A 103-year-old neon sign sold for $73,800 at Morphy's Auctions on Sunday morning.
Not only was the sign made as an off-shoot of the company of French chemist Georges Claude, who invented neon tubing, but the sign was used at the first drive-in restaurant in American history.
The sign came from the first Pig Stand, which opened up in Dallas in 1921. Anticipating that people might want to stay in their cars instead of go into a restaurant, Jesse G. Kirby and Reuben W. Jackson built the establishment, whose star was the Pig Sandwich.
Knowing its marketing power, the men erected a "Pig Sandwich" neon sign at the corner of Fort Worth Pike and Chalk Road, so passersby would stop for dinner, where they could eat the first-ever onion rings.
Dan Morris, of Morphy's Auctions, said its connections to the first Pig Stand, the historical significance of the connection to Claude and the 103-year-old sign's condition, is a major factor in boosting the price.
The sign did not reach the $100,000 threshold, which is considered a high-water mark in sign values. Last year, an Orange Crush neon sign from the 1950s sold for $189,750. An 1896 Coca-Cola "Cures Headaches, Relieves Exhaustion" sign sold for $105,000.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectible market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.