Richlube Motor Oil porcelain sign hits $9,350 at Matthews Auctions A Richlube Motor Oil double-sided porcelain sign in outstanding condition sold for $9,350 at an auction held Aug. 5 by Matthews Auctions, on the day after the end of the Iowa Gas Show in Des Moines.
News-Antique.com - Aug 16,2011 - (DES MOINES, Iowa) – A Richlube Motor Oil double-sided porcelain sign in truly outstanding condition sold for $9,350 at an auction held Aug. 5 by Matthews Auctions, LLC, based in Nokomis, Ill. The sale was conducted the day after the end of the annual Iowa Gas Show, held Aug. 2-4 at the Airport Holiday Inn in Des Moines. Both events were held there.
“It was the nicest example of that particular Richlube sign I have ever sold,” remarked Dan Matthews of Matthews Auctions, LLC. The round sign, 24 inches in diameter, showed a small car racing down the word “Richlube,” with “Safety!” and “100% Pure Pennsylvania” also in the graphics. The sign was rated 9.5 out of 10 on the front for condition and 8.9 on the reverse.
Over 500 lots – just about all of them petroliana and automobilia – crossed the block in a sale that attracted more than 200 people to the venue. Online bidding, through Proxibid.com, was brisk and accounted for about a 30 percent sell-through. Absentee and phone bids were also taken, amounting to about 5-7 percent sell-through. Mr. Matthews was pleased with the results.
“It was a good sale, an above average sale,” he said, “helped out by a strong bidding crowd and aggressive Internet bidders. I was a bit worried going in because of all the overall bad news dogging the economy, but considering we ended up grossing $30,000 or $40,000 more than what I had predicted, I can’t complain. Some lots did better than expected and a few fell short.”
Following are additional highlights from the auction. All prices quoted include a 10 percent buyer’s premium.
Tying for top honors with the Richlube sign for highest price realized was a rare Texaco Marine Motor Oil double-sided porcelain sign, dated 1947. It also made $9,350. The 11 inch by 22 inch sign, sporting ships, speedboats and seagulls graphics, was rated 9 on both sides. It had great gloss and color, the only flaws being some chips around the perimeter and bottom corners.
Two other lots topped the $6,000 mark. A Seagull Gasoline single-sided porcelain sign comprising three signs bolted together, with rolled edges and great seagull graphics, 60 inches by 67 inches, rated 9.5, fetched $6,600; and a pair of Badger & Badger Petroleum 13.5-inch lenses on a wide glass original globe body in good condition and both lenses rated 9+, garnered $6,325.
A pair of Reliable Premium Regular 13.5-inch lenses with an owl logo, in a new Capco globe body and with the lenses rated 8.5, one of only five such sets known, went to a determined bidder for $4,675; a Texaco ‘No Smoking’ single-sided porcelain sign, rated 9+, brought $4,400; and a Red Hat Motor Oil / Gasoline 15-inch single lens in a new metal globe body hit $4,125.
A pair of Panhandle 15-inch lenses with steer horn logo in the original metal globe body, both lenses rated 8, climbed to $3,575; and a Mayflower Warehouse Coast-to-Coast single-sided wood-back sign, 45
