Just got my Penn Iowa Gas catalog in the mail - besides an overall lack of quality/rarity in any appreciable quantity - I was most disappointed to see all the "contemporary" signs included. This is supposed to be a top notch auction, at one of the two biggest shows of the year. There used to be NO reproductions allowed anywhere at Iowa Gas - now they are part of the "premier" auction? I also noticed several questionable clocks and signs that were not noted as such in any way. I don't like the auctioneer's reply any more than those of you who posted before me..... Sure makes me miss Matthew's Auction even more!

I e-mailed Rich this Morning as follows along with his response.
Though as my e-mail states, there is a time and place for these signs to be in an auction. I do Not believe that time should be while a major gas/oil show is going on!!!

I LOVE THIS PART " They aren't a reproduction. They were special signs made for a special application. They weren't made to be resold. If it's made in the last 25 years....for whatever reason, we think "contemporary" is a good adjective.

My E-Mail:

Rich, having the chance to run the auction at the Iowa Gas show to me is a pretty cool thing. And I know you don 't like the idea of the auction being at night or on Friday where most of us believe it should be so we can enjoy the swap but having Reproduction signs and items (or as you describe them "Contemporary" )scattered throughout your auction is IMO a kick in the face of our Hobby.

These signs hurt our hobby every day and I understand there is a time and place where you can sell them at one of your auctions but during a show filled with collectors that hate this *****, it just plain sucks.

Thanks, Mike Matteson


His response:

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the note and your thoughts. I do appreciate input. I'll offer a couple of thoughts in response. I shared some of this recently as a post on FB.

First, we love selling people's collections. We love both the buyers and the sellers. Because we're collectors too. So... when we sell a collection, we sell the entire collection. We don't cherry pick. And there's a good reason for that, everyone's collection has some great stuff, some ordinary stuff and some "why did I buy that stuff?" Those are the mistakes.

We all have some, including me! Many of those collections have mint original pieces and pieces that are newer. Pieces that are marriages. And pieces that have been restored with replacement parts. I don't think we've ever sold a restored Juke Box, a car or a slot that didn't have something "aftermarket" on it. Some might calls those things reproduction, because they aren't all original. We wouldn't. It's fairly rare to find pieces that come to the market today that are 100% righteous.

Most collections have some of those righteous pieces. Most have some pieces that have been altered over the years or even restored. Most have pieces that are newer, or contemporary. But the collector that owned them liked them all. We sell them all. And we try to be clear about what we sell.

Where a purist collector hates to see the newer pieces, restaurants, decorators and those new collectors love them. The new younger collectors usually can't step up for that $5,000 sign. But they love the look and when their finances allow, they might step up. The market is big enough to make both groups They were made for a business. They aren't a reproduction. They were special signs made for a special application. They weren't made to be resold. If it's made in the last 25 years....for whatever reason, we think "contemporary" is a good adjective. I guess you're welcome to disagree.
happy.

We have some signs in this auction that are newer. And only one or two were made.
We do our very best to meet the needs of both buyers and sellers, the entry level collector and the advanced collector. In the long haul, the market and the hobby will grow when you're serving both segment. No one gains when sellers are dishonest. That's where "reproductions" hurt the hobby.

There ya got it. My two cents worth. Which might not be worth even that.




Thanks again for your thoughts.




Rich Penn