"Collector's Corner: Tips & Insights".

To Determine the Age of an Item in your Shop, you can Either Look it up in an Antique Reference Book or Online, or you can Look for the Following Characteristics.   Furniture  All old wooden furniture can be identified with simple examinations. Size and shape of dovetails on drawers. Dovetails on old furniture are always larger and less symmetrical than those on modern pieces. Woodgrain. Furniture makers about one hundred years ago often con­structed tables, dressers, and such, of quarter-sawn wood. This wood was cut to produce a distinctive wavy pattern, sometimes called tiger oak. This cutting method was...

Buying and Collecting Vintage Wrist Watches is Often Stressful.   Especially if you do not know much about them. But it can also be fun, once you get the hang of it. They often have a unique history, and you will be surprised by all of the features and complications that were available back then. The pioneer watchmakers have set the stage for some of the most advanced movements (gears and pinions inside a watch) that the world has ever seen.   So what type of Vintage Wrist Watch should you buy?                 ...

Why do we love Collectibles?   We do this for several reasons. It may remind us of our youth, the trips to the candy store to get the next set of baseball cards. The Barbie dolls that we collected over the years. Collections that we fell in love with and couldn't give up. When our mothers told us that it was time to clean out our closets, and donate our old toys, generally around our birthdays or holidays, only to find out later that she too couldn't give it up, and wound up putting our favourite collections in the eaves...

Want to build a valuable legacy over time? Try looking in old homes, under that old dresser, or up in the attic where great-grandma kept her things patiently waiting for you to unearth them. It is not unlikely to find old coins there, a rare old coin that at today's rate may be worth a few dollars, probably three or four or five, even ten times what the coin was worth back when great grandmother was collecting them.   Pennies, Nickels, Dimes & Quarters - Not Really Chump Change If They Are Rare Ever find a silver looking penny? A...

The Past 25 Years have seen tremendous changes in the Collectible Doll Industry.   Until that time, collectors only had antique dolls, or newer children's dolls to add to their collections. As there were relatively few "new collectibles" to purchase, the market on these "played with dolls" and antiques was vibrant and exciting. There were many doll shows scattered all over the country, and a visit to one would find three types of dolls available, antique dolls, rescued discarded play dolls, and booths featuring doll makers wares. Doll makers were many, with their work ranging from dreadful to stunning. Flea...