Where do businesses get their old stop signs from?

[bandit957]

Sometimes you see a business that has an old stop sign posted, maybe in their parking lot, or guarding something behind a fence. These are standard stop signs, but they are clearly older. I know there's some embossed ones still floating around, or maybe some with the skinny font Ohio used to use on its stop signs.

Where do these businesses get these old stop signs? Did they tear them down from public roads years ago?

[Brandon]

Sometimes you see a business that has an old stop sign posted, maybe in their parking lot, or guarding something behind a fence. These are standard stop signs, but they are clearly older. I know there's some embossed ones still floating around, or maybe some with the skinny font Ohio used to use on its stop signs.

Where do these businesses get these old stop signs? Did they tear them down from public roads years ago?

Sometimes they buy surplus, sometimes they just order them and leave them up for a while.

[Max Rockatansky]

Scrapers?...at least that's how a lot of online antique people come across them.  Edit:  To clarify; it seems that a lot of scrap guys either have physical stores or an eBay shop for the stuff they pull down.

[Brian556]

I doubt most businesses would buy an antique for actual use.

[lordsutch]

It wouldn't surprise me if many sign companies buy up common surplus signs and stock them as cheaper alternatives to fabbing or selling through brand new signs for customers. If it's posted on private property, particularly as a replacement or for a small business, nobody is likely to be concerned about an old sign no longer meeting current reflectivity or design standards.