I am author of “31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles.” I write a Daily Antiques & Collectibles Blog for those interested in learning more about antiques & collectibles while also learning to use these items to grow wealth.

My readers urged me to form a club based on the principles spoken of in the book, so I formed the 31 Club. This is an abridged version of the Blog found at my website.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

I’ll Take Them All – Antiques – Collectibles – Paintings

This is a time of year when we treasure hunters should be taking advantage of the opportunities that come our way. While there aren’t a lot of large auctions during the winter, some do come along that can prove to be fertile fields for us.

Our 31 Club Member, Cecil R., attended the sale where our group’s Harvey Joiner painting was sold, and he reported to me about a few little things he picked up. If all the members would follow Cecil’s example, I wouldn’t have enough hours in the day to share them all.

What has Cecil done this time? At Sohn’s auction in Evansville, Indiana, he found 62 bronzes medals, made by the Medallic Art Company of New York. Three inches in diameter and weighing seven to nine ounces each, the medals were produced in 1967 in recognition of the Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright and others. Perhaps aviation collectors might have an interest? Or Medal collectors?

The medals first came up for bid at $3 apiece. The auction didn’t go very far, however, and Cecil said he would take them all for $5 each. Having no further interest, Cecil won them at that price. He spent $310 for the medals, then sat back and waited for the next bargain. Most people at that auction probably wondered what he was going to do with those things. Cecil knew exactly what he would do with them. He placed them on Ebay.

The first one he sold brought $61.78. He has sixty-one more to go. The last time I checked, one of his medals had a bid of $74.75 with seven bidders and eight hours left to go. He hasn’t finished selling them all yet, but it looks like they could average $40 apiece or about $2,480 total. You figure the profit and tell me if there are still things being sold that can make you smile. Nothing out there to be found? Says who? Cecil saw an opportunity where others just saw sixty-two hunks of metal.

There were probably six to eight hundred items sold at that auction, and Cecil bid on only a few of them. He also bought a Mettlach Beer Stein that he tripled his money on when he sold it on Ebay for $377.00. I hope he’ll keep us posted on the rest of the items. I’m certain that if you figure them all out, he will have made at least $3,000 from that winter auction. I believe many of us would be satisfied with having made that.

How does he continue to find value in the items others pass up? He spends his time wisely. If he’s got time to spare, he loves to keep up on his studies. I’ve written about some his finds on previous blogs on our website In the near future, I hope he will join me at a 31 Club seminar so he can tell you how he does it himself, while he shares some of his secrets.

Let’s learn and make money together. It’s much more fun if you are able to share your successes with others, and at the same time, have a place to share some of your mistakes so others can learn from yours. At the 31 Club, you’ll find encouragement from others who are truly wishing you the best. If you’re not a member yet, what are you wanting for? Join today!

Discover how the 31 Club, together with our book, can be the tool that helps you build more personal wealth dealing in the rare and valuable upper end markets. Find out more about joining our growing community of antique and art wealth builders here.

It is well known that the United States Mint manufacturers the currency and coinage of the United States. What isn’t well known is that there are skilled craftsman who also shape American history in bronze medals and medallions for everyone to own and share.

Created in 1792, the U.S. Mint has been the primary source of coinage in the United States, but in their own words:

“The primary mission of the United States Mint is to produce an adequate volume of circulating coinage for the nation to conduct its trade and commerce. In recent history circulating coin production has varied between 11 billion and 20 billion coins annually. In addition to producing coins, the United States Mint has other responsibilities, including the following:

* Distributing U.S. coins to the Federal Reserve banks and branches.
* Maintaining physical custody and protection of the Nation’s $100 billion of U.S. gold and silver assets.
* Producing proof, uncirculated, and commemorative coins, and medals for sale to the general public.
* Manufacturing and selling platinum, gold, and silver bullion coins.
* Overseeing of production facilities in Denver, Philadelphia, San Francisco and West Point, as well as the U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky”

It is the third mission that we are talking about today. Ata first, Peace medals were struck to use as friendship gestures on behalf of the president and the Indian nations. By 1869, these Peace medals became inaugural medals featuring the newly elected president of the United States with the dates of inauguration and other artwork on the reverse. Every Peace medal and every inaugural medal is still available today directly from the U.S. Mint.

Because the inaugural medals are still being reproduced, the demand has always kept up with supply and so there is only an antique value if one of the original strikes were being offered. How would you know? Mostly from the patina of the medal itself. If the patina on an inaugural medal dates to the 1870s, for example, it would have something of a darker hue to it rather than the shiny hue that accompanies a newer, more contemporary strike. These original strikes have a much greater collector value by virtue of its age alone.

Now, there are also officially produced inaugural medals for the president. These medals are also bronze like the U.S. Mint medals. The difference is that a relatively limited number are produced of each medal and once they are sold, no more are every produced unlike the U.S. Mint medals which continue to be reproduced each year.

The very first official inaugural medal, that is one that was manufactured at the behest of a specially appointed committee responsible for the official inaugural swearing-in of the new president and vice president and the accompanying festivities, was for William McKinley of 1901. Prior to that, inaugural buttons, badges, medals and medalets were produced by entrepreneurs wholly unconnected with the official swearing-ins or festivities.

So, how do you tell them apart. The quickest way to tell is that the U.S. Mint inaugural medal usually features a portion of the inaugural address on the reverse of the medal or the complete dates of service for the president. Official inaugural medals were produced from original artwork before the inauguration took place and therefore couldn’t have access to the official inaugural address.

The difference of values between the U.S. Mint and the official inaugural medals can be significant. The early official inaugural medals of McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Wm Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover are the most sought after because relatively few were ever produced.

Attached are photos of both U.S. Mint and official Inaugural strike medals for comparison. On January 20, 2008 we will have another official and U.S. Mint inaugural medal to add to our collection.