Interested buyers gathered at Armitage Auctions on Tuesday to snap a piece of Fitzies Cafe history.

Despite its rich history and craftsmanship the neon sign failed to draw any interest when bidding opened at $1500.

With only two bids placed Clynton Brown walked away with the sign for a bargain $1100.

“I’ve been chasing a neon for ages because I like electrical things and signs,” he said after the auction.

He set a limit of $1000 but as the auction fell silent with the bid at $1000 he decided to dig deeper and find more cash.

”It was right on my limit and I thought it’s 100 more dollars, I’m never going to be able to find another local sign and something so iconic to a lot of people,” he said. 

“I thought, stuff it, I’ll get it.

“It will hang in my shed for the rest of my life.

From pans to bowls and everything in between, dozens of items that had served Fitzies City Cafe were auctioned after the store’s closure on August 11.

The Legana resident had a few memories of visiting the popular cafe when he was younger and never thought he’d one day own its neon symbol.

”I always remember going into Harris Scarfe with mum as a kid and looking up and seeing Fitzies there with the pink sign,” Mr Brown said.

“It’s just such an iconic sign that everyone knows.

“I remember the frog in a pond and all that sort of stuff – having that as a treat.”

Mr Brown said the sign would hang in his shed along with other pieces of Launceston he owns.

The collector has signs from a Chickenfeed retail store and other paraphernalia representing the city’s history.

But Mr Brown said there was “nothing to the extent of this” yet at his home. 

“It’s nice to have a big statement piece for the shed,” he laughed.  

Although the history of the sign made for a lucrative sale Mr Brown, who is an electrician by trade, was impressed with the build of the neon.

“They’re one continuous long piece of glass and it takes them hours to bend it and shape it and design it – they’re just not made anymore,” he said.