Sign Collecting

[Brian556]

Picked up some new local California spades.

IMG_9884 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

IMG_9883 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

That bottom one is certainly goofy-looking

[Max Rockatansky]

^^^^

The shape is off along with the white outline being extra large.  I'm thinking it had to been on a guide sign given that it has two small rivet holes.  There aren't any stamps on the shield but there is a "7 of 20" written on the back which I'm fairly certain came from the scrapper.

[TheArkansasRoadgeek]

I found a .pdf file regarding some job letting plans to replace a whole sign bridge on the 440 in Little Rock from 2012. The plans called for rivets and direct application (for given circumstances). I never knew they applied a symbol like that.

[Alex]

Found a Colorado 10 shield for $15 a Webster, FL yesterday. A bit faded, and some dings on it, but otherwise in decent shape.
Another guy had a 36x36" PA 11 shield for $35/obo. I was unsure if the sign would fit in my trunk, so I didn't consider buying it. But in retrospect, given that it was an error shield, I should have tried...

Lastly a lady had an M-20 shield for $60. Said she paid $55 for it so the price was not negotiable. The sign was worn and she definitely got ripped off buying it. I'd have spent no more than $20 on it.

[Max Rockatansky]

Found a Colorado 10 shield for $15 a Webster, FL yesterday. A bit faded, and some dings on it, but otherwise in decent shape.
Another guy had a 36x36" PA 11 shield for $35/obo. I was unsure if the sign would fit in my trunk, so I didn't consider buying it. But in retrospect, given that it was an error shield, I should have tried...

Lastly a lady had an M-20 shield for $60. Said she paid $55 for it so the price was not negotiable. The sign was worn and she definitely got ripped off buying it. I'd have spent no more than $20 on it.

Where were you at in Webster?   I've had some luck finding some stuff from time to time out in Sumter County in the random antique stores they have out there. 

[Alex]

Found a Colorado 10 shield for $15 a Webster, FL yesterday. A bit faded, and some dings on it, but otherwise in decent shape.
Another guy had a 36x36" PA 11 shield for $35/obo. I was unsure if the sign would fit in my trunk, so I didn't consider buying it. But in retrospect, given that it was an error shield, I should have tried...

Lastly a lady had an M-20 shield for $60. Said she paid $55 for it so the price was not negotiable. The sign was worn and she definitely got ripped off buying it. I'd have spent no more than $20 on it.

Where were you at in Webster?   I've had some luck finding some stuff from time to time out in Sumter County in the random antique stores they have out there.

Webster Westside Flea Market. Located at SR 471 and CR 476 and only open on Monday's. Been going there off and on for 11 years.

[Max Rockatansky]

Found a Colorado 10 shield for $15 a Webster, FL yesterday. A bit faded, and some dings on it, but otherwise in decent shape.
Another guy had a 36x36" PA 11 shield for $35/obo. I was unsure if the sign would fit in my trunk, so I didn't consider buying it. But in retrospect, given that it was an error shield, I should have tried...

Lastly a lady had an M-20 shield for $60. Said she paid $55 for it so the price was not negotiable. The sign was worn and she definitely got ripped off buying it. I'd have spent no more than $20 on it.

Where were you at in Webster?   I've had some luck finding some stuff from time to time out in Sumter County in the random antique stores they have out there.

Webster Westside Flea Market. Located at SR 471 and CR 476 and only open on Monday's. Been going there off and on for 11 years.

I'll have to check that one next year.  I drove through Sumter County this year but stuck north on CR 48 to Bushnell so I could see the new asphalt surface on Croom-Nobleton Road and Croom Road.

[spitball]

I submit to you the kind of sign I've been ISO for some years and excited to have finally found.  New Jersey's old (1920s, and even older?) raised-letter cast iron directional shields came in at least two varieties; one with rounded corners and, MUCH less commonly, with squared corners.  I would be happy with either, but I came away from eBay with a rarer square-corner type.  This sign would have been posted at the original forked intersection of Glenside Ave and Glenside Road in New Providence Township (renamed Berkeley Heights in 1951), long before I-78 caused a complete re-engineering and displacement of the corner.  Dimensions: 18" x 24", weight is about 57 pounds!

[ColossalBlocks]

Photobucket struck again.

[US71]

There's a cut-out AR 11 on e-bay. Asking $450, but said he'd consider $400. Too rich for my bolld much as I wish I could afford it.

[spitball]

There's a cut-out AR 11 on e-bay. Asking $450, but said he'd consider $400. Too rich for my bolld much as I wish I could afford it.

It may be a good buyer's market.  As an anecdote...  The NJ directional sign I posted (but which Bloat-O-Bucket will not share) was originally listed at a pretty high $600.  I politely low-balled the guy (relative to his asking price) at $200 and got rejected without surprise.  I waited a good several weeks as he lowered his price to $450, then to $350, fully expecting it to go to someone else.  I finally came back to him and settled at $300, which is not cheap, but not bad either for such a rare piece.

[spitball]

Photobucket struck again.

I added a signature link to my signs in Flickr.  US71 unwittingly gave me the idea...thanks

[MNHighwayMan]

Picked up something cool, a unposted construction CA 130 shield all decked out in orange.  Really a notable highway over to the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, I never thought that I would find a shield...much less a weird one:

IMG_1217 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

So, I know this is an old comment, but it's left me wondering: what's the purpose of these orange California spades? Marking detour routes? And why does Caltrans bother with them?, because as far as I know no other state does anything like that. And I have to be honest, the first time I saw one of these on eBay I initially thought it was merely a reproduction that used funky colors...

[Max Rockatansky]

Picked up something cool, a unposted construction CA 130 shield all decked out in orange.  Really a notable highway over to the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, I never thought that I would find a shield...much less a weird one:

IMG_1217 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

So, I know this is an old comment, but it's left me wondering: what's the purpose of these orange California spades? Marking detour routes? And why does Caltrans bother with them?, because as far as I know no other state does anything like that. And I have to be honest, the first time I saw one of these on eBay I initially thought it was merely a reproduction that used funky colors...

They get used for detour routes.  Usually they vary from real shields too something like a weird looking spade on a orange blank.  This one was unused and considering it was the Mount Hamilton highway it was worth the $40-45 I paid for something unique.  The really strange or is on 33 right now.  Normally 33 traffic heading west from Los Banos takes I-5 to continue on 33 north.  33 is actually multiplexed on 152 west of Los Banos and crosses under I-5 northwest of the city.  I guess a bridge was out exiting onto 33 northbound so there were detour 33 shields on the real 33 telling you to stay on the highway.

[MNHighwayMan]

They get used for detour routes.  Usually they vary from real shields too something like a weird looking spade on a orange blank.  This one was unused and considering it was the Mount Hamilton highway it was worth the $40-45 I paid for something unique.  The really strange or is on 33 right now.  Normally 33 traffic heading west from Los Banos takes I-5 to continue on 33 north.  33 is actually multiplexed on 152 west of Los Banos and crosses under I-5 northwest of the city.  I guess a bridge was out exiting onto 33 northbound so there were detour 33 shields on the real 33 telling you to stay on the highway.

Gotcha.

Speaking of detour oddities, my favorite is when a detour gets posted for one route, but it runs the wrong way on the same route: ie WB Route X gets partially detoured EB on Route X. I saw one of these not that long ago, but I can't, for the life of me, remember where it was or whether I took any pictures of it.

[Max Rockatansky]

They get used for detour routes.  Usually they vary from real shields too something like a weird looking spade on a orange blank.  This one was unused and considering it was the Mount Hamilton highway it was worth the $40-45 I paid for something unique.  The really strange or is on 33 right now.  Normally 33 traffic heading west from Los Banos takes I-5 to continue on 33 north.  33 is actually multiplexed on 152 west of Los Banos and crosses under I-5 northwest of the city.  I guess a bridge was out exiting onto 33 northbound so there were detour 33 shields on the real 33 telling you to stay on the highway.

Gotcha.

Speaking of detour oddities, my favorite is when a detour gets posted for one route, but it runs the wrong way on the same route: ie WB Route X gets partially detoured EB on Route X. I saw one of these not that long ago, but I can't, for the life of me, remember where it was or whether I took any pictures of it.

I missed taking a photo of the 33 detour the other day because I couldn't get my phone out of my pocket.  I'll have another shot this Thursday, the shields are too hideous and the detour is too weird to ignore. 

[US71]

Photobucket struck again.

I added a signature link to my signs in Flickr.  US71 unwittingly gave me the idea...thanks

I'll have to charge you a commission

[spitball]

I'll have to charge you a commission

Gotta put it toward that AR 11!

[Max Rockatansky]

Picked up an embossed M-28:

28M by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

[Lancaster6]

Snagged a US 40 shield for pretty cheap the other day

[US71]

I'll have to charge you a commission

Gotta put it toward that AR 11!

Did you buy it? Looks like it sold... unless Jake bought it?

[TheArkansasRoadgeek]

I HAVE to get in on this hobby "one of these days"! 

[US71]

I HAVE to get in on this hobby "one of these days"! 

I may have a couple mini's available. Let me check my stash

[MNHighwayMan]

Received my thirtieth Minnesota state highway marker today, this one being MN-371. It will go nice with the two US-371 markers I posted about upthread.



Sadly, it is now the second marker I own with the absolutely butt ugly state outline shape. The pic is from the other sign, but they're essentially the same. I wanna know who designed that shape so I can go knock some sense into them.

[US71]

Received my thirtieth Minnesota state highway marker today, this one being MN-371. It will go nice with the two US-371 markers I posted about upthread.



Sadly, it is now the second marker I own with the absolutely butt ugly state outline shape. The pic is from the other sign, but they're essentially the same. I wanna know who designed that shape so I can go knock some sense into them.

You're going to need someone to store those for you