When neon signs are more expensive than cars ...
04/02/2015
Last weekend, over 400 neon signs and other automotive items were auctioned off in the USA. The highlight of the auction was a neon sign from Weakley Equipment Co. which sold for no less than 120,000 US dollars, or around 116,600 Swiss francs or 111,500 euros! That's more than you'd pay for a new Porsche 911 Carrera!
Hundreds of neon and double-sided enamel signs were offered from the collection of Vernon Walker. He had started collecting them around 50 years ago in order to protect the signs. This was because dealers often took the double-sided signs apart in order to make a double profit, which unfortunately destroyed the originality and character of the neon signs.
Many of the signs in the vehicle enthusiast's collection came from vehicle and tire manufacturers. Walker's passion for the old neon and enamel signs is shared by many car fans today. You can see the signs in garages, with car collectors or car fans at home in their living rooms or private museums. Today, large neon signs with Ford, Firestone, Nash or Chevrolet lettering, which were of little interest just a few years ago, are popular collector's items and are traded for huge sums of money, as the Mecum auction in Arizona showed.
A beautiful Goodyear sign with frosted glass letters from 1924 sold for a whole 100,000 US dollars - it was the oldest item in the collection.
Another popular item was a Dodge Brothers sign, which changed hands for 65,000 US dollars. Two original Ford neon signs also sold for 61,000 and 47,500 US dollars. The new owner paid 60,500 US dollars for a beautiful blue and red Lincoln Mercury sign.
Most of us would probably rather buy a nice car or treat ourselves to a really long vacation for that kind of money than invest in expensive neon and enamel signs ...
