I too appreciate folks that make repos, as long as they clearly identify them as repos.
I respectfully disagree with Powerlube's opinion about "no known" originals. I think a good case in point is the oval Gargoyle Rochester NY signs. I have heard people on this site say that there are no known originals, and that all Rochester ovals are fakes (or, to be more accurate, fantasy items). Other folks believe that there are some originals, but somebody made a ton of fakes. It even looks like there are fakes of the original fakes, as some are very poorly done. I am inclined to believe there are originals out there somewhere (that is just an opinion). I just think that if somebody is going to pass these off as originals, he would have an original to fake. However, we may never know because none of the fakes have dates on them. Now that these fakes or fantasy plates have been out for many years, they have patina and are almost always sold as originals. Now, if there really are a few originals of this plate, the owners of those plates are being robbed of a really rare and once-valuable plate, simply because there are no dates on the fakes.
Now, I used the word "fakes" alot. This is just an opinion. It is quite possible that the guy who originally made these "fakes" was not trying to deceive anybody. He may have just been making a repo or a fantasy piece. If it really is a fantasy piece, it may have been entirely obvious to him that there are no original Rochester ovals, so everybody should know it is a fantasy. That isn't the case now. We don't know for sure if there really were original Rochester ovals. Regardless, they are being sold as originals and people are being deceived.
50 years from now people may not know that decals over metal = repo. That distinction may be lost. It will not be so obvious in the distant future that these are not originals.
I guess the simplest way to say it is that if you aren't trying to fool anyone, there is no good reason not to date them. You don't have to date them on the front where everyone can see--you can date them on the back where they aren't visible when displayed.
Just my opinion. -Tom
[This message has been edited by tagree0 (edited 10-02-2008).]
[This message has been edited by tagree0 (edited 10-02-2008).]
