What's it Worth?

Show notes ep32 The Auctionwally Show price report on Groton antiques auction

2008-10-06T20:00:00.000-04:00

Listen to the show to find out how much the items pictured above and many more items sold for at this auction.

This episode of the show will air live on Monday evening at 9pm EST. If you've found this page early, why not click on the Radio Show button above and listen to any of the back episodes?
Or, just browse around the site at your leisure.

If you'd like to call into the show with a question or comment, please feel free at 1-646-378-1561
There's also a chat room we encourage people to use, you may ask questions and post links there as well.

Click here for the show, or the chat room.
Or click on the play button below to listen live.

Hello there this is Auctionwally and your listening to episode 32 of the Auctionwally Show. This show is being live from Barre MA and Columbus Ohio. It's October 6th, 2008 Monday Evening at 9pm Eastern time.

We will be here every Monday evening from now into the foreseeable future. Not to worry if your listening to a back episode of the show, since we're covering things that are old, the show is worth more the older it gets!

If you've missed something you'd like to know more about on the show check the show notes for details and links to the websites we talk about.

I'm with my co-host Mitzi Swisher from Vintagegoodness.com and I'm going to ask her to tell you what we'll be talking about today.

For this episode I'll be giving a report on the the recent Groton MA, antiques dairy farm live auction I just did on Saturday October 4th. If you'd like to see a video of some of the featured items in that auction, click here.

The latest news...

Feature story and price report on Groton MA antiques dairy farm auction.

Contest and outro:

The contest. Well Mitzi, as we do with every show, we have a contest. For this contest, the winner will an envelope surprise package of paper collectibles and a download of my eBook, selling your valuables in tough times.

The question is: What was the famous craftsman organization that Elbert Hubbard founded in the early 1900s?

"Selling Your Valubles in Tough Times, a Yankee Auctioneer's Best Secrets"

The winner will be the first person who emails me with the correct answer at wkolenda@gmail.com

Well I want to thank every one for listening and remind them that the show airs live on Sunday Afternoons at 2pm eastern time. There will be show notes posted at www.auctionwally.com with links to the sites we've talked about.

Well it looks like it's time to wrap things up, that hour flew by!

We hope to see you next Monday evening at 9pm EST. So please tell your friends about the show and come back again. Don't forget, you can listen to any of the back episodes by clicking the red rectangular radio show button at the top of the page at Auctionwally.com

If you've enjoyed today's show please consider giving it a rating at Blogtalkradio, or on iTunes. That really brings more listeners and helps out a lot. It only takes a second and we'd really appreciate it!

Now here is that Brainpool song which you heard a small clip of at the beginning of the show titled "This is Junk".

Links to sites mentioned in the show:

Groton MA auction Video
Vintagegoodness.com

Auctionwally's online store
TheVintagelist.com

The Auctionwally Network

Worthpoint.com

Find Brainpool on...

What's it Worth? Appraisals for 2 Antique Victorian Hanging Lamps

2008-10-05T23:01:00.008-04:00

Laura asks:

These are some lights that were removed from a beach house that was built about 25 years ago. I cleaned parts of one to see what kind of metal was underneath. It seems to be a solid brass but need you advice on what is might be worth. They were both working when they were removed.

Thank you

Laura

AW says: Let's start with the first lamp which would appear to be brass, or brass over copper. To be sure of this take a magnet to the metal, if the magnet does not stick, it is either brass or copper. That's a good thing in this case. Your lamp was originally a hanging oil lamp, but it has been converted to electricity as so many of these were.

Hanging lamps from this period are very collectible and in demand.

Date range: 1850-1890

Retail value: $450-$600
(top price)

Wholesale value: $250-$300
(The midrange price you could expect to achieve at a well advertised live auction. The price that is most often realized)

Quick sale value: These sell well, and there is almost never a need to "quick sell them".
The price your likely to get if you have to sell your item immediately and your prospective customer is aware of this.

Common terminology, nicknames, keywords: Hanging lamp, brass lamp, Victorian hanging lamp.

In most cases, I believe it would be beneficial for your to give the prospective buyer a link to this page, and to bookmark it via your favorite bookmarking service.

Care and storage tips: Obviously you'll want to be very careful when hanging this, if you damage the shade you'll take a large portion of the value away.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AW says: This too is a converted oil lamp. It' has been repainted, and this brings down the value, my appraisal value is for it in the repainted condition. This is sweet lamp, Victorian items with cherubs are popular.

The metal on this will be cast iron.

By the way, converted lamps bring quite a bit less than those which are original if they permanently alter the structure of the lamp. It appears from the photos that yours were conveted properly with a cord tuck method rather than damaging the lamps.

Date range: 1860-80

Retail value: $350-$400
(top price)

Wholesale value: $200
(The midrange price you could expect to achieve at a well advertised live auction. The price that is most often realized)

Quick sale value: $125
The price your likely to get if you have to sell your item immediately and your prospective customer is aware of this.

Common terminology, nicknames, keywords: Hanging oil lamp, Victorian oil lamp w/ cherubs.

In most cases, I believe it would be beneficial for your to give the prospective buyer a link to this page, and to bookmark it via your favorite bookmarking service.

What's it Worth? Appraisal for Meriden CT Insulated Pitcher

2008-10-05T22:23:00.004-04:00

Melinda asks:

Hello, I just purchased this item and a few others at a yard sale.

I am wondering what it is, how much it is worth, what it is called etc. Thanks

I am having a hard time taking a picture of the underside with out glare...I will send you what I have.

The interior seems to be ceramic, this thing is massively heavy probably at least as heavy as a gallon of milk...10lbs? measures 10inches just to the lip in ht, another 2-3inches including the hinged lid.... approc 13inches high then prob about the same in width Appox 13inches

The bottom is marked with a

Guaranteed by

Roger Smith & Co

Meriden, CT

PATd JUNE 13, 1868

PATd NOV 3d, 1868

284

USA

AW says: That's a very nice Victorian silver plated, insulated water pitcher. Ceramic was the best known insulator at the time, so this was meant to serve either hot or cold drinks, in an elegant setting. Meriden silver company was one of the most well know silver companies in the country at the time.
I didn't want to disclose here, what you've confided that you paid for it, but if you want to triple your money, just let me know. Wink, wink. Great buy.

Date range: 1868-1880

Retail value: $95 - $110
(top price)

Wholesale value: $45-$60
(The midrange price you could expect to achieve at a well advertised live auction. The price that is most often realized)

Quick sale value: $25
The price your likely to get if you have to sell your item immediately and your prospective customer is aware of this.

Common terminology, nicknames, keywords: Insulated server, pitcher, silver plate ceramic lined water pitcher, Meriden silver plate pitcher.
In most cases, I believe it would be beneficial for your to give the prospective buyer a link to this page, and to bookmark it via your favorite bookmarking service.

Care and storage tips: I'd be very careful about cleaning a piece like this. If you rub too hard with a harsh polish, the base metal will show through and these old silver pieces start to go down in value when that happens.

What's it Worth? Appraisal for Slovenian Beehive Folk Art Panels

2008-10-05T17:32:00.004-04:00

Dan asks:

Hi

I'm very curious about these panels. I picked them up in a church rummage sale on Ocean Ave in San Francisco. I did some googling and found references to Slovenian Beehive Panels that look just like this.

Thanks for any further insight.

AW says: Hi Dan, those are indeed Slovenian folk art bee hive panels. They are very cool. There are a great many bee keepers in Slovenia and many of them painted the sides of the panels. Some of the bee keepers believed that this would help the bees determine which hive they belonged to, although I'm sure the bees were capable of knowing this themselves.

Because these have been painted for hundred of years on the same types of inexpensive pine panels, it's difficult to pinpoint age. Judging by the patina on the backs of yours and the paint wear on the front, I'd put them in the later half of the 19th century, but have to admit, they could be as fresh as the 1940s.

Bee keepers are very often collectors and I would imagine that these would be desirable to a U S bee keeper as a neat pieces of bee keeping history.

Date range: 1870-1950

Retail value: $95-$150 for the pair. The reason these are not valued much higher than this is due to the large number of them available.
(top price)

Wholesale value: $65
(The midrange price you could expect to achieve at a well advertised live auction. The price that is most often realized)

Quick sale value:$45
The price your likely to get if you have to sell your item immediately and your prospective customer is aware of this.

Common terminology, nicknames, keywords: folk art paintings, Slovenian bee keeper panels, painted bee keeper panels, Slovenian folk art.

In most cases, I believe it would be beneficial for your to give the prospective buyer a link to this page, and to bookmark it via your favorite bookmarking service.

Care and storage tips: I would not keep these too close to heat, sap residue can drip from them if it's not already depleted. For general knowledge, no paintings should be hung above a fireplace or wood stove. I know you see this through out history, but many great works of art have suffered damage from this practice.

What's it Worth? Appraisal for R J Roberts Golden Oriental Pheasant

2008-10-05T16:26:00.003-04:00

Leslie asks:

Attached are pictures of a 17” x 8” bird.

Please advise the value. I inherited this from my father, who said many times “the bird is worth a lot, don’t sell it at a flea market”. He never told me what he paid for it.

Thanks

Leslie

AW says: Hello Leslie, thanks for your appraisal request, that's a very well done porcelain Pheasant. However, it came along in the "limited edition" craze during the 1980s and almost anything that was signed and numbered was deemed to be worth a lot of money and that's just not the case.

While 5 of 25 would appear to indicate a very limited production, what the manufacturers of these editions often did, was change very minor detail of a bone china piece like this by maybe doing something as mundane as putting another line in one of the birds feathers and then produce another run of 25. They would do this hundreds to thousand of times so that technically a each edition was different but only so slightly that it would never make a difference to serious collectors.

What you have is as I said, very well done and lifelike, and in years to come, may increase in value.

Date range: 1986 as dated

Retail value: $75
(top price)

Wholesale value: $25
(The midrange price you could expect to achieve at a well advertised live auction. The price that is most often realized)

Quick sale value: $15
The price your likely to get if you have to sell your item immediately and your prospective customer is aware of this.

Common terminology, nicknames, keywords: Limited edition, English porcelain, bone china, bird statue, R J Roberts, limited edition

In most cases, I believe it would be beneficial for your to give the prospective buyer a link to this page, and to bookmark it via your favorite bookmarking service.

Care and storage tips: It's a good idea never to expose any fine porcelain to extreme teperatures.

What's it Worth? Appraisal for Antique Marble Top Chest of Drawers

2008-10-05T15:50:00.003-04:00

Michael asks:

Hi Wally,

This is an antique dresser I got about 10 years ago from a friend who renovated homes. It was a gift to me if I just "got it outta his way"

I have been told much about this item and do not know what is true but all have told me it is very valuable.
It has a marble top, that is movable, on the back and under the top it is signed with a black paint, by a MRS.J L Meyers Newberg, NY a assume an original owner? Don't know, it is a heavy piece, there is some damage around the bottom it look like from being moved over the years, original handles and hardware, no key however the drawer have a key hole, but it all wood on the lock except for inside. I was told the woodwork on the front is special, it was before real decent tools existed and they made a mold and mixed glue with sawdust and it is applied on the front of the drawers. I would guess early 1900's. Not sure but have been wanting to know about it and it's value for a long time, I once had a guy offer to add a chimney to my house, the whole deal in exchange for it so I said NO due to speculation it could be worth a lot.

Let me know, thanks

AW says: That's a good chest of drawers, it's likely European. The drawers are covered with a very nice "matchbook veneer", I believe the veneer is of Black Walnut. The information you got on the applique is partly right, but the applied carving is real wood, not a mixture of wood and sawdust.

This has nothing to do with what tools were available at the time, evidence of this statement is proven by the equisite hand carved items in history well before the date of the chest. This applied carving was one method of making furniture fancier at a lesser cost to the manufacturer. You chest is actually a bit earlier than you thought it was and the marble top adds value, as does the fact that it's in excellent condition.

All that said, the price range of this type of furniture is not in the price range you've been told by others as you've indicated in your emails.

Date range: 1850-80

Retail value: $1,500-$1800
(top price)

Wholesale value: $600-$800
(The midrange price you could expect to achieve at a well advertised live auction. The price that is most often realized)

Quick sale value: $400
The price your likely to get if you have to sell your item immediately and your prospective customer is aware of this.

Common terminology, nicknames, keywords: Matchbook veneered chest of drawers, european veneer chest of drawers, marble top chest, applied carving.

In most cases, I believe it would be beneficial for your to give the prospective buyer a link to this page, and to bookmark it via your favorite bookmarking service.

Care and storage tips: Always be very careful of over polishing veneer furniture, the polish can get in the seams of the veneer and lift it off of the origninal wooden surface. Apply any polish to the rag your using, never to the piece itself.

What's it Worth? Appraisal for Japanese Screen Print

2008-10-05T15:16:00.004-04:00

Cathy asks:

I obtained this painting from an elderly man that I was caring for. I don't know any information on it and was hoping that you could help me identify the artist or anything regarding this painting. The photo does not show the brilliant colors : ( It is approx. 21 x 17 in the frame. It appears to be painted in very rich colors on a cloth type material. Maybe silk? Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for you time,

Cathy

AW says: Hello Cathy, thanks for your appraisal request. You have a Japanese silk screen print. These were produced by thousands of artists and when it's not known who this artist is as is often the case, one would have to go by quality & color etc.

Because of the sharp vibrant quality of a silk screen print they are often mistaken for paintings.

Date range: 1940-80

Retail value: $125
(top price)

Wholesale value: $50-$75
(The midrange price you could expect to achieve at a well advertised live auction. The price that is most often realized)

Quick sale value: $25
The price your likely to get if you have to sell your item immediately and your prospective customer is aware of this.

Common terminology, nicknames, keywords: Silk screen,

In most cases, I believe it would be beneficial for your to give the prospective buyer a link to this page, and to bookmark it via your favorite bookmarking service.

Care and storage tips: Never touch the surface of a silk print they can be very fragile.
Original oil paintings should never be matted under glass.

Antique New England Farmstead Auction Oct 4th, 08 Groton MA

2008-09-30T22:28:00.000-04:00

Auction Antique Farmstead Saturday, Oct.4th, 1pm (preview 10am-1pm)
120 Boston Rd.(119) Groton MA 01450 on the grounds of PC Myette Inc

This will be an ABSOLUTE auction without reserve. Starting at 1pm we will be auctioning off the contents of a local Chelmsford MA Dairy barn which will include wagons, sleighs, farm equipment, antique furniture and accessories, here is a partial list of this jam packed auction:

Click here to see more photos

A late 1800s buckboard wagon w/ old blue paint excellent cond., another antique “go to town” wagon with the original stenciled paint, also in excellent cond., extra wagon wheels, 2 seater Victorian horse drawn sleigh excellent cond., at least 8 large 8ft by 2ft antique enamel signs featuring Educator Cape Cod Cookies by Salto Enamel & Novelty co., Early metal Whiz Chemical co. sign, Bradts Soda Biscuits Box, 14 foot logging sled w/ old blue paint (1 runner need repair), organic mulcher, hay flipper, hay rakes, large mill wheels & rollers, wheel tillers, disc harrows, antique child’s wheel barrow, 15 drawer oak desk, oak commode, Poulin chain saw, 1960 IH Cub Cadet Lawn tractor model 100, grinding wheel & stones, 2 seat horse drawn trotting surrey, plenty of early milk cans incl Winchester NH dairy, Whiting dairy, tin sifters & measures, early wooden barrels, antique buggy jack, early tool box, lots of hardware including old hinges, pulleys, block & tackle, large gaslight lamp post top, large Charbroil No. 240 outdoor grill, buck saws, scythes & other hand tools, Ox yokes, antique books, paper & ephemera, stack of old comic books from the 1950s & 60s, nice condition including: Superman Nos. 72& 83, Dell four colors Tarzan, Disney etc, Boy Illustories, Man Comics, Racket Squad, Jumbo Comics, Zorro, lots of records, lps, 45s, 78s incl: Chuck Berry ep5119 on Chess Rock and Roll Music, The Platters, the Everly bros, Duane Eddy and much more the collection is in exceptional condition, Regal portable Victrola, collection of mini-license plates,stoneware jug from PH Donohoe & co. Liquors & Wines of Lowell MA, sets of snow shoes, horse saddles, leather strapped oak slat trunks, fur coats, a pile of linen, lace and fancies, Victorian Oak stands, Mahogany stands, a Mahogany desk, ball and talon foot piano stool in Mahog., an upright piano, 4 foot tall early country paneled cupboard, unusual twisted column Mahogany pedestal, large antique bell jar, several antique rocking chairs of Mahog. Oak , Wicker chair, antique silver plate, old photos, early steam gauge by Welch bros of Lowell MA, New Era check writer, collections of prints and other artworks incl: a huge engraving of Niagra Falls signed John A. Levitt of Boston MA dated 1893, Victorian era panoramic views, woman shepard in fields, religious prints, Victorian fancy cradle and early country plank side cradle, porch swing, several chests of drawers with mirrors, Victorian sleigh robe, country bins, wheat thresher, saw blades, 48 star flag, 1861 well cistern, and MUCH more.

Come prepared to stay for the day, PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN CHAIRS, this will be a combination of a Walk-a-Round and seated auction. It will be outdoors AND indoors and all items will be sold rain or shine! The sale will be catered.

Terms: 10% buyers premium, cash, checks, credit cards accepted, you must have a proper ID to get a number, no exceptions, storage and trucking is available.

To see photos and more details go to www.auctionwally.com, click on the link in the upper right on the page. OR call 978-355-2094
Walt Kolenda Auctioneer, MA auction license #2621

Click here to see more photos.

What's it Worth? Appraisal for Japanese Moriage Bowl

2008-09-30T21:25:00.004-04:00

Vickie asks:

Good Morning,

This is a porcelain Chinese bowl that I received as part of my grandmother's estate. There is a tag on the bottom that has the number 1760 and the letters LomB I or 1 on it. This bowl is at least 45 years old, but I'm guessing it is a lot older, as my grandmother was an antique collector. Can you please appraise and share any other information you may have on this piece? I have another email coming along with 2 more photos attached, as I can only attach these photos with this email.

AW says: Hello and thanks for your appraisal request Vickie. That's a lovely bowl, but it's not Chinese, rather Japanese. It's done with a technique called "Moriage" which refers to the applied dotting of porcelain that decorates the item. This was an often used Japanese technique.

It is of course, hand painted, and I'm basing the age upon the way the bottom of the bowl is turned and the applied gold paint embellishment.

The stamp is likely an inventory code.

Date range: 1850-90

Retail value: $225
(top price)

Wholesale value: $95-$125
(The midrange price you could expect to achieve at a well advertised live auction. The price that is most often realized)

Quick sale value: $50-$65
The price your likely to get if you have to sell your item immediately and your prospective customer is aware of this.

Common terminology, nicknames, keywords: Hand painted Moriage Bowl, Nippon bowl, antique Japanese bowl,

In most cases, I believe it would be beneficial for your to give the prospective buyer a link to this page, and to bookmark it via your favorite bookmarking service.

Care and storage tips: Antique porcelain should never be subjected to extreme temperatures or caustic detergents or scrubbing.

Show notes ep31 The Auctionwally Show w Pam from Retrorenovations.com

2008-09-29T17:30:00.006-04:00

This episode of the show will air live on Monday evening at 9pm EST. If you've found this page early, why not click on the Radio Show button above and listen to any of the back episodes?
Or, just browse around the site at your leisure.
If you'd like to call into the show with a question or comment, please feel free at 1-646-378-1561 There's also a chat room we encourage people to use, you may ask questions and post links there as well.

Click here for the show, or the chat room.
Or click on the play button below to listen live.

Hello there this is Auctionwally and your listening to episode 31 of the Auctionwally Show. This show is being live from Barre MA and Columbus Ohio. It's September 29nd, 2008 Monday Evening at 9pm Eastern time which is a new time slot for us.

So it's Monday nights from now into the foreseeable future. Not to worry if your listening to a back episode of the show, since we're covering things that are old, the show is worth more the older it gets!

If you've missed something you'd like to know more about on the show check the show notes for details and links to the websites we talk about.

I'm with my co-host Mitzi Swisher from Vintagegoodness.com and I'm going to ask her to tell you what we'll be talking about today.

Are you old enough to remember when half of the things in the world were painted in Aqua Marine? Do you find yourself looking for furniture in flea markets and auctions that would fit right in on the set of TV shows Father Knows Best or Leave it to Beaver? If so, you'll want to tune into ep31 of the Auctionwally Show because we'll have special guest, Pam from Retrorenovation.com on the site this week. From vintage home kitchens renovations to the life of the nuclear family, we'll get the best ideas from Pam on how to decorate your home retro style. Pam has the extremely popular blog at http://retrorenovation.com/ which has been picked up by national magazine "Old House Interiors". This should be a fun one!

The latest news.

The largest collapse in Wall St. history, as the bailout becomes a failout.

See a Yankee Auctioneer's plan by clicking here.

I want to thank Mary Brenneman and the hard working crew at Worthpoint for the video essay they did on my upcoming auction in Groton MA Saturday, October 4th at 1pm.

As I write this video is being edited and uploaded, click here to get to Worthpoint.com. Since I don't have the exact page URL because it's not uploaded yet, you'll have to look around a little bit, but that's OK, there's plenty of fun stuff to do on Worthpoint.

I've been tooling around the Bonanzle site a bit this week and actually had my first sale there and have made some great contacts, including one with a woman named Vangie Beal who writes for the Ecommerce-guide.com. Recently, Vangie interviewed me for an article, so why not hop on over there sometime soon and see what that site's all about.

Speaking of Bonanzle, the owner of the site, Bill Harding will be on our show, right here live on October 27th, Monday evening at 9pm.

Before I check in with Mitzi for news this week, I just want to remind folks that they can see some of the items at my live auction, by clicking on the link below.

Groton MA Antiques Auction Oct 4th,2008

The Auctionwally Network is up and running, it's a social network for collectibles minded people, it's free to join of course. The tagline is "Financial Independence Through Junk", you'll just have to visit the site if you want to see what it's all about.

Feature topic.

Pam Kueber ( key – burr )

Blog - why you started it, what your focus & goals are for it, why you think it has been successful, how you come up with your content, some tips on bringing traffic & building community, etc.

Started it after renovating 3 bathrooms…then a kitchen gut job
Was obsessive, got to some pretty good solutions, thought there might be others to share them with…and blogging had just started to become truly popular
Why the measure of success – I work really hard at it, feature original content, try to encourage community. Content – resources are current businesses; design inspiration is from vintage periodicals and brochures; community – from readers.

Blogging tips

What are you an expert at, more than ANYONE else. What do you care so much about that you could be totally dedicated to your blog….you have to find that place.
Let your personality come out, don't be a jerk.
Blog frequently – again, to be 'successful' this is a commitment like any other. I just read that most blogs fold after three months.
Read other people's blogs, leave comments regularly – they will see your url and look at your blog – build community
Share linkbacks – but the goal is to create original content
URL: easy to remember. Imaging saying it a million times to people – make it easy
How far you want to take it – becomes a matter of how much commitment you make to it…At the same time, you can't be attached to "where it will go" – you just don't know…

Your Steel Kitchen Cabinets forum & Save the Pink Bathrooms campaign, maybe you want to talk about your own kitchen?

My kitchen – part of the story of the blog … original finish 1963 Geneva's from a cooking school run by nuns. Needed a lot to fit into my 15x15 kitchen, searched for 5 years, was about to buy wood mdf in slab doors and paint them aqua – then the retro decorating gods sent these to me. Obsession with all details – for me, a very creative outlet.
Lesson: Retro Renovation means doing things the hard way! But the payoff can be equally extraordinary.
STPB : I learned all about the history of Mamie Eisenhower pink from doing a series on 61 pink kitchens. While kitchens seem to be appreciated though, pink bathrooms are not. Did a post on HGTV pink bathrooms being ripped out (along with our hearts) – STPB campaign grew from that.
A perfect example of something that can be despised – but five years later, when you 'understand it' you totally regret what you did
Understanding = the blog in general, helps us see beauty in these other ways of decorating. I also have quite a brewing love affair with knotty pine…

Trends that you see, types of items renovators are looking for

A big market. 20 million mid mod houses, many changing hands, young people very open minded to mid mod:

Pull down lighting – good to great examples, condition is the most important factor… Atomic – and colonial
Tulip tables and chairs…and heading forward 60s dinettes
Books and magazines – showcasing design from the period. Favorites: American Home, Better Homes and Gardens Kitchen Ideas, also the annual, bound BH&Gs
Lighting in general – chrome sconces and overheads for the bathroom, ceiling fixtures for the foyer and bedroom – look for splash of style…
Exterior lighting – pole lights and the names plaques that hung off of them

Pinch pleat draperies – big sets. Beyond barkcloth – eg mid mod Venetian toiles… even valences (pinch pleat please) for the kitchen

House hardware: Wallplates… kitchen cabinet pulls (big lots)(although there are so many great reproductions now!)… Bathroom medicine cabinets with etching

Art prints – especially matching sets of 3-4 with oriental theme, bamboo frame

Plastic tiles – complete boxes

Yes – complete sets of steel kitchen cabinets: The vintage stoves of today

The contest. Well Mitzi, as we do with every show, we have a contest, we had a few winners last week, they were Jill, Cheryl and Bob. I'll be sending out the prize packages this week. For this contest, the winner will get a download of my eBook, selling your valuables in tough times, I think everyone could use the information in this book these days, in fact, I'm going to re-read it myself this week to refresh my selling strategies.

The question is:

What does the term absolute auction mean.

"Selling Your Valubles in Tough Times, a Yankee Auctioneer's Best Secrets"

The winner will be the first person who emails me with the correct answer at contest@auctionwally.com

Well it looks like it's time to wrap things up, that hour flew by!

Don't forget to visit Pam at Retro Renovation (retrorenovation.com)

Now here is that Brainpool song which you heard a small clip of at the beginning of the show titled "This is Junk".

Links to sites mentioned in the show:

Retrorenovation.com
Vintagegoodness.com

Bonanzle.com
Auctionwally's online store
TheVintagelist.com

The Auctionwally Network

Worthpoint.com

Find Brainpool on...

What's it Worth? Appraisal for Vintage Lamp

2008-09-29T13:43:00.004-04:00

Rich asks:

Here are the pictures of my Grandmother's Lamp. She would be about 110 years old by now so I am assuming she purchased this lamp in the 1930's or 40's. The Vase stands about 10.5 inches tall without the base.The painting of the people looks kind of crude compared to some museum pieces I have seen. Just looking for a value.

AW says: Your right about the age, the lamps is circa 1930s. However it's not painted, the artwork is a "transfer", which means that it was flashed onto the piece before the glazing process. This is why you'll find the identical picture on many different pieces. Many times these lamps came in pairs.

Date range: Circa 1930s

Retail value: $95.00
(top price)

Wholesale value: $55
(The midrange price you could expect to achieve at a well advertised live auction. The price that is most often realized)

Quick sale value: $35
The price your likely to get if you have to sell your item immediately and your prospective customer is aware of this.

Common terminology, nicknames, keywords: European porcelain style lamp, gold painted decorated lamp, transfer pottery,

In most cases, I believe it would be beneficial for your to give the prospective buyer a link to this page, and to bookmark it via your favorite bookmarking service.

Care and storage tips: Never wash any antique porcelain by scrubbing hard.

What's it Worth? Appraisal for Mahogany Bedroom Suite

2008-09-29T11:57:00.004-04:00

Linda asks: What can you tell me about my bedroom suite?

AW says: Hello Linda, thanks for your appraisal request. Your bedroom suite is in Mahogany, the form is referred to as "Serpentine" for it's wavy front. It's of very good quality and gets points for being a matched set.

Date range: 1920-35

Retail value: $850-$1150 (for the set)
(top price)

Wholesale value: $400
(The midrange price you could expect to achieve at a well advertised live auction. The price that is most often realized)

Quick sale value: $250
The price your likely to get if you have to sell your item immediately and your prospective customer is aware of this.

Common terminology, nicknames, keywords: Serpentine Mahogany furniture, 1920-35 Mahogany bedroom suite,

In most cases, I believe it would be beneficial for your to give the prospective buyer a link to this page, and to bookmark it via your favorite bookmarking service.

Care and storage tips: Old English scratch cover for dark wood will make this look like a million dollars when applied to dry areas or scratches properly.

What's it Worth? Appraisal for Chinese Coffee Table

2008-09-29T10:38:00.004-04:00

Keith asks:

Hi. I just purchased an appraisal.

Here is the object I am interested in buying. It is a 58"w x 38"d x 18.5 "h Asian coffee table. The vendor claims the following: Coffee table from Jiangsu of China, mid-19th century, hard cane top,curve legs. It is made of elm with a laquer finish. (Vendor claims it purchases the antiques and then refinishes them.)

Wants $3450 for it. These types of tables are available on the web for $500, though I don't know if those are reproductions and this is the real McCoy/a particularly fine example. I just want to make sure the price requested is in the ballpark, and not a crazy overcharge to someone who doesn't know what he's doing.

Thanks.

AW says: Hi Keith. I really wish more people would do what you've done by paying a few dollars for an expert opinion before they take a big gamble. You've just saved yourself a LOT of money! This table is not mid 19th century coffee table. Not only that, but if it WERE in my opinion it still would not be worth the $3,450. It would barely be worth the $500 for the original. See, mid-1800s is not that early in Chinese history, this kind of Chinese furniture is just not worth the $3,500 even if it were an antique. But let's look at why it's easy to see that it's a reproduction.

The finish on this table is completely even, which is virtually impossible to achieve. Also, the edges are sharp and the lines of this table are crisp without wear. The only way to explain such a a state is either it's a reproduction OR it's been tucked away and never used. If that was the case, it would not have needed re-finishing in the first place.

I'd wager that if you were to to ask the vendor if he is willing to state in writing that without doubt this is a period mid 19th century table and guarantee our money back if not.

Further, if your considering import furniture, you should shop around, the market is extremely competitive for it right now.

Date range: 1980-present

Retail value: $375-400
(top price)

Wholesale value: $150
(The midrange price you could expect to achieve at a well advertised live auction. The price that is most often realized)

Quick sale value: $95
The price your likely to get if you have to sell your item immediately and your prospective customer is aware of this.

Common terminology, nicknames, keywords: Reproduction Chinese furniture.

In most cases, I believe it would be beneficial for your to give the prospective buyer a link to this page, and to bookmark it via your favorite bookmarking service.

Care and storage tips: Why buy reproductions, when with a little searching you can find the real deal cheaper?

What's it Worth? Appraisal for Victorian Water Set

2008-09-26T17:15:00.005-04:00

Don asks:
Attached, Please find photos of the Pitcher and Glass set that I would like to have appraised. This item, I am told, could be close to one hundred years old as it has been passed down over the years through several families. Any questions, I can be reached at the e-mail address above.

Thank You Don

AW says: That is a 1910s era Victorian water set. Today we would call it frosted glass, but back then they often called it "Camphor" glass. The other term used, and this refers more specifically to the gold painting of the flowers, is "Goofus" glass.

Date range: 1910-15

Retail value: $95-$125 for the set
(top price)

Wholesale value: $75
(The midrange price you could expect to achieve at a well advertised live auction. The price that is most often realized)

Quick sale value: $35
The price your likely to get if you have to sell your item immediately and your prospective customer is aware of this.

Common terminology, nicknames, keywords: Water set, Victorian glass, Camphor glass, Goofus glass

In most cases, I believe it would be beneficial for your to give the prospective buyer a link to this page, and to bookmark it via your favorite bookmarking service.

Care and storage tips: Any harsh scrubbing will wear away the gold paint on old glass.