‘Fossil’ fuel attracts investment

By

 14 June 2012 22:59 GMT

While landmen and oil scouts, the gumshoes of the industry, tramp America’s backroads in search of the next big gusher, another investment obsession is shaking up the oil industry. Hardy collectors are spinning gold from former castaway gas station products in an increasingly profitable segment of the antiques and collectables business. These relics of a by-gone era may not be your typical investment, yet the market for rare oil-related equipment, or petroliana, is growing even as the US experiences one of its biggest oil booms in decades, and its artifacts have provided surprising returns.

“With the stock market the way it has been, (oilfield artifacts) are holding their value,” says Dan Matthews, who runs one of the largest petroliana auction houses in the US, Matthews Auction Company. “Some are even gaining.”

Collectors are profiting from the neon roadside signs, rickety gas pumps, toy fuel trucks, oil cans, service station uniforms and even vintage oil stocks and bonds. Some oil artifacts, like the signs of long-gone brands like Gilmore Oil and Wilshire Oil, can fetch up to $70,000 a piece.

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