This 100-year-old subway sign can be yours for $150,000
We already know that the MTA holds monthly online sales of ephemera–including everything from retired subway cars to vintage tokens–but apparently individuals with their own collections of transit collectibles can also make a pretty penny selling the goods. Take for example this 100-year-old subway sign that Gothamist spotted for sale on Etsy for $150,000. Sure, the price tag may seem fair for a century-old relic, but the 8′ x 11″ piece is a simple white sign with black letters that read “Times Square.” And it’s authenticity isn’t actually confirmed…
Stein included historic images of similar Times Square subway signs in his Etsy post
Seller Scott Stein (who penned an entire soliloquy to the sign) claims it was made by the Baltimore Enamel Company on Fifth Avenue, one of the nation’s oldest producers of porcelain enamel signs. “I acquired this sign at The New York Americana Pier Show almost 20 years ago [and] have been collecting and selling vintage signage for even longer as a hobby. There is no paperwork with this piece—as with most of all old New York street and subways signs they were scrapped or kept by workers who later sold them off,” he told Gothamist, who have reached out to the Transit Museum in an attempt to confirm its authenticity.
[Via Gothamist]
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Images via Streetreasure/Etsy
