THE COLLECTOR
Dear Collector,
My mother’s aunt passed this Ansco Rediflex camera outfit to me. Could you tell me its worth?
While it is highly unusual to see a 1950s outfit in near mint condition, it doesn’t mean that your twin lens Rediflex is a rarity. With its plastic case, this inexpensive 620 film camera goes for only $10 to $15. Even adding on the accessories separately would only put it at $50 to $60. However, since you have what amounts to a new in-box kit with carrying case, manual, batteries, flash attachment and bulbs, I would put its overall value at close to $100.
Dear Collector, Enclosed find photo of a Victrola which had been in the basement of our old house. I would like to know what it is worth.
Researching your Model VVX machine’s serial number shows that it was made in 1917. Originally selling for $75 when it was introduced in 1910; there were over one-half million units produced in the dozen years it was manufactured. Your phonograph, in working order, is worth $200.
Dear Collector,
Attached are photocopies of some of the war notes in circulation in the Philippines during WWII. Please inform me of their current market value and where best to sell them?
I decided to focus on the 1,000 peso note (which is the highest denomination on your list) that was issued in 1944 by the occupying Japanese Government. It is now valued at fifty cents in very good condition or $1 in very fine condition. As to where to sell them, that question I can’t answer.
Dear Collector,
My mother has had this cookie jar in the form of a bunch of bananas ever since I was a little girl. Do you think it is valuable?
Dating from the early 1950s, your McCoy jar could be worth as much as $150. Another way to describe a group of bananas is to call it a “hand,” for their resemblance to fingers.
Dear Collector,
I have had this vase for years and always wondered about its history. Can you help me?
The backstamp on your vase is a simple trefoil (a clover-like three lobed design) which was used to mark products of the Limbach Porcelain Factory, a German company located in Thuringia, in the last quarter of the 19th century.
Dear Collector,
I was told this glass ball was used to fight fires back in the old days; is that so?
Similar in appearance to a fire grenade, your circa 1900 cobalt-blue sphere is a target ball which was usually filled with colored paper or ribbon and used for firearms practice. Current price on yours is about $200.
Dear Collector,
What value should I place on a photo signed by Benjamin Franklin?
None, because Franklin (1706-1790) died before photography was invented.
Dear Collector,
I bought this self-correcting electric typewriter new in 1996 for $55; what’s it worth now?
Sorry, I offer answers on collectibles, not correctibles.