ATTENTION EBAY SHOPPERS......you can safely ignore THESE signs...

[ctsignguy]

There is a chap out there who has put out all sorts of replica signs that don't look right, and in fact, arent right....save your money when you see stuff like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/1930s-ROUTE-66-TEXAS-ROAD-SIGN-W-CATSEYE-REFLECTORS_W0QQitemZ280324002821QQihZ018QQcategoryZ14048QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/1930s-ROUTE-66-OKLAHOMA-ROAD-SIGN-W-CATSEYE-REFLECTORS_W0QQitemZ280324002712QQihZ018QQcategoryZ14048QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I dont know who his noted artist is, but it isnt Jake!  Wrong fonts for the time period, sheild not the correct shape for Texas OR Oklahoma (see the AA Shields Gallery for PROPERLY shaped TX and OK shields for the 30s.)  I know Robert E had a good laugh when he first saw them (not quite as big a laugh as he had at that New York US 66 sign!).....

Also from the same seller....

http://cgi.ebay.com/30s-UTAH-RT-89-ROAD-MARKER-SIGN-W-NATIVE-AMERCAN-CHIEF_W0QQitemZ280323213595QQihZ018QQcategoryZ14048QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Oh, my....where to begin with THIS one....wrong font, hell, wrong State!  (the indian head is a North Dakota design! Utah signs at the time were simply a large U with the route number embossed or screened inside the U...again, consult the AA Shields Gallery for authenticity study!

for laughs....from his ad copy:
"AN AUTHENTIC SIGN LIKE THIS BRINGS 1000.00 PLUS IN HORRIBLE CONDITION, A PRISTINE EXAMPLE IS  A NAME YOUR PRICE ITEM. THIS SIGN LOOKS AND DISPLAYS AS NICELY AS THE REAL ITEM AND NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO DISPUTE ITS CLAIM TO BEING AS REAL AS CAN BE."  <---*snerks*

Today's lesson is this: If you see an questionable old shield on eBay, ALWAYS consult the AA Shields Gallery to confirm (or in these cases, deny) authenticity!

[Voyager]

Figures...Good thing I got my US 101 sign directly from Caltrans manufacturing company.

[US71]

He posts auctions a lot. Either everyone is wise to him and nothing sells, or he has a bunch of them and a lot of suckers are buying them.

[ctsignguy]

I think it might be more the latter....

Robert Edgar once told me there were a bunch of guys who are more into oil and gas signs who try to snap up US 66 (and other desirable route) signs figuring 'buy low, sell high"...and were more than a bit upset when Robert advised them they were taken in by US 66 signs that were NOT legit...

he maintains a page on eBay showing some of the more comical attempts to foist off fakeries on the unsuspecting public...

[US71]

I've seen numerous fakes on e-bay. Some will go as far to suggest they "may or may not" be legit, but I wonder if anyone reads that? 

[ctsignguy]

i think some of these sellers count on the fact that most bidders wont read that far...or read everything....

I forget which at the moment, but Jake or Robert got one seller really honked off when the seller was advised that his US 66 embossed was one of those early-90s replica embossed signs with artificial weathering to make it look rusted out...they were acting as if maybe the seller was unaware of what he was doing.....his response was, shall we say, less than polite....

[Alps]

I've seen numerous fakes on e-bay. Some will go as far to suggest they "may or may not" be legit, but I wonder if anyone reads that?

I've only seen one that did not anywhere in the text admit to being a fake but tried to suggest it was genuine.  It was a state-name US shield I believe (non-embossed) but all the fonts and spacing were wrong.  Not terribly wrong, but enough to trigger anyone who's seen enough old signs.  If the sign back was original, the front was clearly repainted and that had to be stated.  The weathering also looked artificial.  I'm not gonna call someone's bluff on it, I just tell eBay and they can talk to the seller.

[US71]

I've called people on repainted signs before and they usually get their knckers in a knot and say "I got it this way".