Reproductions of an early lithographed tin Campbell’s Soup sign mimicking an American flag shouldn’t fool you. Originals, which date from the early 1900s, are about 27 1/2 by 39 1/2 inches. The copies, 11 1/2 by 16 1/2 inches, were issued by Campbell’s in 1994 to celebrate the company’s 125th anniversary. They are even labeled as “replicas” on the back. There may be as few as five known examples of the original embossed signs, which say either “6 Plates for 10¢” or “21 Kinds 10¢” in the top right corner. Some sources say that so few original signs exist because Campbell’s recalled them early on, fearing that the design showed disrespect for the flag. As it turned out, the U.S. Flag Code, passed by Congress in 1942, forbids use of an American flag in commercial advertising. An original sign auctioned in October 2013 for $40,250. The highest price ever paid for an original was $93,500 at a 1990 Richard Oliver auction in Maine.
