Neighbor’s gift was a Woolworth special

Dear Collector: Enclosed is a photo of the vase my neighbor gave me. Could you please tell me its value and what company made it?

Fashioned in the Water Lily design, this piece was made in 1947 by Hull Pottery, an artware firm from Crooksville, Ohio. In competition with Roseville, Weller, McCoy and others, Hull was sold in large retailers such as Woolworth’s. Value on your vase is $30 to $40.

Dear Collector: How much is a 1928 penny?

The Denver and San Francisco mintage run about $1 each, while the coins struck in Philadelphia are worth less than 25 cents. Oddly enough, pennies from 1929, the year of the big stock market crash, are on the average considerably less valuable.

Dear Collector: I have an ice cream scoop that was in my father’s soda shop. It is 2.5 inches square and reads “McLaren’s ICYPI.” Do you have any idea as to the value?

Lucky you, growing up in such sweet surroundings. Your disher (that’s what collectors call scoops) was used in the construction of ice cream sandwiches, hence the name Icy-Pie. Dating from after the 1920s, your cool gadget is now worth $130.

Dear Collector: What is this operating wristwatch worth?

Breitling, a Swiss maker of aviation related chronographs (I think that means watches), produced your Super Ocean stainless steel model in the early 1960s. Listed value is in excess of $1,000.

Dear Collector: We cannot figure out who made this old plate. Apparently, there’s no maker’s name, just the diagram that we’ve copied. Can you help with date, too?

The diamond-shaped figure is an English Registry Mark, which when decoded gives us a date of Dec. 14, 1868. Searching through a reverse directory shows that your decal decorated piece came from the Staffordshire pottery of Cockson, Chetwynd & Co.

Dear Collector: Will you tell me when the GE radio in the enclosed photos was made? My older brother bought it new with money from his newspaper route, and gave it to me sometime in the 1960s.

Tagged as Model 678, this purports to be GE’s first pocket transistor radio. Made in 1955 and available in black, red, ivory and aqua, like yours, this pleasantly designed plastic-cased radio has a current value of about $70.

Dear Collector: I have about 25 years of Reader’s Digest magazines from the late ‘30s on through the ‘40s. I have only six copies from 1937. Do these have any monetary value?

I assume you’re asking about the magazines from ‘37. That being the case, I can say that each issue is worth $5, but only if they are in near mint condition.

Dear Collector: Included are two photos of a cookie jar that has been in my family for as long as I can remember. Can you give me any information on this jar – how old and value?

In the form of a rotund chef, your vintage (patented in 1941) Red Wing jar has various value listings ranging from $90 to $125, though I think that’s too high. A more practical price is $40 to $60.