Is it me or are enamel signs just getting too expensive? Why is this I wonder? Are there lots of new collectors out there or have the signs we all want already disappeared into people's collections. These high prices, especially at auction, certainly takes the fun out of the hobby for me!

Likewise. Its getting to the point now that i simply can't begin to entertain the prices being asked for good quality enamels. Either privately, or at auction.
As you say, it takes the fun out of the hobby completely.

That’s why I stopped collecting enamels and sold the few I had.

Not that I am defending the higher price of good enamels over the past few years, but if you have say 50 good signs and they are 500 apiece, it isn't much difference than a guy with a collector car worth 25,000. Its really all relative, a hobby is a hobby is a hobby. If you have lets say 25,000 in signs, why is it somehow wrong just because they are enamel signs? I would rather have 50 good signs that one car, just sayin'

Posted By Arkwrights on 07 Aug 2018 07:52 PM

Basically signs are bits of iron with an image on after all is said and done, nothing compared to the intricacy of a vintage motor. Collecting signs has become largely a hobby that’s out of reach and out of touch for the general collector

 

I guess that collector cars are out of touch for the average collctor too? I don't like the price of signs either, but lets not whine about it too much, its good that they are getting regognition nowadays and finaly earning a respectable value. I know its tough to pay up when they are worth a whole lot more now than before, but its a reality with any collectibles eventualy. 

But it's misleading to say a sign is just a sheet of iron with a picture on it.
By that logic the Mona Lisa is just a lump of wood with some paint on it; a vintage car is just a collection of cogs and oil and metal.

Very good signs have always been pricey since the early 70s in my opinion..I just reckon that the Good stuff now demands big money cus it just dont turn up very often and alot of good signs can never be replaced or found..They are now classed as artwork in their own rights just like some paintings..myself ive never used an Auction house,,The buzz is in finding them..

And with a lot of patience and digging around good buys can still be found occasionally I suppose

Sorry Arkwrights you are right " they are just bits of old iron " etc, etc but that argument just doesn't hold water when comparing to a car or in fact any other item of value. Beauty , value etc is in the eye of the beholder. Jackson Pollock splashed a load of paint in random splots on a bit of canvas and its worth tens of thousands ? just a bit of paper with paint on! The dearest stamp in the world 9.5 million, An old copper coin worth 3 million etc, etc etc

When you chase the top items in any field it becomes expensive, very expensive and possibly mad (ie ) RARE ! Beanie Baby in the $5 - $10,000 bracket. Plastic Macdonalds toy at over £1,000

As someone mentioned the beauty of real collecting is finding those gems at the right price, Swapping , wheeling dealing to get a treasured item it does still happen. A good friend of mine on this forum has a fantastic collection including some very rare signs all found in about the last 8 years on a very, very limited budget. IT is still possible !!

Good luck to all and don't give up the odd Cherry is still out there

Yes you can still get a great collection on a budget, it’s a case of putting the work in and going off the beaten track sometimes

Mick G - you make some good points, it is true that all collectibles become rarer and more expensive as time goes on and of course enamel signs have been collected since the sixties!! That's around 60 years, I myself have been collecting since 1973 and remember when a mint condition cigarette packet could be had for £15 or a Hudson's pail for £11. Entire town areas were undergoing urban renewal then and enamels could be rescued just before row after row of shops were demolished. It is also true to say that enamels have now been recognised as being valuable, when at one time most antique dealers thought they were just junk. Its interesting that some of the early enamel sign collectors were scrapyard dealers. Maybe I just mourn the passing of the good old days when not only could you buy signs without breaking the bank but there was also the thrill of discovering something you had never seen or even heard about before.