Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion flying A black wing ?

got a email asking what year this flying A black wing is ?
not familiar with this as I've never seen this before
was told this was bought by Mike & Frank on latest Pickers show.
your 2¢ .. ...

I don't like the 2nd E in service...

Does not look right at all. No detail in the wings. Almost looks as if the wing were painted over black. Porcelain chips are since the black was done though.

Whether it's real or not, it looks like JUNK to me, compared with the regular ones with white wings. I wouldn't touch it...

BrianH

They are rare. I have seen one in person but agree with above post. If I had one I would sell or trade it. White wings with black accents look way better.

Great conversation and interesting observations about the sign!

However...my looming question concerns Mike’s buying it on American Pickers. With so many shadows hanging over its authenticity it really surprised me that it was purchased as absolutely authentic without any questions being raised by him! Pretty expensive roll of the dice on his part!

I would like to add one thing, that I forgot to mention.... It's not like they forgot to ad the white to the wings before the sign was finished at the factory because (as with most signs) the white was laid down first, which is evident in the chips in the first pic above. Therefore the white in the wings would've been finished already.

I don't ever recall seeing a sign where the same color was laid down twice. And for the most part, I believe colors were usually laid down lightest first to darkest last.

-Steve

photo c. 2003

Wouldn't be the first time Mike & Frank got taken!

Nice shot from the Peotone swap meet.....I'm the guy in blue, with his back to the camera. Wow, was that 2003? Could be, I guess, since I had a lot more hair in the photo than now. John

Hi John, no that was taken at the Metro Petro show in Jersey. It was the year the show was in the big gym at the former location and a lot of the local roads were flooded.

I know of one that's been hanging in a Florida collection probably since the early 1990's. I think it's a 5' to 6' sign for I've been trying to buy it forever. To me it looks real and India production wasn't around back then...plus no one made a die-cut reproduction that size back then either. Got to be real.

The seller of the one in c. 2003 MP photo is a member here, he does not sell reproductions.

Thanks for the gentle correction about your photo being from the Metro Petro gas/oil show in New Jersey (not Peotone. IL), my friend. How embarrassing. The guy in the far right looks quite like me, at least from behind. And, what really threw me was the plastic shelving sections being used on the far right vendor's swap table. That is exactly how I set up my vending space. Based on your location comment, I put on my reading glasses and got a magnifying glass out. Of course, you are right. I still admire that guy's fairly decent crop of hair, and rugged good looks...at least from behind! Thanks for the fun, MetroPetro. John

There were a couple people making porcelain signs in the 80s and 90s and to me, these feel like a "piquadio special" but I could be wrong.? I have come across some weird ones around here because of that person and a couple others, like another I heard of up in BC. This is one of the more obvious ones (and not porcelain) but there are others, that I've seen and touched, that are not as easy to pick out, and Many fake lenses from those folks too.
The best way I know to confirm originality of a sign is to find a old pic of one in use and I've seen a lot of Flying A station original pics and not one with a black wing, but, again, I could be wrong. Getting your hands on a original dealer advertising catalog is another sure way to know.