Some people collect road signs as a hobby while others decorate their walls with them. As you start your very own collection, remember that each of them has a story to tell.
Take for example the road signs in the UK. During World War II, the British government went about removing many of these signs as they thought that without them, enemy soldiers who landed on the island country would lose their way and would therefore get confused.
The old black and white signs that we see in films were crafted from cast iron and had the letters embossed on them.
In rural areas in the UK, some of the old style types can still be seen. Local residents look after some of them while others just remain exposed to the weather until they rot and give way.
When you start on your collection you need to first decide on the types of collectibles that interest you. As you must have realized, there is a wide variety of them to choose from. Road signs may be the usual traffic signs such as stop signs, directional signs and route signs. Some collectors specialize in rural signs while others collect signs as varied as traffic signals and lamp posts. You could also collect them according to the era they were made in.
Depending on how you plan on storing your collection, get the area ready for your collection. If you want to hang up the road signs to display them, inspect the signs first as some of them can be quite cumbersome. While keeping them in a storage area, make sure the place is free from moisture so that your road signs are protected from rust.
While cleaning them you need to be careful that you don't rub off the paint. Use a hose to wash them down with and a gentle cleanser to remove the grease. The resale value of road signs may reduce after cleaning them so find out about it advance.
You can source road signs for your collection from your local transport office. They are quite open to giving them away in return for a small fee. You can also hunt for them at flea market shops and antique shops. Antique dealers may be ready to get road signs for you if you let them know of your interest.
Look around and you just may come across something that catches your fancy. In your passion for collecting road signs, just don't try to remove any by the side of the road – that's illegal you know!