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Oops, forgot to mention…the reminder thermometer from Mumma has two long pins on its back, to pin to a fabric sun visor or, I guess if you wanted, a door panel or anywhere there’s fabric. You can see the wicked points sticking out from the bottom in the picture.

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I thought the attached may be of interest, since the above discussion included the “reminder” plates for oil and such.

M.L. Mumma (has to be a story behind that name!) was a Studebaker dealer in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, from 1923 until 1939. The dealership was located at 1521-27 4th street, which sounds like the entire block.

Apparently he took on Pierce Arrow cars when the two companies had something in common. Interesting to note that this dealership folded in 1939, a year after Pierce did also.

Note the similarity to the above plates with the three oil/grease/battery bars.

I had this boxed in my pile and forgot I even had it. I am working on memorabilia articles for the magazine and will include this piece in those.

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Richard, I understand the concern, and also know that it’s possible to overthink things to a certain degree.

Get them porcelainized black, and there’ll be no need to look back.

Any gray color you’re seeing is 75 years of discoloration, and the intake and exhaust discolor differently due to temperatures they are subjected to…intake maybe 200, exhaust 600 degrees or more.

I have no belief whatsoever that the Pierce engineers debated what shades of gray to make the manifolds…make them black and move on!

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I can make you a canvas (or Haartz cloth) cover, given the correct dimensions. The Pierce logo would need to be embroidered or otherwise applied, unless it was a patch that could be sewn into place.

You may have access to a trimmer in your area who could also fabricate it for you, would be a lot better to do on the car if possible.

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The Columbia coin is an original, and shows much more detail than our coins. I don’t know of other coins, but would bet there are both more originals and more of the replicated coins out there.

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I believe they would have been black originally. The manifold on my 1934 sedan, my first Pierce and a nice original, was a grayish color, but it was very obviously aging and not the original color.

So, my opinion is they were both black and have faded differently, due to difference in operating temperatures.

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Note on the Columbia medal the detail of the rim inside the outer bead, with the outer bead representing a tire. The small projection on the non-engraved side, on the rim, is the valve stem for the tire.

Note how much more detailed the Columbia coin is in those respects than our Pierce coins.

I do think that ours were cast from an original, which would cause the loss of detail. Did PAMCC do it? That’s a great theory, as no one so far in the Society remembers any such project.

And, I agree on value, I think ours are curiosities with but small value. The original, if found, would be a different story!

Since I weighed the 1901-1911 medal, I weighed these two 1903 medals too….1 ounce for the unplated one, 1.1 ounce for the plated one…so if that’s 0.1 ounce of gold, there’s some value!!

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and here’s back of Columbia medal

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Here are pictures of the Columbia coin, which still exists. Not the fact that it appears to be very much gold or gold plated, and the engraving is significantly deeper than the Pierce medals we’re discussing.

I’ve also copied a link to the Internet page, in case pictures don’t work out

http://www.kcstudio.com/lld.html

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Richard, you bring up an interesting point, did the PAMCC reproduce these medals? That would be interesting. The mystery in this is just that, who did make what I’m considering a “replicated” medal (again, my opinion).

Here’s a mention of the same 1903 medal, taken from the Internet:

“The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers conducts an Endurance Test from Chicago to Pittsburgh, and the Columbia Car driven by Bert Holcomb wins a Gold Medal. “

In 1903, if it was stated a “gold medal”, then my belief is that it would probably be solid gold, possibly gold plated. The coin you have, and one of the ones I have, appear to be unfinished, “rough” castings. The one I have that is plated appears to be gold, but the Pierce information becomes very faint, not what one would expect from an original.

It’s possible Pierce reproduced and handed out. I have heard that there are more such coins floating around, although I can’t verify that. Without provenance, they’re interesting, but not very valuable. When I first found mine, I was excited thinking they were the real thing, but time and research has cooled that feeling. I’m still glad to have anything Pierce related in hand!

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Here’s a picture of the LA lube plate I found at Hershey, and a “regular” lube plate next to it for reference.

Jim, to answer your question, my plate is made of brass, but it does appear that it was nickel or chrome plated at one time, with the depressed areas painted.

Like Ed, I’ve never seen this item until this year, and for two to appear is an interesting coincidence, although they are both very obviously (I think) real…if someone faked these, they did a helluva job…

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I actually touched and felt and drooled over Ed’s upholstery find, one for being a Pierce memorabilia collector, and two for being a trimmer, so anything upholstery related gets me going…

I have to tell a story on Ed…walked up to the tent, talking to him, sat down, I showed him the LA lube plate and handed it to him. At that point he received a phone call, he walked a little ways away, and glancing back at me slipped the plate into his rear pants pocket. Joking, of course, but smooth, so smooth….

I’ve found many things over the years at Hershey, but it’s so random…if I’d zigged instead of zagged, if I hadn’t walked to the end of the row to throw away the French fry container, if I’d looked right on the row instead of left, if I hadn’t walked the extra 10 steps to look down in the case holding the lube plate….it’s all luck or fate, or some combination of the two, that gets us these prizes…

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John, did you get that transmission home? I was standing by it earlier in the day, cash in pocket, and all I could think about was sheesh, that sucker was heavy with bell housing and pedals and all. I was also with a friend who’d actually had my transmission apart (as a reference while restoring a similar car at White Post Restorations), and when he said “I don’t think you need it” I listened!

There are better memorabilia collections out there, but I am proud of mine, and have some interesting stuff. One thing I’ve concentrated on is getting the give aways from dealers (solid things), and documentation from each dealer (paper things, such as business cards). I’ll work on how to best present these…and prefer to do articles, as that’s a permanent record…

Thanks for putting me to work! dc

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Yes, that’s the “common” one, and it’s reproduced. The one pictured above and the one I found at Hershey, with the LA mentioned, are the first two of those I’ve seen in many years of collecting Pierce memorabilia….

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Jim, I just found at Hershey an identical lube plate, these are the first two I’ve seen with Los Angeles on them! Yes, I believe this style would have been installed by the dealer. There is another, more generic, lube plate, which possibly could have been installed by the factory, it seems they start showing up on cars about the time the eights came out. I’d be interested to hear other thoughts.

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Richard, I’m only offering my opinion. Look how faint the “George N Pierce Co” and the word “Pierce” are…if I had just won this test, I’d be fairly disappointed if this were the coin or medal they handed to me as an award.

My belief is that, possibly, someone had an original coin, and used it as a casting pattern to make numerous replicated coins.

I would love to think that I, too, have an original coin, and the gold plated one that I have would be the front runner, but alas, I feel they are fakes.

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My belief is that these coins were reproduced at some point, I do not think they are original.

I have two of them, one a “rough” casting, the other seemingly plated in gold. The plated one has a small hole at the top for some reason. The issue that I see (and was pointed out to me by another PAS member) is that the Pierce information is cast into the medal, not engraved. The original was probably a real gold piece, and would have been engraved with the winner’s information.

All that said, I have no idea when these were made, and no one I’ve talked to can add any information. Thus, if you want to believe it’s real, go right ahead. I don’t feel it is, and they’ll be included in an article I’m writing for the magazine about fakes.

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Restoration horror stories? Well, I once had a fellow paint a ’34 Pierce sedan, he said he was in a bind and I foolishly paid him the full price when he was about 90% done…went to pick up car, not only not finished, but he’d skipped town and taken that nice little “Pierce” emblem off my dash as a souvenir….unless you’re great friends with the fellow doing the work, always wait until completion and delivery to let go of the last dollars, it’s the only leverage you have…

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I don’t know, I posted it, showing appreciation for the progress and saying that a lot of us had been there, off to a fast start on a restoration that soon speeds up to a glacial crawl….it’s the nature of the hobby, and as you so accurately mention, no one’s schedule matches yours. I once had an engine in a machine shop for 7 years…the guy owed me a favor and was doing the work for free, so my project was ALWAYS on the back burner, but still….

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Yes, thanks very much, enjoyed the company and the food, both were great!!

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