It’s probably safe to say that the vast majority of car guys and gals know this logo. Mobil has an incredibly interesting history and anyone with deep, deep, deeeeeeeeep pockets can snag this rotating Mobil Pegasus neon sign which is listed on eBay with a buy it now price of (are you sitting down?).. $74,995! I know, change back from your $75,000 bill, if they made such a thing as a $75,000 bill. It’s located in Fresno, California, let’s check it out.
I’ve been on the road for the last couple of weeks and about 1/3 of that time has been spent in bed, sicker’n a rotating neon horse in hotel rooms as I inched my way back home with some sort of flu or food poisoning or who knows what it was. All I know is that it was the worst several days of driving of my life. There was one benefit, though, I got to see a lot of the show American Pickers in hotel rooms. This sign is something that looks like it could have been on a segment of that somewhat fake reality show. I can’t imagine that the Sultan of Brunei would pay $75k for this sign let alone a couple of pickers trying to make a quick buck. I could see if it were in perfect original condition but it isn’t. A seller is always within his/her rights to ask what they want, but if I’ve learned anything from those dozens of episodes, this sign probably isn’t worth much more than $15,000-$20,000 on a good day and I think I’m stretching it a bit. Of course, I’m not a neon sign value expert but what are your thoughts?
After the breakup of J.D. Rockefeller’s illegal monopoly – Standard Oil Company – in 1911, Socony (Standard Oil Company of New York) was one of 34 companies that spun off of America’s first billionaire’s business interests. In case you’re wondering, $1,000,000,000 in pre-income-tax loot in 1911 would be worth around $26,000,000,000 today. Before the Jeff Bezos/Amazon era that was real money! Let’s think about that for a moment, a billionaire in the era before income tax. Ok, my head hurts, back to work. Socony merged with the Vacuum Oil Company in 1931 and eventually became one of the “Seven Sisters” which was a cartel that controlled 85% of the oil market after WWII until the 1970s when OPEC and similar state-owned oil companies gave a rousing beat down to all others. We know the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company today as ExxonMobil. Coincidentally, Exxon was also one of the Seven Sisters under the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey heritage.
Maybe it’s not the sexiest part of this mega-buck sign but a key part is the base. Since this is a rotating sign it needs to sit on this base in order to rotate. Hey, seven years of college didn’t totally go to waste! This is one of the most sought-after neon signs with the alternating and flashing wings, similar to this one on YouTube. The sign listed on eBay is 9-feet long and 7-feet high and even without spending thousands to restore the neon it would sure make a statement. Now, about that price.. Do any of you have any neon signs in your garages? What’s your best offer on this rare piece?
Maybe if you could “bundle” it with a low mile ’67 BB Vette…
Dallas still has theirs….it’s what you would see for miles if you were driving into town back in the day….ours is still around and around and around….
$75k…..it’s a old sign, not an old Porsche!
One of these signs (restored) did NOT sell at a recent Mecum auction for 35k. Given this one is in used and beat up condition it is worth probably 20-30k to the right buyer. He is insane for asking that…
Everything this guy has for sale on E-bay is neat; but extremely overpriced.
Now that is the understatement of the century….Super overpriced. The Western Labrador made my laugh out loud.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/WESTERN-COWBOY-LABRADOR-FRAMED-ART-LAB-DOG/151744874806?hash=item2354b30936:g:segAAOSwLVZVow1b
I get the nostalgia here and the fact that this sign is still in the crate with its neon tubes. But the asking price is down right silly. That’s a lot of money for 20′ of sheet metal some glass tubes and an electric motor. If you had two Pegasus signs in good shape you could make your own neon rotator for a fraction of the price, and when mounted on a pole no one would know the difference. Most would not know the difference. Most younger people don’t even know what the significance of this sign is anyway. I wouldn’t pay more then $3k for this but that’s just me. If a I want a Pegasus I’d just make one. JMHO.
If somebody wants to pay that much, that’s up to them, but I think it’s stupid!
That stuff is fun to look at, but I wouldn’t spend hundreds or thousands for a wall hanger or signage like this. Most people overdo it playing Jay Leno Jr. and all the neon / gas pumps / pedal cars just end up looking cluttered. I’d rather spend it on a car.
Don’t forget the recreation of the 50’s diner in the corner.
When I was a little kid in Santa Monica, CA, (1943-1953) there was an elderly couple named Barnett, who lived behind us. Mr. Barnett was a commercial artist, and he designed the Mobil flying horse.
Not correct. It was designed by Sir Alfred Bossom of the United Kingdom in a “modified classical design” according to the American Oil and Gas Historical Society.
That’s interesting. I wonder why my parents said our neighbor did it. Perhaps some modification if the design….
Has anyone seen my secret stash of crack cocaine? Oh wait! Nevermind, I think this seller found it and is on it.LOL!
. . . and the horse he rode in on!
I watch every episode of Pickers, and remember seeing these picked on more than one occasion. If I remember correctly, the guys paid 2-3K for a similar sized sign with no neon. I would imagine they are worth 8-10K with new neon.
The a**pickers bought one in Poughkeepsie Ny for 1900. These clowns are the reason everything collectible is now unaffordable.
Having grown up running around on my father’s car dealership listening to the salesmen start absurdly high on the used side I am well aware, in fact it was his mantra, when it comes to price you can always go down but rarely go up! I think this guy seriously took that to heart…
It’s interesting but not $75K worth. I honestly don’t know what it’s worth, but it’s worth what someone would pay for it. Being I don’t have a place for it, it wouldn’t worth much to me.
Do neon beer signs count Scotty?
I’m lovin’ the Vette!
PS, great story and I hope you are feeling better! Take care, Mike.
Patch panels? Yikes!
The owner’s been drinking the cheap crap I see. $75K is a nice dream, but that’s all it is. The MOBIL pegasus is not that rare; I know of 3 partable units right off the top of my head. The owners wouldn’t want anywhere near this price, either! Is that the glass ‘neon’ tubing I see within the crate? You’re better off having it re-made! In 6 mos., when he’s still stuck with it, he’ll wonder why but his price won’t even occur to him. Poor soul.
$75K? I just clicked the ebay-link and the buy it now is $ 94,995.00.
This is the “Barn Finds Effect” (BFE *TM*) taking hold.
The seller saw that his listing made this killer site, and immediately recognized that an added $20K was appropriate due to the increase in desirability that these pages always bring!
LOL ;-)
$75,000? I don’t think so, not even if this sign was perfect. The major drawback to large signs is just that, they are large. How and where can you display it? Too big for inside your garage. The garage roof? On a pole outside? Yeah, run that by the wife. The den is not an option either. A business may want it or a very wealthy guy with an airplane hanger or warehouse.
The pool of potential buyers is probably small and the price will deter most folks.
My goodness, this thing is already over 90,000 dollars? I can’t believe people have that kind of money just to throw down on something like this! Baffles my mind!
Is this code for mail order bride, poppy plants from Afghan ? Maybe it comes with a 72 AMC Javelin 401 BB with a four speed and a special build with a
bama gum ball on the roof?
Get a grip bidders it’s just a Pegasus and instead spend
twenty on a Steve Miller LP then you frame the cover of his Pegasus.
Then you can fly like an eagle listening to Sierus
with a cool muscle car instead or a run down shack a couple blocks from some beach 🏖
If you think this is sooo valuable then buy shares in my Ponzi scheme today and get a gazillan interest profit … scouts honor 😜🙃😮
Well I’m in the Sign business and have junked a number of these in my younger days. I wish I still had a few to sell. I sold some back in the 1990’s but I think the most I ever got was around $650.00. I know they are more rare now but since most of these were built back in the 50’s and early 60’s (not exactly sure on when they started and ended) they are worth a few bucks in good working order, with good porcelain and no patch panels but not what this guy is asking. I could build you a brand new one for about half that, neon, rotator and all that would be perfect. I don’t remember how many units of neon were on these but I think around 8 per side. This is a pretty simple pattern for a good tube bender so at about $125 a unit time 16 is $2000.00. A new rotation unit about $10,000.00 and many another $12,000-$15,000 for the rest of the Sign and this is brand new. The guy is crazy, most likely the neon is not all there and considering the age there is a possibility it will need new transformers at $200.00 or so each. The patch panel I believe is a painted replacement of the original access panel for mounting the Pegasus to the pole. I do not see the rotator on the pole but this may be an internal rotator but I don’t remember working on one with the internal rotator. Anything is possible and I only worked on a few that rotated. Most were fixed and many were mounted to the building. But I think the guy is on something or just seeing if he lure in a sucker.
I think that you missed the fact that people are bidding on the sign! I think that it started out at 50,000 and the last time I looked it’s bid up to over 90,000 !
There are no bid’s on this, lot’s of people watching to see if someone is crazy!
He started at 50,000, the last time I looked it was over 90,000! So how do you figure there is no bidding?
And now it’s up to 94,000 so that’s another 4,000 dollars from when I looked at it the last time? So yeah there must be people bidding on it!
There are no bid’s on this! They just keep raising the buy it now. Ebay will show all bid’s, there aren’t any. So no, no bid’s.
Here is a rotating Pegasus in Salado Texas.
City Garage sign makes it feel like 1956.
Flipped it over for you, Ron.
At that price I’ll take three, please, (always good to have a spare).