THE COLLECTOR
Dear Collector,
I remember my grandfather using this wind-up turkey to amuse us kids in the late 1950s. It walks and the neck moves, but the gobble doesn’t work anymore. I can’t find any markings on it. Can you tell me if it is worth anything?
A closer look at the winder key may reveal the makers name: Alps. This Japanese firm began producing mechanical (electrical and spring-driven) toys in 1948, though today they specialize in electronics. Even without its “voice,” your colorful bird is worth $75-$100.
Dear Collector,
Believe it or not, this $5 bill was found by my son 20 years ago in a book he checked out at the library. I know it’s old, but how much is it now worth?
You have a second issue of the 1902 series National Bank Notes. Portraying President Harrison the 23rd (there was also a Harrison in position #9), your large-size bill has a potential value of about $80.
Dear Collector,
My mother purchased this Maling teapot in the early 1940s. I am not sure if it was new at the time, but it is in almost pristine condition. Can you tell me the year it was made?
According to the backstamp used by this English potter, your porcelain pot made at Maling’s Newcastle-on-Tyne factory was brand new when it came into your mother’s hands.
Dear Collector,
Can you help me find out the current value of this 1953 comic book, Peter Panda?
Peter, his girlfriend Pretty Panda, and various other friends, both animal and human, were featured in this DC (National Publications) comic that ran for about five years beginning with your book, which was the first edition. Your copy looks to be in very good condition, putting its value at about $200.
Dear Collector,
I’ve looked all over for information on my Humpy Dumpty cookie jar, and came up empty, can you help? I know it’s at least 35 years old, because that’s how long I’ve had it.
Add another two decades to your Sierra Vista Ceramics piece, and you’ll have its age. Now worth $500-$600, this jar was one of several Humpty designs produced by this family firm in Pasadena, California.
Dear Collector,
My uncle gave me this Falkland Islands 10-shillings note that he obtained from a British airman that he met in Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm in 1991. Is it worth anything?
Ten years earlier, this same flyer may have fought in the Falklands when Argentinean military forces occupied these South Atlantic islands, a colony of Great Britain. Your note, issued in 1938, has a possible value of $50.