Collectible Vehicle Hood Ornaments & Emblems

Collectible Vehicle Hood Ornaments and Emblems

When you think of art, you don't often think of car grille emblems and hood ornaments. These ornaments are found as goddesses, leaping or flying animals, family coats of arms, and even airplanes or airplane propellers. Hood ornaments can be beautiful and may indicate something about the history of the particular car.

Hood ornaments are wonderful collector's items. They can be displayed in lighted curio and china cabinets or on side tables and mantels, while flat emblems and badges can be displayed in shadow boxes. Some are beautiful enough to serve as dining table centerpieces. Many of them are made of heavy brass, bronze, or a metal with chrome plating. These antiques can also serve as paperweights for your office.

The hood ornament on a Rolls-Royce is the famous Spirit of Ecstasy. This statuette is a young woman leaning into the wind. Her arms are flung back, and the fabric of her gown billows behind her in a way that makes it resemble fairy wings. She has been featured on Rolls-Royce cars since 1911 and has been plated in gold and silver. There is also a kneeling version, which is a highly sought-after collectible. The Spirit of Ecstasy is also known as Emily.

The car that has the Trident hood ornament is the Maserati. It appeared with the auto, which first went into production in the 1920s. On a contemporary Maserati, the trident is a grille emblem.

Some interesting hood ornaments include:

• The airplane propeller on the car wheel of the Spyker.
• The flying, winged B of the Bentley, which made its debut in 1919.
• The four-leaf clover, or quatrefoil Verde of the Alfa Romeo.
• The racing greyhound on the Ford Model 48.
• The Pierce-Arrow archer.
• Chief Pontiac on Pontiac cars.
• The winged ball on Horch automobiles.
• A chrome sailing ship on a Plymouth

Peterbilt is a truck company that was founded in 1939. The emblem is the word Peterbilt in cursive script within a red oval in the center top of the grille. Some trucks have a chrome handle right above it.

Antique cars were designed with the radiator cap on the cars exterior. Some of these cars featured ornamental radiator caps to give them more appeal.