Beacon Ethyl gasoline sign achieves $32,500 at Matthews Auctions

A rare Beacon Ethyl gasoline single sided porcelain sign made $32,500 at Matthews Auctions' Fall Peotone Petroliana sale in Illinois on October 18.

The lighthouse-shaped sign, rated nine for condition, dates to 1940 and features superb colour.

Beacon Matthews Ethyl
The sign was manufactured by Caminol

Dan Matthews, CEO of Matthews Auctions, commented prior to the auction: "This is one of the hardest petroliana signs to find.

"I know of only two that sold privately in the past five years and they were in the same condition or maybe less."

An Oilzum Motor Oils display sign, its two sides rated 8.5 and 8.75, respectively, achieved $12,250. The sign features good gloss and colour with a minor chip on the reverse, and is exceptionally rare in any condition.

Oilzum motor oil sign
The sign is in excellent condition

An extremely rare Clipper Gasoline sign featuring seaplane graphics and rated 7.5 made $10,500.

One of the most sought after signs on the market, only two are known to have been sold publicly in the last five years.

Other notable lots at the sale included a Rand McNally Official Hotel sign featuring Native American graphics that sold for $10,000, and a Rickenbacker "car worthy of its name sign" rated 9+, which achieved an identical figure.

We have this racing jacket, worn by actor and auto enthusiast Paul Newman in the 1980s - a rare piece of motoring memorabilia.

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