Dealer 1466 is Marianne's Vintage on the main floor, and you'll find man cave stuff. "My husband is an old car guy," Marianne told me. They have license plates, hub caps, road signs, dealer signs, Harley Davidson pieces and old tools and toolboxes. Yes, there are hood ornaments and "script" which are the badges that were written in chrome on cars. Typical script pieces might be "Ford Mustang" or "Chevrolet" written in chrome.
There are also original oil well signs in porcelain that were on display in front of oil wells or on the gates at the oil fields that might say Chevron or Texaco. These are very old because they're in porcelain. They are about 12-inches by 24-inches and make great wall pieces. There are also oil cans and oil squirt cans that mechanics used to use.
Gas station memorabilia is always very hot and it's hard to find pieces that are reasonably priced, Marianne told me. Road signs sell well including stop signs, dead end street signs and speed limit signs. "As soon as I put a stop sign in it gets sold. I think people like having a stop sign on their wall. It's usually the first sign people collect, she said.
There are also Indian baskets and bowls and dolls and these are all authentic. Many of these are signed by the artists in the tribe.
The gasoline memorabilia and the signs have the best investment potential, Marianne advised. There's not much available and there aren't many dealers selling them while there are a lot of men who collect these things.
Hood ornaments that are original from cars made in the 1940s and earlier are very valuable. They are hard to find. "We don't even see them at old car swap meets. The men that have them want to keep them." An attractive, original hood ornament can easily be valued at $500 or more, advises Marianne.