So you’d like to buy antique farm signs? Well, before you start searching for signs on eBay or Craigslist, here are some facts that might help you with your search. First of all, they’re out there! They’re seriously cool pieces of history that were once used to mark property lines or direct folks where they needed to go down the road. Here’s the bad news, though – many of these old beauties have been destroyed over time by neglect and simple human carelessness. But if you know what you’re looking for – even if it’s just a pile of junk in someone’s back yard – this list might help steer you in the right direction so that way it can be rescued before being completely lost forever.
Let’s start with some basics. First of all, there are two types of old farm signs – metal and wood. Metal ones were most often used for advertising purposes, like promoting a certain breed or type of cow (the Holstein Cow sign was the most popular). Wooden ones were more often than not “property line” markers that showed who owned what portion of the landscape/roadway. There are many wooden farm signs still in use today – but they’re quite obviously reproductions because antique ones would have totally fallen apart by now!
Now pop quiz time! If you purchase an old metal one that has no rust on it at all, is it an original? The answer might be yes or no. It’s not unheard of for someone to clean off the rust on an old sign before selling or giving it away. If you see one that’s all shiny like something you might buy in a store – be careful because there might be no patina (surface color caused by aging) at all – which means it’s brand new!
So how do you tell if it’s “the real deal” or not? If you can find any sort of stamping anywhere on the object (for metal ones), odds are it’s probably original. Some signs were hand-pounded, and many still have these little imperfections where the craftsman was hammering with precision. Look inside hollow areas, too, as some manufacturers placed stamped letters inside those parts as well. A lot of the time, they were placed there to indicate who actually made the sign, too – just like some kind of “maker’s mark” that you might see on fine furniture. Some wooden ones have stamps as well, although these are generally more difficult to find unless they’ve been left exposed at the bottom where no one will ever look!
Another thing to consider is size. You can still find an old metal Holstein cow sign that measures 20′ across if you really want one, but odds are it’s not original because cows weren’t that big when this type of advertising was most popular (1920-1930). If you’re buying a brand new Holstein cow today, it will measure about 12′ across or less. Most of the time, the larger the sign – the more likely it is to be a reproduction. BUT… there are always exceptions to this rule, so don’t discount a large sign just because of its size!
The same goes for the shape of the letters on metal signs. If they’re all perfectly round and evenly spaced – it’s not original. Hand-made signs often have uneven spacing and won’t be as symmetrical as something you might find in a store. Fonts were also different back then – so if it doesn’t look like something you’ve ever seen before, that’s probably because it isn’t!
One final thing to consider is how much rust is on the sign. The more rust, the older it is! But wait a minute, doesn’t rust destroy metal? It turns out that the type of rust on these signs is very thin and porous – almost like a light-colored powder or dust.
It should be pretty obvious by now how important it is to look at all aspects of an antique farm signs before making any sort of purchase (even if you get it for free). Everything from shape and size to patina, font, stamping, and overall condition must be taken into account.
