Sign Collecting

[MNHighwayMan]

I posted a picture of these in response to a comment in the unique/odd/interesting signs thread, but I figured they should go here too. Anyway, they're a set of three kilometer markers from Alabama. I found them on eBay back in 2014, I think.



I'm a supporter of metricizing American roads/signage, so when I found these for pretty cheap I decided I had to have them, as a curiosity if anything else.

[US71]

There's a place near Mammoth Springs, AR called Dear Crossing that has lots of old signs (plus other stuff like Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars). A lot of his stuff is retired MoDOT Secondary Highway signage. He also has an extensive selection of embossed street signs and a few sign assemblies.  If you go, it's cash only.

[MNHighwayMan]

Whenever I intend on going to antique stores/malls, flea markets, etc, I always just operate on the assumption they only accept cash. Seems wise to me. If they take cards, that's just a bonus.

That being said, only once have I ever found a sign I was interested in buying at one. This one, actually:



Got it for only $20, which I think was a steal. Found it at the Isanti County Antique Fair way back in like 2009 or 2010. (Funnily enough, I don't really think it's an antique, what with its November 1993 fabrication date... ) Sadly, though, the seller put the price sticker on the front (why?! ) and I dunno how to remove the residue without damaging the sheeting itself–you can see it above the A at the top right. So, I've just left it all these years.

[cjk374]

Whenever I intend on going to antique stores/malls, flea markets, etc, I always just operate on the assumption they only accept cash. Seems wise to me. If they take cards, that's just a bonus.

That being said, only once have I ever found a sign I was interested in buying at one. This one, actually:



Got it for only $20, which I think was a steal. Found it at the Isanti County Antique Fair way back in like 2009 or 2010. (Funnily enough, I don't really think it's an antique, what with its November 1993 fabrication date... ) Sadly, though, the seller put the price sticker on the front (why?! ) and I dunno how to remove the residue without damaging the sheeting itself–you can see it above the A at the top right. So, I've just left it all these years.

What you need is Gorilla (I believe they make it) Goo Gone. Does not damage any surfaces it is used on. I have not used it on signs, but it works great.

[Max Rockatansky]

Just picked up this CA 135 shield which was from a BGS:

Untitled by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

[MNHighwayMan]

That's pretty cool. I've always wondered why the "California" is left off BGS shields in that state. I've always assumed for visual clutter reasons, but "Interstate" doesn't get left off Interstate shields, so...

Anyway, here are two recent additions I made. The first is this MN-32 marker:



Interesting thing about this one, is that it's made with extra-thick aluminum, making this shield exceptionally heavy. I don't have a calipers handy, but visually I'd estimate the stock is probably between 1.25x and 1.5x thicker than standard. It's probably also one of the last shields to have the MnDOT logo printed in darker blue at the bottom center, as I believe they stopped doing that around 2000 or so. (Date code at the bottom left, "999," means the manufacture was in September 1999.) They've also since stopped printing manufacture dates on the front, too. I liked having the logos and dates printed on the front–it gives them character and also tells me when signs were made/used, since the stickers applied to the back often get removed when signs are scrapped–but if I'm not mistaken the FHWA told DOTs to knock that off.

The other is this unique 18x18 Pennington CR-65A shield:



As you can see, it originally had the number 63 on it before being brutishly removed and reapplied with 65A. Note that the A is not a standard letter, but rather a hack job made out of three strips of black vinyl. The seller had a bunch of other Pennington County shields in better condition that normally I would've gone with, but I chose this one for its character.

[Max Rockatansky]

That's pretty cool. I've always wondered why the "California" is left off BGS shields in that state. I've always assumed for visual clutter reasons, but "Interstate" doesn't get left off Interstate shields, so...

The odd thing is that the shape for State Highways and US Routes is different than the stand alone shields in California on BGSs.  The state spade on the BGS is has much more sharper curves which is why the "California" likely wouldn't fit.  I noticed another oddity when I was checking my 135 shield out this morning.  Most standalone shields were a green reflective base paint with vinyl numbers applied to them.  The 135 in my garage is a white base with the green painted over it.  That being the case the 135 numeral is actually depressed slightly below the green reflective paint.  The spec date on the back of the shield shows a manufacturing date sometime in 1977.

[Max Rockatansky]

Picked up a new CA 166 shield:

Untitled by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

[US71]

Recent additions to my collection:


Steel double-arrow sign


1960's-era Missouri Secondary. Steel sign blank


1960's-era US 71 sign from Missouri. The shield is a bit smaller compared to "modern" standards. Also a steel sign blank

[cjk374]

I did a ditch rescue Friday after work:


Untitled by Jess Kilgore, on Flickr

[freebrickproductions]

Picked-up this Jackson County Route 51 shield today, at an antique store in Paint Rock, AL:
CR 51 Shield by freebrickproductions, on Flickr
CR 51 Shield by freebrickproductions, on Flickr
CR 51 Shield by freebrickproductions, on Flickr
CR 51 Shield by freebrickproductions, on Flickr
CR 51 Shield by freebrickproductions, on Flickr
CR 51 Shield by freebrickproductions, on Flickr

[Lancaster6]

Another recent addition to the collection.

[CGPerry]

I don't collect signs as much as I used to, but here are a few of my favorites.  Most of them I picked up at swap meets or antique stores.  The I-95 sign I bought at a flea market in Hell's Kitchen, which I had to haul around on the subway and the Staten Island Ferry to take it back home.  Also of note is the I-15 and Business Loop 80 are actually a single two-sided sign.

[Lancaster6]

I don't collect signs as much as I used to, but here are a few of my favorites.  Most of them I picked up at swap meets or antique stores.  The I-95 sign I bought at a flea market in Hell's Kitchen, which I had to haul around on the subway and the Staten Island Ferry to take it back home.  Also of note is the I-15 and Business Loop 80 are actually a single two-sided sign.

Damnnnn those are some beautiful shields. Very nice collection.

[Max Rockatansky]

That NV 8A is all kinds of awesome.  Drove that route a long time ago, basically it's at the ends of the earth as far as Old desert roads go. 

[cjk374]

I never knew there was a split in I-15. Very interesting.

[Max Rockatansky]

I never knew there was a split in I-15. Very interesting.

That's modern I-215, really I never understood why it wasn't designated as such from the get-go.

[CGPerry]

That NV 8A is all kinds of awesome.  Drove that route a long time ago, basically it's at the ends of the earth as far as Old desert roads go. 

According the Google street view from 2009, it is still signed as 8A.  Did this route survive the big Nevada highway renumbering back in the 70s?

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5574301,-119.9992463,3a,75y,64.78h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1soolV5lDKxyDToVI-odFXOw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DoolV5lDKxyDToVI-odFXOw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D57.813587%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i3328!8i1664

[Max Rockatansky]

That NV 8A is all kinds of awesome.  Drove that route a long time ago, basically it's at the ends of the earth as far as Old desert roads go. 

According the Google street view from 2009, it is still signed as 8A.  Did this route survive the big Nevada highway renumbering back in the 70s?

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5574301,-119.9992463,3a,75y,64.78h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1soolV5lDKxyDToVI-odFXOw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DoolV5lDKxyDToVI-odFXOw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D57.813587%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i3328!8i1664

No it didn't.  There are a couple old state highways that still appear on Google maps and might have a stray shield or street blade too.  NV 3a comes to mind as another example of a pre-renumbering Highway that is still displayed on Google. 

[US71]

Latest addition to my collection

[Max Rockatansky]

Picked up a Fresno Blossom Trail sign from a local junker:

Untitled by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

^{Put this one in my back yard since in the recently rebuilt garden.  The Blossom Trail is a local Auto Touring Route which is just a quarter mile from me.}

[Max Rockatansky]

Picked up a strange CA 99 sign on a white blank which is likely from a surface street in Fresno:

IMG_7686 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

Along with a CA 180 oversized freeway shield:

IMG_7685 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

[Lancaster6]

Wasn't really on my "need to buy" radar but figured it would be cool to have just for the quirky factor. US 1/9 shields with the ampersand are getting pretty hard to find out in the wild as NJDOT is quickly replacing them with updated versions with hyphens.

[Max Rockatansky]

Wasn't really on my "need to buy" radar but figured it would be cool to have just for the quirky factor. US 1/9 shields with the ampersand are getting pretty hard to find out in the wild as NJDOT is quickly replacing them with updated versions with hyphens.

What California Spades do you have behind the US 1&9?

[Lancaster6]

What California Spades do you have behind the US 1&9?

I've got a CA 99 and 58 hiding back there.