THE COLLECTOR
Dear Collector,
This is my grandfather’s medallion that he received after serving in France during WWI. What can you tell me about the history and value of this keepsake?
There are a couple of things I can tell you and one I can’t. The 88th Infantry Division, which awarded this bronze medal (missing its distinctive multi-color ribbon), was organized in 1917. During WWII, the Cloverleaf Division (named after their distinctive blue quatrefoil insignia) was sent to Europe again, this time to Italy. Today, this unit is part of the Army Reserve Regional Support Command located in Minnesota. What I can’t tell you is the medal’s value: how do you put a price on sacrifice and bravery?
Dear Collector,
Enclosed is a reproduction of the mark on a platter that I got years ago at a yard sale for $1. I hope it’s old; is it?
Not only is it old, between 108 and 120 years, but your earthenware piece made in England by Rathbone Smith & Co. of Tunstall is worth considerably more than the price you paid: at least an additional $50.
Dear Collector,
Can you tell me if this Honeywell camera is worth anything?
Japanese made, your circa 1960 35mm rangefinder is listed in one price guide for $15-$20.
Dear Collector,
We found this “Blast Off!” game while cleaning out a footlocker stored in our attic. Since our family is the only one who’s lived in the house, it must have belonged to my father or his brother (both born in the late 1940s).
This space-based board game came out in 1953, so the timeline is right. Great cover graphics often determines value, and your Selchow & Righter game with its Buck Rogers rocket ship zooming through space qualifies. So, that’s why it’s worth $100.
Dear Collector,
My dad brought several of these Italian 50 lire notes back home after WWII. Are they worth something now?
Issued a few years after Mussolini’s regime assumed power in 1922, these notes have an average price of $25 each.
Dear Collector,
I have two Scotty dogs, so could not resist buying this pair of bookends I saw in an antiques shop. I paid $60; was that too much?
A Pennsylvania manufacturer by the name of Littlestown Hardware and Foundry Company (LITTCO) is responsible for producing your set of cast bronze canines in the later 1920s. Current value is two or three times the price you paid.
Dear Collector,
Does my copy of “Shy Little Kitten” have any value? I think it was bought for my older sister who is now 65.
Published by Little Golden Books in 1946, your 42-page book has a high value of $12, if it’s in near perfect condition.
Dear Collector,
I know this vase was made by Weller but I don’t know the style name or value; can you help out?
It’s called “Baldin” and was first made in 1915. Described as an embossed naturalistic pattern, in this case, apples on a blue background, your 12-inch high example has a listed value of $300-$400.