Tom F wrote: In regards to the second photo. I have never seen that type of style used before for a Baldwin builders plate. You can research the Baldwin plates from that era, and the designs are pretty constant through the years and resemble the third photo. I would suspect the second photo is a reproduction. The color is way off. It looks to be made from copper.
The $15,000 builders plate looks like a fake. Painting a builders plate dramatically lowers its value. Although it is common to have serial numbers cast or punched on the back of a builders plate. That plate is the first one I have ever seen that has the gauge, and locomotive type punched into it. Very unusual and total unnecessary considering the builders plate was hard riveted to the locomotive. It is also suspicious that we can not see the original rivet holes due to the hanger on the back. Original rivet holes will show wear.
Ok, I see you're referencing the first three pictures I posted in my first post. Yes, in the first photo, that style was used, but seemingly only for export engines. There are one or two in existence. This is part of my question.
In the second photo, the plate is brass, but it is a reproduction from the late 1950s, likely using a pattern from Ward Kimball. It has taken on that patina from the heat of the smokebox over the preceding 50 years.
The third photos is an authentic plate, I believe, but it is from 1902...not 1894, and eight years earlier the plate design might (and probably did) resemble the plate in the eBay auction.
Obviously, Baldwin did not do the stamping on the back. This was probably done by the plate's "first" owner, Dick Jackson, who owned a live steam backyard railroad in Beverly Hills and was one of Walt Disney's steam buddies. When he got the plates, he likely stamped them for posterity (remember, this was the late 1950s, and stuff like this was a dime a dozen. He probably painted it red, too. No one thought about "historical preservation."
The thought did cross my mind that it's a fake; not necessarily because of the style, but because of the quality of the letters in the casting. I believe the style to be typical of the era, but I'm not sure, which is why I posted this thread. Agree the price tag seems absurd.
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