Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Need Opinions-Texaco Sign-Reproduction?

I bought this off Ebay. It measures 8-3/8".
Everyone I've had before was 8" in diameter.
The grommets don't look right,the metal is thinner,letters look off,color on back doesn't look right. Does anyone out there have one that measures 8-3/8" that they can assuredly say is right? People I bought from are selling a lot of gas and oil stuff.
Most items seem right. I think Ted Roach bought an 8" one that had the black outline T from them. I feel pretty certain that it was a repop as it had only one grommet at the top. I personally have never seen one with one grommet only. I bought sign to resell and have to feel comfortable with it before I pass it on. What do you guys think?





Pat.

IN MY OPINION....if the 8 or 15 inch signs don't have a white back i stay away...mm

Pat the only thing that looks a little wrong is the back to me. I sell these signs all the time and I never pay much attention to the size; if it is eight inches or a little bigger. Sorry I am not much help. Dan

Most small signs with only 1 hole at top, would have been used on a High-Boy oil dispenser [lubester].

I took 2 of these signs off the back two doors of a rusted out tanker truck in eastern Colorado myself. Both signs were different (one black T and one wht T). I remember thinking, if I had not done it myself, I would have thought one of them was a repro. There is no way it was because of the paint behind it, rusted screws, the old man, etc. There was hundreds of companies, consignees, etc. contracted to make these signs. However, I am sure some repros are out there.

What I would look at is are they "hand stenciled and cut", split back grommets and some shelving. I would admit the one on the left looks pretty sloppy, but that is not always bad. If they look right with that, I would not worry about it.
I remember a guy in Des Moines selling those exact signs dated '48 some 10 years ago ( I bought 2) and thinking later that they were repops.

After finding the one on that tanker truck, I had to rethink my opinion. I am sure this is somewhat confusing, but I go back to my previous statement. Hand cut and split back grommets !! That is a good indication. Most everything is computerized for the last 10 years

I think your good, only reproductions that I know of are 11-12 inch. And texaco NEVER made that size.

T

I would also agree that you are safe. Differant makers of these signs all use a little differant way to make them.

Pat, here is a similar sign that has the same date as the one on the left in your pics. Even the fonts and the thickness of the letters and numbers are the same. I've always thought this was a repop, just from it's looks but never have been able to prove it.

I've had people tell me it was repop, and others tell me it was real. Matthews has one in the March 29th auction, Lot 258, and the descriptions reads "age unknown".

So who knows. But either way, my sign and your left one, have to be from the same batch.

If they are repop's, they aren't recent ones, I've had mine since the 80's.









[This message has been edited by MarkMcK (edited 03-18-2008).]

I would that is for sure a re-pop Mark McK....again it has not a white back....in fact all the 1970's and 1980's re-pops have that granite looking back....i don't think this is rocket science...look at the back of all texaco signs...pump signs from the 40's, 50's and even 60's have white backs...doesn't eveyone have a skychief or firechief sign to look at???????????

Like I said above, "I've always thought it was a repop". Just my opinion though, so if someone knows differently, I would like to hear from them.

Minuteman not all Texaco Pump plates have white backs. Here's four of mine with four different colored backs.

I don't remember seeing any original signs that have the Granite Gray color back, or any TEXACO signs with a wide white outer edge. Thin yes, wide No.

Again, look for the SPLIT BACK GROMMETS !!!! Mark, definately repop like Minuteman says.

Thanks Guys for all the input. Mark,I've never thought that your sign was an original,but who knows? I do find it interesting that your sign's lettering and numbering at the bottom look identical to mine.The M & A in MADE and the 8's are identical.
Clifton,you're right about the grommets. Mark's and mine have the identical same type and they are not split back. Mine dated 3-11-40 does not have significantly thicker shelving. I have a black outline T one dated 3-30 and the shelving is heavy. This one also has a gray back as do many older Texaco signs. The back color and the grommets on the one in question are what bother me the most.Pat.

Just looked at seller's auctions and they have another 8" black T sign 380007480768.
This one also has one grommet only and not dated. Dick, do you think this one looks right with again one grommet only that appears to be an aluminum grommet. Wonder what the back looks like on this one? Again,
seller is selling several items that look like original items.Pat

This new sign mentioned raises some concerns with just one grommet at the top.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380007480768&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fws%2Fsearch%2FSaleSearch%3Fsofocus%3Dbs%26satitle%3D380007480768%26sacat%3D-1 %2526catref%253DC5%26dfsp%3D1%26from%3DR7%26nojspr%3Dy%26pfid%3D0%26fsop%3D1%2526fsoo%253D1%26fcl%3D3%26frpp%3D50%26fvi%3D1

Wait until you see the marine sign their have with the ships wheel, I was fortunate enough to see in a private email. I've sent this auction to some other guys who will know for sure. One grommet makes no sense at all.