Dealer sign

That large neon dealer sign at the auction this week got me to thinking. How did the dealership accuire this? Did MM give them to the dealer or did the dealer have to buy them if they wanted one? What years would this have been new? I am thinking after the war and through the '50s. Any one have any knowledge of this? Brian(MN)

How much did the large MM dealer sign sell for? A few years ago there was a nice one (and quite a few other signs) -- the MM sign sold for (as I recall) around $9000. Good question you're asking, also how much did they cost originally.

Dealers had the option of buying these as well as other signs, clocks, and various memorabilia items that the company viewed as "sales helps". I can't help with the time era of these signs or the actual original cost, but I have seen prices on smaller items and they were obviously priced to be attractive to the dealer. Obviously it was advantageous to the company for its dealers to do well.

I have owned three of these large neon signs over the years. I sold one when I got neon fixed on the second one, and recently completed restoration on the last one. I mention this in order to inform you that not all MM neon signs are alike. I have had one sign with six tubes on each side and two signs that have five tubes per side. Two of the signs are open on the curved top and one was fully enclosed. Some signs have two transformers and some have three. Some transformers are 12,000 volts and some are 15,000 volts. The construction and assembly of these signs can be completely different. Because of this, I can only assume that more than one company made these signs for MM. They are a beautiful sign when the neon is operational, but it is very rare to see an original that is still functioning. A former dealer told me once, a neon signs worst enemies were hail stones and snowballs!!

This got to be a long response, but maybe someone on this forum can shed some light on the aforementioned questions of original cost and time era.

Isn't that something when you think about it. A sign now selling for what a top of the line G-1000 Vista once sold for new. I guess that just shows you that the cost of something has nothing to do with what a collector is willing to pay for any item if it is rare.