Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Shell Motor Oil sign, Real or fake?

Well said Greg!!!!

The guys I know don't sell the jars as originals. It's the guys who buy a couple and sell them for 4-5x the price and pass them off as originals.

Again, it goes back to talking to the guys who are selling. If these indeed are the same fellows I see at Moultrie and Daytona they don't misrepresent them. For the repro/fantasy signs in general, they are filling a niche whether you as a collector want to admit to the fact or not.

Miles represents his signs correctly, sadly he hasn't taken the best step and had all of them marked as such and even numbered for those done in limited numbers.

As for integrity, well lets just say that those who know and do business with me are satisfied I represent what I sell righteously.

Please look back a few responses. Paul said "PART of their business" and NOT "SMART business"!
I reread this post several times and do not see where ANYONE condones practicing deceit!!
I wrote a PM to Paul a few days ago thanking him for his knowledgeable input and willingness to share his opinions. I also wrote of my reluctance to post that sentiment in the public forum out of concern of ridicule (for both of us!)
There are other knowledgeable, helpful people on here who give their opinions freely. I thank them too!
I met Paul at Dixie Gas this past fall. A very nice, warm, sincere, truly "gentleman" guy. He makes an excellent point in this very post about meeting someone and getting a sense of them and their character. How many of his detractors here have met and spoken to this gentleman?? Any of you?! He is far from pompous and of low integrity in my opinion.
This forum shows that people have differences of opinion. Is this piece authentic or not? I see thoughts on both sides on this piece as well as others. A concensus of opinion is not always accurate. Take in all the information that is available and make a decision for yourself.
This works for material pieces and people as well!
Hopefully we can be more polite and proper to each other. More like the US Senate and less like The House of Representatives.
Thank you for listening and consideration.

I have talked to and bought from Paul and was happy with the transaction, "said what he would do and did what he said".as far as these 2 brothers go, i bought a 30" sign from them approx. 8 years ago at Carlisle with stipulation, if not original, money back....after showing several people we came to conclusion it was a repo , and they refunded me....with that said, they always have beat up repos in their booth and plead ignorance when asked if it original...it seems strange that 75% of their stuff is beat up repos....I remember them selling those bogus paper Indian motorcycle posters as originals....and those air signs, well they sold a freind of mine 2 of them in Chicago about 5-6 years ago and he brought them to me and said the guy had a couple more..when he brought me to his booth i almost fainted and told my buddy the horror stories abouit these brothers and i did not buy any of them, however these were the best repos i have seen, if in fact they were repos... i did not want to take the chance, however my freind sold his immediately......i still to this day don't know if they are right or not...they sure look right...............and also the shell smaltz sign in question, looks good to me and IMHO , think its correct....but i have been wrong before and will be wrong again.....live and learn....

Paul I'm sure you're a good guy and questioning your integrity was not fair since I really don't know you. I was shocked by your support of guys that do well selling fakes. I have dealt with the sellers of fakes and have seen them at shows for years. They are usually in Columbia so I'll see them next week. They are personable and spin a good story but unless they are just very lucky I will always be skeptical of what they sell. We can agree to disagree if you will on the authenticity of the Shell sign. Not sure it even came from them but if it did it's obvious what I think.

I prefer to disagree rather than be disagreeable, just one of those traits instilled in me from my youth.

I will never condone passing off a fake for a real item. But neither will I burn a bridge if I can help it. If indeed these are the same fellows I am thinking of, it disappoints me if they do pass something off as real. However, being that I always enjoy learning something new I don't pass up an opportunity to add to my knowledge, so speaking to them isn't a waste of time.

I thank DrDave and Roadrelics for their kind words, and perhaps one day we will meet up somewhere bustermonty and can exchange some more pleasant words.

I have never met Paul and I am sure he is a great guy, But when you try to sugar coat and defend the problem sellers you should also be able to take the heat.

Greetings all:

My name is Kevin and I am new to the site. I am part owner of Mulberry Street Antiques in Lebanon, Ohio. That being said, it makes me part owner of ebay item #350972486751 which is the Shell sign being discussed in this forum. I have been watching the banter here over the past few days and I appreciate all of your opinions on the piece. To be on the safe side, I nearly ended the listing, but after seeing the information in this forum I decided I would let the listing play itself out.

I would like to invite any in the area who are interested, to come and take a look at the sign first hand prior to the end of the auction. Even though I have sold a fair amount of gas pumps and signs in the past, we deal in all antiques and I am no expert in oil and gas. If there is any information I can provide to the experts here who would like to confirm the signs authenticity, I would be happy to provide any information I can.

Lastly, just to be crystal clear. I have also heard of the long haired fellow from Ohio and his brother. That person is not me and I have no relationship with the individuals. I bought this sign in a large collection recently, and 95% of the items were authentic. I did not buy the collection from those dudes, and I have no relationship with them.

I believe the sign is authentic. I feel it would take too much work to reproduce the sign. That being said, I have been wrong before. If anyone has hard evidence the sign is a fake, I want to see it. I will end the ebay auction right away and will display the sign in my shop as not for sale and a reproduction. I did not get to where I am by screwing people over. Furthermore, if anyone has hard evidence of the signs authenticity, I would like to see that as well. I have one book that describes the sign, but it is an older book. If anyone can provide facts, please present the information to me.

Kind regards,
Kevin