Amazing porcelain Mobil Oil/Gargoyle sign found in abandoned pig barn, USA…
I recently found this sign on property which has been in my family for a very long time. They’ve been running a business on the land for 50+ years and have farmed and lived on it for even longer than that. From what I understand, the barns on the back of the property were used to farm pigs, make fertilizer, process grain, etc. Considering many of them are collapsed, I’ve always assumed there wasn’t much of value in them aside for some old parts and farm equipment, but I’m extremely happy and glad I decided to search through them anyways. There’s still a couple more to go through so hopefully I can find some more signs.
It looks like they used this sign to reinforce the bottom boards of the barn. It’s amazing to me how out of place this sign felt when we saw it, and I always wonder how it ends up in a place like this, especially considering how massive it is at 10 feet long. It being halfway underground and out of the sun really kept it glossy which is great, despite the nail holes on the top. The backside is white and I can’t seem to find any kind of stamp along the edges or anything like that, perhaps it got chipped off but I’m not sure. It’s definitely porcelain and is very heavy. From what I can find online, I’m assuming it’s from the 1920’s before Vacuum merged with Socony, though I could be wrong of course. But if there’s any other cool information about it I’d love to know. I’m also curious as to what the value is on a sign like this in this condition. Thanks for checking it out.