 and are sold as genuine 1940s Shell issued plates. One dealer - nekbe - has recently sold two of these, has over 15,000 (yes, that's thousands) feedbacks, guarantees that he does not sell reproductions, and always has some pretty nice stuff up for auction. I might add that the only negative feedback I saw on him concerned shipping and not authenticity.

The reproductions offered on eBay have smooth grommets, but the one in question here has the older style "daisy" brass grommets. It does not have "made in USA" at the bottom and the back is indeed white (like many other genuine pump plates, e.g. Good Gulf, Texaco, etc.)

Again I mention the temptation to quickly condemn an item without actually seeing it or conducting some research.
So, the question remains, what does this community of experts think of the plate pictured here?