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Pierce Arrow Hood Ornament


Tom Paniche

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Yes, it appears to be an original Pierce Arrow archer hood ornament.  That would have bolted to a larger radiator cap.  The helmeted archer came out in 1929, with the bare headed archer starting in 1931.  I believe the one you show is in the 1932-1933 range.

 

As far as condition, the one you show is toward the lower end of the scale, with significant pitting.  These can be rechromed, but expensive to do if one wants to have all the handwork done to preserve the detail.

 

As far as rarity, these show up quite often.  I was recently talking to a fellow whose father ran a junkyard in the 30's and 40's, and he said he had quite a number of Pierce archers on his shelf, it would be the first thing a junkman took off the car before scrapping it.  It was such a work of art, I'm sure a lot of owners bringing car to a junkyard would have taken them off too!

 

As to value, a nice one can bring 700-800, with a few perfect examples higher.  I know a lot of people hate putting value on someone's parts or cars, but I'd guess yours might bring 150-200 if someone wanted it.  I've been wrong before, though, so may be high or low.

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I agree with trimacar on all he said except the years; I believe this one to be 1931-32.  The 1933 archers were cast integral with the cap.  Additionally, the helmeted archer was used 1928 thru 1930 in two variations: right foot pointed down (for tall radiator necks) and pointed to the right (flat radiator cap).

 

The issue on condition is that replating invariably loses detail to the grinder.  This can be minimized with very expensive hardwork.  Reproductions in polished stainless steel are about $800, which is less than acquisition plus high-quality replating of this one and others in similar condition.

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Similar ones have sold on eBay in the $250 to $300 range, they show up at least once a month if not more often (not including the fake ones). A slightly better one than yours with the cap sold for around $365 within the last couple of weeks and if you search by sold listings you will find several to judge values with. 

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Grimy is correct, I forgot the '33 was integral....I may have been low on my value, if you want to sell it, the best way is Ebay, meets a big audience and you'd get what it's worth in the open market....thanks for showing it to us!!

 

I still can't believe such a fine car as a Pierce, and one had to drive it looking at a naked man's butt.....

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