Hood Ornament Presentation Piece

[Doc]

There is an ebay listing today for a "Mark II Presentation Piece" - a hood ornament replica mounted on a small piece of marble. There is a name plate on the side of the base. The seller indicates that the piece was presented to the original purchaser; the engraved name presumably the original owner.

Frankly, I've never seen a piece like this before and know that nothing like it came with our car. I suspect the piece was probably done independently by the dealer for his customers; not by the Continental Division/Ford for all original purchasers. Am I wrong? Are any of you familiar with this presentation piece? Anybody have one like it?

[Barry Wolk]

It's not a Mark II hood ornament. It would have a beveled base to fit the crown of the hood.

I checked further, because the name sounded familiar and sure enough, the company still exists.

http://www.spikelawrence.com/

They make promotional stuff for the auto dealers and manufacturers. This looks very aftermarket, and is probably pretty worthless. They probably made a gazillion of them.

[Doc]

I followed the link and note that Spike Lawrence claims to have been in business for "more than 40 years" (i.e. may not have been in business when the Mark II was under production more than 50 years ago). I also see that the decal on the piece indicates it was for "Lincoln Continental." I wonder if the ebay seller has incorrectly attributed the piece to Mark IIs; maybe it was just something done for more recent Lincoln Continental purchasers/owners by some dealer.

[Barry Wolk]

I made the seller aware that it's not a "Continental" promotional piece. The LCOC has offered these things for years.

[Barry Wolk]

He adamant that the star came from Continental when the owner got the car.

I reminded him that Continental was not part of Lincoln and that the company that made what he's selling didn't exist in 1956.

Curious how he'll respond.

[Barry Wolk]

The seller posted this disclaimer.

"Some people do not think this emblem was made until after Continental Mark II production was over. I do not, please you be the judge for sure. "

Which is fine, but insists that the Foreman person ordered the car. I find no mention of a Foreman in the list of know original buyers.

[Nick DeSpirito]

They were given out in the '60's. (Slab side era) The star of the 60's is also thicker and the points are not as slender as the Mark II's.

[Barry Wolk]

You nailed it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20585900@N00/1205231147/

[Barry Wolk]

The seller has taken away any reference to the Mark II and acknowledges that it's a presentation piece from the '60s.

[Stank-67-98]

" It's not a Mark II hood ornament. It would have a beveled base to fit the crown of the hood."

Absolutely correct Barry....there are MANY MKII's out there with the "flat bottom".

[Barry Wolk]

The seller sent me another note saying that he couldn't believe he was wrong until I sent him photographic proof. Apparently the people he got the paperweight embellished the story a bit.:D

[Doc]

Thanks for all the detective work on this item confirming my skepticism. Something just didn't seem right about the initial ebay description. I hope the seller didn't get taken too badly when he acquired it--but then, it's always buyer beware on the Internet sites' merchandise.

At least it got us off arguing about Elvis' car for a while...

[Barry Wolk]

Last I checked it hadn't sold. I could be wrong.

The seller definitely changed his description accordingly.

[Doc]

This thread (as well as the other thread on the Elvis car) has raised the question of what, if any, premiums were delivered to the original Mark II purchasers by the Continental Division and/or Ford. That's why I posted my original inquiry about this presentation piece--based on the original ebay item description, I thought I'd somehow missed something.

My understanding is that (aside from the owner's manual and service coupon book) the Mark II didn't come with anything other than a bound copy of the "Continental Story" and a subsequent personal letter from William Ford thanking the new owner for purchasing a Mark II. Am I missing anything else? Anyone have something else that came from Continental/Ford with the car originally?

[crystal59]

This item is not the first emblem encased it what looks like marble. i followed one about a month ago which finally ended with a bid of 90 plus. it looked si genuine that I bid until 60 and decided not worth any more and let it go. Back to my question of what items came with the car excluding name plate as this marble piece looked original and glad I stoppef bidding. Thanks Barry for getting the person ti amend because his original description and answers to questions led one to believe it was genuine particularly with the inscription 'made exclusively for '. The person was adament it was for a mark II and not just a sales gimmick

[Mad Scientist]

My understanding is that (aside from the owner's manual and service coupon book) the Mark II didn't come with anything other than a bound copy of the "Continental Story" and a subsequent personal letter from William Ford thanking the new owner for purchasing a Mark II. Am I missing anything else? Anyone have something else that came from Continental/Ford with the car originally?

I have all of those and that is all that I believe my father got. I do recall that he was a bit unhappy with only a 4000 mile warranty on a $10,000 car.:mad::D

[Chuck Lutz]

Mad, that amazed me too! 4000 miles? WTH? I have my orig warranty too. :)

Also, don't forget about the Continental Echoes. Wasn't that given out too?

[Barry Wolk]

Yes, but it didn't come with the cars. I just discovered that the owner's manual wasn't included with the car after a time as they kept getting stolen in-transit. They were shipped separately to the dealer.

I believe Continental Echoes was a promotional piece sent to prospective customers, not people that already owned the car. I could be mistaken, but that's what I heard.

[crystal59]

What about the fleeced lined bag that the car was supposed to be shipped in? Did the owner get that or is that urban myth?

[Barry Wolk]

I read in the files that they were planning on offering them to customers, but the idea was dropped.

[2MarkIIs]

My brother has many of those, they were either given to new lincoln owners or they could purchase them from the early to mid sixties. when you bought a new lincoln continential they usually had the owners name on a plaque glued to the top of the base. The hood ornament on these bases are from 61 to possibly 65 lincolns. Defintly 61 62, 63 ornament.