Thrift-store find fetches top dollar
Dear Collector,
The enclosed pictures are of a small ceramic coffee server that I purchased for $1.98 from a thrift store. The only identifying marks are numbers on the bottom. Maybe it’s worth nothing but it looks like it is an old piece.
Given that its majolica glaze shows signs of age, your vintage piece with an exceptional woven design and lid topped by a tiny pineapple, is worth much more than you paid. If I had to guess (and I am guessing), I’d say that $50 is a conservative value.
Dear Collector,
What is the age and value of this small pocket mirror showing a lady in a large hat with two red flowers and the words “Drink Delicious Coca-Cola?”
I wish you would have included some anecdotal history because, if original, this advertising giveaway dates from about 1911 and would have a value in excess of $500. However, chances are very great that what you have is a low value reproduction from the 1960s or ‘70s.
Dear Collector,
Please tell me the value of an 1899 silver dollar?
If it bears no mint mark (look above the letters “D” and “O” in the word dollar on the reverse), your buck could be worth $30-$50. If your dollar is from San Francisco or New Orleans, then its value would be under $20. In 1899, eight-bits would have provided one meal for a family of five.
Dear Collector,
The dinnerware shown in these photos belonged to my grandmother who may have obtained it as a wedding gift in the early 1950s. I’m not interested in prices, but I would like to know the set’s name and approximate age.
Decorated with large magnolias, this circa 1953 Homer Laughlin China ware is in their “Cavalier” pattern.
Dear Collector,
Here’s another story of an old clock rescued from the trash. I’m attempting to rehab it and get it running again. Because it’s a foundling, I can afford to put some money into getting it going. Age and value please?
Introduced in 1880 by Waterbury, your “Montrose” mantel timepiece could be worth $300-$400 in tick-tock order.
Dear Collector,
I bought this Monkees game (paid $7) at a flea market just for the box cover graphics, that I intended to put beneath glass on my coffee table. When I got it home I found it was complete and virtually unused. I feel it’s worth more than I paid. Is it?
Indeed, your 1967 Transogram board game based on the TV series/pop rock group has a listed value of nearly $100.
Dear Collector,
What can you tell me about this working American cash register? My mother got it when her parents closed their store sometime in the 1940s.
An early example of an adding machine married to a cash register where the items were totaled up for each sale, this was made in the 1920s by American Adding Machine Company of Chicago. Potential value is around $100.