A piece of pottery that features a fern and leaves and the letters “E.S. U.S.A.” When searched in the Marks database, we discover the mark if from Ernest Sohn Creations, which contracted with Red Wing Potteries to produce two lines of dinnerware items in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

WorthPoint has launched a new Marks & Library website to provide two new services for antiques dealers and collectors—WorthPoint Marks, for detailed information on identifying artist, manufacturer and makers’ marks, and the WorthPoint Digital Library, which contains content covering a wide spectrum of history and background on specialty items.

The WorthPoint Digital Library contains roughly 130 antiques and collectibles titles from F+W Media, offering detailed information on a wide range of collecting topics, while WorthPoint Marks offers a database with more than 40,000 marks and hallmarks for ceramics, metals, glass and other categories of antiques and collectibles. Both services will continue to add new reference books and marks monthly.

Will Seippel, CEO and founder of WorthPoint, said the company has plans to include visual recognition-based searches, a first in the industry. “That will make WorthPoint the undisputed leading resource for marks information as well as value data,” he said.

Subscribers to the Digital Library will be able to track their reading and place books or articles on their personalized reference shelves, bookmark pages, highlight passages, keep notes and—for some of the books—purchase printed editions.

The WorthPoint Marks and WorthPoint Digital Library will be offered as standalone services to begin with and will be integrated with the main WorthPoint site at a later date. “We would have preferred these services be integrated with WorthPoint.com right now,” Seippel said, “But our subscribers told us they wanted access to them immediately and are willing to wait for integration.”

The new WorthPoint sites are available on a subscription basis, starting at $12.99 per month for WorthPoint Marks, while the WorthPoint Digital Library is available at $14.99 per month. Existing WorthPoint subscribers will be offered a discounted subscription, and there is a free trial available to test-drive the services before subscribing.

The Marks and Lirbary website will also feature new content, including overview articles on how to look for and use various marks, as well as articles on how to find and use specific marks, such as the “Kite” or “Diamond” marks used on British ceramics in the mid to late 19th century.

For a tutorial on how WorthPoint’s Marks & Library site works, view this video:

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Schuetzen Rifle

Schuetzen Rifle: The Schuetzen was an intricate, Germanic one-shot target rifle that generally covers a period from the early 1800s until around the end of Second World War. Many were brought back to the States by soldiers coming home from WWII. These rifles were used at Schuetzenfests, which turned into popular festivals where people would gather for the shooting contests that would test participants’ marksmanship. The making of these rifles tended to follow German immigrants as they migrated to other continents and their customs and crafts would follow them. Thus, you can find Schuetzen variations, for example, that were made in North America. All of these rifles are sought after and collectible and have value. More recently, more sophisticated accoutrements were added to the rifle separately, and those components can be disassembled and valued separately from the rifle. WorthPoint has many of these rifles on our site, as well as books that were written about the rifles. The rifles I looked at ranged from $600 to $7,000. Many were sold by Cowen’s Auctions, which is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Wes Cowen, the owner, has written many articles on antiques and militaria and perhaps we can get him to do write an article on these rifles.

Century by Salem 23-Karat Gold China

Century by Salem 23-Karat Gold China: I was intrigued by this item, as I admittedly do not have a very deep knowledge of china and porcelain. But when I started researching Salem Century, I was staggered by the amount made. There is a very good Web site that has an overview on this American maker. Apparently, it started in the late 1800s and quickly built the plant to a capacity of 15 million items. It was well known for some leading designs, but also mass produced china. Century was a line and that featured 23-karat gilt on some of the lines. According to Replacements.com, the plant was ultimately destroyed by fire in modern times. This is a very prolific maker and the higher values will be for the scarcer designs.

Falkland Islands 25-Pound Silver Coin

Falkland Islands 25-Pound Silver Coin: I had no idea one of these was made, let alone in the Falkland Islands, which are famous for the dispute between the British and Argentineans over their possession. The Falklands are a little group of island in close proximity to the Argentina coast. The coin weighs about 130 grams, or about 4.25 ounces. It is obviously not intended for circulation, as it would rip a hole in your pocket. These coins, depending on their condition, would sell for $50-$100 and can be found in the Worthopedia. The value will fluctuate with the silver and are an oddity for the collector.

Mersman Table

Mersman Furniture: This is not an item that I must admit I did not know by name, but knew them by site! You see their Colonial Revival tables in antique malls across the country. Apparently, the company as an Indiana saw mill and diverted its efforts upstream to meet America’s 20th century furniture needs. Apparently, Mersman did a good job of it and produced more than 30 million tables. Thus it would be fair to say it mass-produced furniture and it was not an art form. At one point, the company bragged that one in 10 households had a Mersman table. I am not a fan of Colonial Revival, and it would be fair to say that the plethora of well-built and long-lasting tables has had a dampening effect on price. The company went out of business in 1995. Worthologist Fred Taylor wrote about these ubiquitous tables in “Mersman Tables: They’re Everywhere.”

Occupied Japan Figure

Occupied Japan Figures: The items from Occupied Japan will always be collectible. These were items that were made during the Allied Occupation of Japan following WWII. Japan was not considered an independent nation from the end of WWII in 1945 until 1952. Thus, items made in Japan and exported during that period are marked “Made in Occupied Japan.” Porcelain items are the most prolific, and it is figurines that are the most collectible and popular. Prices are all over the board and depend on the subject, quality, maker, size and tastes. Clearly, the better the quality, the higher the price. High quality also denotes scarcity, as most of these items were mass produced. There are more than 13,000 Occupied Japan piece in the Worthopedia. It is a good focused area to collect and some items can readily be found for $5 at yard sales and maybe as low as a dollar. For more information on these items, check out “Collecting Wares Made in Post-WWII ‘Occupied Japan’.”

The Who Woodstock Contract

The Who Woodstock Contract: This is a copy of the original The Who Woodstock contract with original signatures by all four members of the band: Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, Roger Daltrey and Keith Moon that sold for $575. Seems to have been a very good purchase and sold back in 2006. Interestingly, The Who were paid $12,500 for an hour’s work. A fortune then, and I am sure one of the higher-paid acts at Woodstock. It is a pittance at today’s rates.

Sarreguemines Pottery

Sarreguemines Pottery: Shari Hall, one of our Worthologists, wrote a great article on this pottery. Given we have 142 pages, or about 1,420 items in the Worthopedia, I am sure you can find something close to what you are trying to research. While this pottery has been made for 250 years in France, it was not mass produced like the occupied Japan items, so it has held value very well, particularly the more interesting forms. I love this Ram pitcher I saw while looking up prices and it sold on eBay for $550. Thus, the pottery is plentiful enough you may be able to find it at an upper end estate sale, so it would pay to learn the potters marks so that you can identify it and buy it for much less at a sale.

B-Uhr IWC Observer Pilot’s Watch

B-Uhr IWC Observer Pilot’s Watch: These watches were made for the German WWII Luftwaffe. This is a great example why knowledge is money. Looking at the face of this watch at a garbage sale of a WWII vet, you would have no idea that even in non-working condition, it is worth $2,300. They are scarce and went over the flyer’s clothing. They were also precision-made to work in the aircraft. A nice crossover piece for watch, aviation collectors and Militaria collectors.

Lane Mid-Century Modern Paul Eames Dresser

Lane Mid-Century Modern Paul Eames Dresser: Searching by words is only as good as the user! When I looked for Paul Eames dressers on the site, I found two. When I looked for Eames dresser on the site I found 400. Eames furniture will be a popular modern style for centuries, and with today’s depressed furniture prices it is a good deal if you have a house to put it in. The ones I looked at ranged in price from $900 to $3,500. I suspect they generally may be less expensive than three or four years ago, but if I needed a dresser I would be looking at these as an investment. But the Mid Century Modern craze has been holding steady for a while, as “Which Came First: Current Mid-Century Modern Enthusiasm or ‘Mad Men’?” will attest.

Vintage 1930s Halloween Costume featuring devils and pitchforks

Halloween Costumes and Items: I hate people who plan ahead. It is because I am incapable in doing it myself. My wife is always after me to bring the Halloween inventory out in September to sell. I am never that “together” and inevitably it waits until the eternal “next year.” These vintage items from the 1920s through the 1990s were collectively the most searched for in September. To these searchers that are that prepared, I will say, as a dealer, “See you next Year!”

Will Seippel is the president and CEO of WorthPoint. Will has been an avid collector since 1974 and dealer of just about all things—with a emphasis on ephemera—antique since 1984.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

This 1940 Supermen of America Premium Prize ring was the most-searched item in the Worthopedia in August 2010.

It is past time for the August most searched items from WorthPoint Worthopedia archives for the month of August. The most popular search item was for a Superman ring, circa 1940. It has always been a fascination to me on the value of comic collectibles and the number of searches on this ring caught my attention. When I started in the antiques business in the 1970s, comic memorabilia collecting was just taking off. An original Superman ring from 1940 recently sold on eBay for more than $10,000, and iIt apparently sparked interest in these rings, as we had a lot of searches on them in August. I went back and looked at our site and found more than 53 pages of Superman rings that spanned from 1940 to modern versions. Pulling out one of the fabled 1940 rings, I found the following description:

“Don’t miss out on owning this extremely rare collectible. Give it as a gift to yourself this holiday season or give it to someone that you really like, and I mean really, really like! :).

“I do not believe this particular ring has ever been on the market before!! Up for bid is a fantastic, 1940 Supermen of America Premium Prize ring. Mathematically, this ring is considered to be the rarest superhero collectible item known to this day. I have read several different stories of exactly how many are in existence today, and from what I gather, there are approx only 13 to 17 of these rings known of in the world! I believe only 1,600 of these rings were originally awarded.

This ring was issued in 1940 by DC Comics and was promoted in the early Superman Action Comic issues (I have read that it was the #3 issue and the January 1940 issue in particular). This features Superman on the face of the ring breaking a chain. The words “Supermen of America Member” circle around Superman. On the left side of the ring is a planet of some sort and the right side of the ring shows two lightning bolts. The outside border of the face of the ring still has a lot of the silver plating left. The red enamel is about 95-percent complete to the naked eye in the circle around Superman. The red enamel on the “S” logo on Superman’s chest is about 75- to 80-percent complete. The upper 3/4 of the lightning bolts still has the silver plating on it. Over the rest of the ring the silver-plating fades in and out. The ring itself is in absolutely fantastic condition. I was able to take some very detailed and great photographs of this item. The pictures speak for themselves.

The story of how this ring turned up is an interesting one. Five years ago, the current owner of this ring purchased a very old coffee can full of buttons from the early 1900s in Denver at the estate of a couple who was in their 80s. The button can was put on a shelf, where it remained until about two months ago, at which time the current owners emptied out the can to find this Supermen of America Ring. They did some research on the ring and found that it was extremely rare and valuable. Now I have been put to the task of auctioning it off for them.”

This 2008 seller certainly hit the jackpot, finding this ring in a jar of old buttons. Another nice one sold at Heritage Auction Galleries for about $4,900 this year, while yet another near-mint one sold on eBay sold for more than $13,000 this year. According to Heritage, the one it sold was sold at Sotheby’s about a decade ago. It looks as scarce comic items are going and there is a premium paid for condition. I will also caution that Heritage quoted a $30,000 valuation in a price guide from Hakes, which goes to point out the inflated prices in many price guides.

Other items in the top 10:

Earl Moran pinups

2. Earl Moran pinups: I love this 1940-50s art. To me, the best are Vargas, Moran and Elvgren.

Army National Guard Backpack

3. Army National Guard Backpack: These seem hot for some reason. The modern-era ones retail at $100 and wholesale at around $20. They are great, cheap backpacks for kids and scouts, at wholesale.

"Dante’s Inferno" lobby card, crica 1924.

4. Dante’s Inferno: It is surprising to see a resurrection of interest in a “light” medieval book on hell. I was surprised to see this. Kind of déjà vu, as I had just bought Roman Polanksi’s “Seventh Gate” from the discount rack. I assume that the rekindling in the interest on the book has to do with its video game namesake. While I did not see anything on WorthPoint dating back 600 years, there was plenty that could make you ponder the afterworld and go back into the 1800s! My favorite item was a 1924 lobby card from a movie made after about the Inferno. That sold for $724.

A Coca-Cola Super Bowl Pin from Super Bowl XIX.

5. Coca-Cola Super Bowl Pins: Not sure of the history of this collectible at the Super Bowl. I do know that there is an infinite amount of Super Bowl collectible, especially post Super Bowl XIX. While I do not know when Coca-Cola actually started making these, there are encased collections of them priced on WorthPoint starting with Super Bowl XIX. I am not sure that they are vintage pins or just “commemoratives.” Anyway, they are in the $30-$50 range.

A Beleek Porcelain pitcher.

6. Beleek Porcelain: A great, Irish fine porcelain, this style was the sixth-most popular last month. When buying or selling, make sure you decipher the mark on the bottom to determine the age. Like anything else, value is partially dependent on when it was made. The mark will tell you this.

Syracuse La-Fonda Hotel China

7. Syracuse La-Fonda Hotel China: This was another surprise in the popular-search list. Syracuse china is a widely collected and was a favorite of the commercial trade in the first half of the 20th century. It was often used in restaurants that were connected to the travel industries, such as hotels and transportation companies, who prized it for its durability. Often, they would have their logos printed on it and visitors could not help but slip out with a piece as a souvenir from the trip. Over the years, it has become very collectible. The La Fonda hotel, in Santa Fe, N.M., was an early, 175-room mission-style hotel that was quite popular and is still in existence today. There are some nice pictures on its Web site and it looks to be a fun place to stay or hit for a romantic weekend. For those of you whe were fans of the Santa Fe Railroad and Fred Harvey postcards, you may know of the hotel and the role this hotel played in the railroad’s heyday history.

Team-signed 2009 Little league World Series ball.

8. 2009 Little league World Series: This was a popular search, although I could not imagine what could already be a popular collectible for a recent Little League World Series. There were already some signed team balls from the Williamsport Series and they were bringing $25-$75 a ball. Security badges were in the $25 range.

U.S. Navy Chief Charge Book

9. U.S. Navy Chief Charge Book: This was a new one on me, but we had three of these on our site. They looked to be given to newly commissioned Naval Chief Petty Officers and inscribed by members in the unit and read before a mock review board. There was a very wide range in prices for them; from less than $100 to about $700. I would imagine that the value is very dependent on the content. The latter looked to be Viet Nam War period, with the POW/MIA icon on the cover.

GEICO Bobblehead.

10. GEICO Bobblehead: OK, the GEICO Gecko, you either got to love him or hate him. He has been commercialized like just about anything else, but bobbleheads with his likeness are being sold for about $10. If you don’t like the gecko, the caveman bobbleheads are out there, too.

Will Seippel is the president and CEO of WorthPoint. Will has been an avid collector since 1974 and dealer of just about all things—with a emphasis on ephemera—antique since 1984.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Hennessy Cognac

1. Hennessy Cognac: Hennessy cognac was the most searched item for the month. I spend more time enjoying this drink—when I can find a friend to buy it—than I do collecting it. Thus, I cannot comment a great deal on the collecting aspect. The search combinations on for it were somewhat surprising, as users were looking for many different combinations of Hennesssy. More than I knew that existed. I did not know White Hennessy existed, but will be sure to try it prior to next month. Perhaps I can reach out to the distillers, as an editor, to send us a few different types to try and comment on in next month’s letter.

Three Tier Sewing Box

2. Three Tier Sewing Box: A wooded three-tier sewing box from the 1950s seems to be a basic utilitarian object. Sewing items are always popular with the female buyers and I know several dealers who do very well meeting the demand for these items. Prices ranged widely and really depended what is included and how involved the kit was. For example, a simple small kit with a poodle design was $10 and a sophisticated modern wood Danish table was $500. Thus, understanding what you are buying and it’scarcity is very important if you are buying this for resale. If you are buying for yourself, well, buy what you like!

Star Wars Scout Walker Patrol Tower

3. Star Wars Scout Walker Patrol Tower w/ Swings: This was rather cool item as it looks to be a real live swim play set for kids that was modeled after the scout tower from an early Star Wars movie. Apparently it did not sell well in the U.S. and the play sets are rather scarce. I imagine it would be difficult to ship, but still a cool item for the back yard.

Newark New Jersey Obsolete Fire Badge

4. Newark New Jersey Obsolete Fire Badge: Fire badges are always hot . . . no pun intended. I sell them and actively seek them out to sell. The key item here is the word obsolete, as some jurisdictions tend to get upset if you are reselling their current regalia and I suspect there may be laws prohibiting one from doing so. Clearly, eBay prohibits the reselling of current items and has been known to be overzealous in its definitions of what is current. I have had constable badges pulled from the site only to later have them readmitted, as eBay user support agreed it has been a long time since anyone has seen a constable.

Pep Boys Bobble Head Collection

5. Pep Boys Bobble Head Collection: Well, Manny, Moe and Jack are popular, but run in the $10-$15 range in the box. Did not seem to matter at this point whether they were first edition. These looked to be rather new and I would guess that they are not old and scarce enough to have significant value.

Jock Sturges Photographs

6. Jock Sturges Photographs: Sturges’ photos have been controversial, since they often involve nudity. They also are art. Thus the controversy swirled and ultimately ended in the court room. The court threw out the charges and the work sells for often beyond $1,000. Thus, much of the public views his work well. There is an interesting book, “Portrait of a Muse,” that follows the life of one of his models and documents her life, her real everyday difficulties and goes beyond a beautiful image into everyday issues. WorthPoint has sales records for about 70 of his photos. Although Jock was born in 1946, and must still be working, I would expect that his work will appreciate.

Art Deco Waterfall Bedroom Sets

7. Art Deco Waterfall Bedroom Sets: These bedroom sets are common to find. While they often show great artistic merit, they are not the fastest movers. They became popular in the Art Deco periods of the 1920s and often have veneer problems or need to be refinished. Generally, the sell for a little more than $1,000, but will not be the first thing to move in an estate sale. If you are on the buying side, be sure that you are able to buy the entire set; the more pieces to the set, the better. Also, plywood became popular at this time, and my preference would be a solid veneer over hardwood, if buying to keep, and steer away from sets with veneer issues. Buying smart with these sets can produce lasting value for the buyer.

Sophia Juke Box Slide

8. Sophia Juke Box Slide: refers to a pretty costume jewelry item that was part of the Lia Sophia jewelry line that is distributed through woman’s home parties for that line of jewelry. They are generally attractive, relatively inexpensive items. This particular item, retailed for $36 and sold in new condition on eBay for $15. If described correctly in the listing, that it was made of silver and crystals, seemed to be a good buy, although they did not disclose the dimensions.

Henderson Artifacts Collection

9. Henredon Artifacts Collection: This is a particular Henredon furniture style. Henredon was started by four men in North Carolina who wanted to build quality furniture. Today, while the brand has thrived, it is part of a larger furniture company, Furniture Brands International. WorthPoint had two sales results for the artifacts line of Henredon and 550 for the broader line. Susanin’s Auctions seem to be a place where a lot of the sales were focused. Prices ranged from several hundred upwards to $1,000, and reflected solid resale value for solidly built American hardwood furniture.

Landshark Surfboard Sign

10. Landshark Surfboard Sign: These signs were produced to advertise the Landshark Beer. This was a brand that Anheuser Bush created for the Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville chain of restaurants. The native landsharks are the local males that are discussed in his song, “Fins,” that are circling for prey among visiting female tourists in the local watering holes. The surfboard trade sign was a popular piece of advertising for the beer and sales for around $200 in good condition. There are numerous other fun advertising items related to the brand that are priced up to the $500 range. They are generally easy to find, but popular, since the brand was created in the last twenty years.

Well, that summarizes what’s hot in antiques search for the month of May and I’m looking forward to see what stays hot in June.

Will Seippel is the president and CEO of WorthPoint. Will has been an avid collector since 1974 and dealer of just about all things—with a emphasis on ephemera—antique since 1984.

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Spritzdekor

1. Spritzdekor: Number one this month is something I have not heard of before, but it makes tremendous sense. It is the German term of Spritzdekor. This is German for, technically, injecting decoration or adding life to an object. For example . . . a spritzer in a drink would mean to freshen it up. I had never thought about the origin of the expression. After seeing the term researched in the Worthopedia, I went to Google, where else, for help and read some German articles on Spritzdekor.

Apparently, with the poverty that during and following the First World War, it became very fashionable for Germans to add their own decorations to fabric, porcelain, metals, etc. This was much the way the U.S. did with stenciling, but the Germans took this to a new height with the Deco and Craftsmen designs of the times. This work is much sought after today and the art form still exists. I loved some of the robot designs that I saw while doing my research for this article. There are some very pleasing examples of this work by Eva Zeisel, a leader of this design, on WorthPoint. Her work is stunning and highly valued, with a small cup and saucer selling for almost $200. I will now look more closely at garage sales for this modern form of art. I can imagine more sophisticated styles going into the thousands of dollars, but you could find an enjoyable treasure at an estate sale for an affordable site.

Coors Light sweater

2. Coors Light sweater: . . . Hmm . . . I did not know we had these on WorthPoint, but we do not turn our nose up on collectibles at our site, and it is certainly out of season. I only could find one on our site and it must have a generated a lot of interest, as this item was viewed more than 1,000 times over the course of the month. It’s from the 1980s and sold for $32. Again, nothing to sneer at.

Lenox Roses of Peace

3. Lenox Roses of Peace: Lenox has been around longer than I have, I think, and is also quite collectable. I know my early 1970s tableware is from Lenox, and can still be easily purchased, although, apparently, there are serial numbers to determine whether it was made in the early 1970s vs. later. The Roses of Peace is a fairly new pattern and looks to be relatively inexpensive but popular. It likely was a popular Mother’s Day present.

Fairbanks Morse coffee grinder

4. Fairbanks Morse coffee grinder: These are cool, impressive looking machines, generally coming in bright red. I remember when they were at the Atlantic and Pacific (A&P) grocery stores in the early 1960s. The ground beans smelled great. This is obviously before the world learned of Starbucks. The problem with these machines, to a collector and dealer, is that they are big, bulky, use up a lot of space and are difficult to ship. Additionally, almost half of the population is too young to have ever experienced them. Thus, prices and demand are not generally increasing and they can be had in the $200-$500 range. There are good examples to be found in the Worthopedia.

Rat Patrol Lunchbox

5. Rat Patrol Lunchbox: This also brings back many memories. We generally never had the money for these metal lunchboxes in my family, but I remember other kids at school that had them. The Rat Patrol lunchboxes were made as an offshoot of the popular TV series “The Rat Patrol,” about a group of U.S. soldiers that went around North Africa in jeeps with machine guns shooting up the German North Afrika Corps during World War Two. The North African guy was played by Victor Newman from the “Young and Restless” (they now call these type of guys Somalian rebels). Depending on condition, and whether the thermos is included, these run from $50 to $300.

Duncan Phyfe furniture

6. Duncan Phyfe furniture: How to identify a Duncan Phyfe sofa. WorthPoint has a lot of useful articles on antiques and collecting. It is actually one of the larger libraries on the internet for these types of articles. Identifying the real Duncan Phyfe sofa from the 1875 rebirth of Early American furniture, or the later Colonial revival period, can be difficult. I am a firm believer the most foolproof way to do this is to pull off the upholstery. Thus you can see the construction of the frame and whether modern tools were also used in making the frame. Home owners and some auctioneers cringe when you do this, but it is about the only way to justify whether to pay the price for an antique piece. You have to see what you are buying.

Occupied Japan Figurines

7. Occupied Japan Figurines: The Japanese had a devastated economy after WWII and initially produced a lot of cheaply molded pottery and porcelain figures. They were easy to make and America—and the world—had a large appetite for them. From 1945 to 1952, the Japanese were required to mark their exports “Made in Occupied Japan.” Thus, items made for export during this period were generally marked, “Made in Occupied Japan.” Because this is a defined period, these items became very collectible, and by the early 1980s the prices ran up and the counterfeits emerged, driving prices down. Today, they are still collected and certain figures, such as fairies, will bring more than a plain doll. There are also some exceedingly high-quality reproduction pieces made that also do well.

Meito China

8. Meito China: Meito china, which has been made in Japan for 102 years, has been very popular. Meito generally has a Western classical look to it with traditional patterns, gilding and large areas of white. Year in and out, this china will move as people are trying to fill in sets. It generally does command high prices, with platters selling $25 and up. Priced accordingly, it will sell as a market has existed for 100 years.

Yowe Kachina

9. Yowe Kachina: These items were also searched more than 1,000 times in April. While we do not have many on WorthPoint, the one that was made by Emery Kyasyousie was quite stunning and set the buyer back about $500. The Yowe is a kachina held as the supreme spiritual figure in many of the Pueblo clans. He holds the say over life and death and has earned the moniker of the beheading or ogre kachina after Yowe killed a Franciscan priest by beheading in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 in what was an attempt to maintain a religion independent of Catholicism.

Mahou sensei cards

10. Mahou sensei cards: Last but not least, I have commented that Japanese modern manga art is hot. It continues to be so. Mahou sensei cards are in demand. I tried for a few minutes to figure out the theme from the game and the characters, but it would take delving deeper into the subject. I would be glad to publish an article on these interesting cards on the site—and pay the best author $100 and give the author full credit. I love manga art and my youngest daughter is quite good at it. I expect it will remain popular for years to come.

Well, that summarizes what’s hot in antiques search for the month of April and I’m looking forward to see what stays hot in May.

Will Seippel is the president and CEO of WorthPoint. Will has been an avid collector since 1974 and dealer of just about all things—with a emphasis on ephemera—antique since 1984.

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First I have to laughingly try to define, “younger.” For the sake of argument, I will define that as people younger than me, which is younger than 50.

I totally disagree with the thought process that younger people don’t collect. I do believe that they:

• Buy differently than we have in the past. For example, they generally do not want to drive all over the countryside to find one item. Thus, as I noticed at the Miami Beach International Antiques Show in January, they will go to shows where a large group of quality items are in one place. They also shop online, as it is quick to find a group of items that they are interested in and they are comfortable making online purchases.

• They buy different items then we did. This should not come as a surprise as this happens with every generation. Styles and tastes change. Also, furniture trends have been bad for years, as first home sizes shrank and the amount paid in mortgages went up. Thus, smaller collectibles and antiques became increasingly popular, especially things that could be put in the mail and paid for out of next week’s paycheck.

• Typically, for those in what I call the “hormone years,” collecting stops. People in the 18-35 age group, are chasing each other and put their collections aside. Once they catch one in other, they start collecting again, filling their dwelling with things that will tie them to their past. I resumed my collecting with Lionel trains and coins.

Collecting is in people’s genes and is not removed in a generation. And it will always tie a person securely back to a point in the past.

As a dealer, I must also remember that I am also, by definition, a marketer. This means I need to look for groups of buyers and determine how much money they have to spend and how to reach them. I then need to translate that knowledge into what I buy for resale. If you see me in your booth or shop, you will also see that I ask a lot of questions as I am always trying to learn about something new.

Looking at potential customers aged 12 from 40; what are they buying or collecting? I have seen a host of items. Some might associate a younger audience with a collectible such as PEZ dispensers, and others would just scratch their heads when you tell them there is a market for Sandinista rebel art. Personally, I did not know the latter existed. My best PEZ buyer is 14 and I learned I could also sell a certain PEZ dispenser for more than $1,000. Other items younger people collect are Civil War accoutrements, Marilyn Monroe, Japanese Manga art, Transformers, inside door knockers and postcards. I am always asking young people what they collect. Glass seems to be fading, but it has also been dropping from everyday use for some time.

One of my friend Krista’s postcards from your collection, advertising a vintage bicycle company. The fact that Krista, who is in her 20s, is collecting postcards, shows that younger people are collecting; they’re just collections include items that we older folks seldom think about.

I spend a lot of time in Columbus, Ohio, where WorthPoint has it tech facility, and consequently, spend several nights a week living at a hotel. One of my favorite 20-something cocktail waitresses there, Krista, is a collector. She collects postcards, which was something that surprised me. But it should not have, as I have a 12-year-old who collects them, too. Post cards were once a way of life, first popularized at the Columbian Worlds Fair. They were hugely popular up into the 1960s, but are disappearing from the shelves of the newsstands at the airports and hotels. Pretty soon, we may not be able to find current postcards, as they are disappearing from our lives, along with all the other paper items that used to be part of the our daily lives. They are quickly being replaced with digital photos I take from my cell phone and e-mail. The later is quicker and I can send the photo I want to, for free.

Krista brought her collection of postcards in for me to see. I have included some of these with this article. They fell into various groups of subjects, and they spanned about 80-plus years. (I have included some that I took pictures of with my cell phone.) Subject matters included;

• Hot looking guys. (Why not, men collected their pin up photo postcards for years of hot girls.)
• Photo postcards of art she enjoyed. It was always priced more reasonably than original works of art. The artists ranged from the 1920s to modern.
• Humor
• Geographical. Krista is Hispanic and many of the cards tied her back to places she had been to the Caribbean.

A couple more postcards from Krista’s collection. First, the iconic photograph from the end of the Second World War.

The second, a postcard featuring Marilyn Monroe. Who says youngsters have no appreciation of history.

I had a blast going through her collection and it took me more than an hour to go through it with her, as her attention was interrupted by paying customers wanting service. I also learned a lot more about Krista as a person. It is always fun to do this and to make new friends this way. It helps make new customers, which expands my sales and helps to grow an industry I love. I now have a new postcard customer in Krista. She will join my younger 14-year-old PEZ collector in my group of “younger customers.” When you start to realize that the 14-year-old kid in your booth may lay out $1,000-plus for a PEZ dispenser, your view of these kids takes on a whole new vantage point. Just take the time to ask the kids what they collect. You may help yourself to a new market and also help build new collectors for the industry.

Will Seippel is the president and CEO of WorthPoint. Will has been an avid collector since 1974 and dealer of just about all things—with a emphasis on ephemera—antique since 1984.

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Sheleighly

Sheleighly: The number-one item for the month was a sheleighly. While I know a sheleighly is Irish weapon for whacking someone, I do not know enough to understand whether it is primarily whacking a leprechaun or another person (perhaps for a leprechaun to whack a person?). In my research to learn more about sheleighlies, I realized they are obscure, as you can not find it in dictionary.com and it is not in my Microsoft Word spellchecker. Hmmm . . . WorthPoint has one made by Blackthorn of Ireland that sold for $70. We’ll see if the Irish are searching for them now that St. Patrick’s Day has past or whether the popularity continues.

Coca-Cola Sample Ice Chest

Coca-Cola Sample Ice Chest: Second in popularity was a Coca-Ccola sample ice chest. I will also give it third place, as well, as people were also looking at the 1939 salesman sample coolers. We had a lot of other Coca-Cola searches last month, for that matter. Coca-Cola memorabilia is actually the most-collected group of items in the world, from what I have read. I always know I do not have any difficulty selling Coke memorabilia and actually have a good customer for the items on Malta. These salesmen samples are difficult to come by and were for the salesmen to carry to the stores to show the storekeepers what they would look like. (The miniatures are easier to carry around in your car!) I do not know whether Coke sold the chests or gave them to the store owners for selling their products. I could never imagine collecting the “real thing,” as they are so large, but imagine the size and rarity of the samples would make them popular.

Gold Lutz Marble

Gold Lutz Marble: The fourth item in the Top 10 is a gold Lutz marble. I love these, although I am not a “marble” person. I will also say, you “know one when you see it,” as a gold Lutz is unique and beautiful. Essentially, it is a marble with gold flakes/specks in it. While I would guess that these were for richer kids back in the day, gold sold for a lot less than today and it could be used to enhance a toy. Today, you would expect to pay several hundred dollars for a nice example, and they go up from there. There are many common antique marbles, starting with pottery Benningtons with a hard ceramic glaze. These are pretty and have infinite variations. Inevitably, the collectors advance and will want to advance to the sophistication of the Lutz.

Vintage Gas Pumps

Vintage Gas Pumps: Vintage Texaco gas pumps come in at number #5. These are really cool and a thing of the past, when a trip to the gas station was an adventure instead of a painful hit to the wallet. We have a few of these on WorthPoint that are fun to look at, including a set up of several pumps and oil rack that sold for more than $8,000. They were restored, but would look great with their vintage glass globes atop of the pumps lit up. These glowing globes were to ensure the passing driver could not help but see that the station was open and predate the large, lit gas station signs that shine out in the night today.

Rolls Razor

Rolls Razor: Sixth was a barbershop item; a 1927 Rolls razor in particular. I do not know if the name was a take-off of the automobile and meant to convey high-end status. The thing to remember is that—although there is always a buyer for razors, as they are very collectible—they are also extremely plentiful, as at one time, every man had one and they did not tend to throw them out. Thus, it is a case where only the rarest bring much money. In the case of the 1927 “Rolls,” they are much cheaper than the car, and most seem to sell for around $15. Several nicer ones in a case went up to the $100 range, though. If buying, I would be very careful if I did not know my razors, as there were many more in the $15 range.

Magna Art

Magna Art: Seventh was another Japanese magna art item. I had never heard of magna prior to this year, having been introduced to it by one of my daughters, who is taking a Japanese class. Apparently, it has been produced for years in Japan, but traditionally discouraged as cheap art. I sense the person who takes the time to look for the best as “underpriced art” will do well in appreciation. It is now the art of masses. I found more than 10,000 items in the Worthopedia. For this particular item, “Inuyasha doujinshi RARE kagome,” there were a dozen items and prices ran from $20 to more than $100.

World War Two Paper Memorabilia

World War Two Paper Memorabilia: Eighth was some Second World War paper memorabilia in “Insult the Axis Powers” cards. WWII stuff is always easy to sell, but I am amazed that these six sheets of stationary had so many people looking at them. They are much better than the usual soldiers’ stationary ones sees, and sold for a very reasonable $58. It does show you how much WWII items are in demand.

P.T. Barnum Circus Eisenmann Photos

P.T. Barnum Circus Eisenmann Photos: Ninth were some Eisenmann photos of the P.T. Barnum Circus. Taken around the turn of the century, they are traditional “cabinet” photos and there are many nice examples in the Worthopedia. The high-selling photo was an autographed photo of P.T. Barnum, which sold for $678. There was also an array of Side Show photos of giants, fat ladies and such that generally sold for around $100. I wonder if Larry Kellogg, our circus Worthologist, has perused through the Worthopedia lately.

Vintage Louis Vuitton Trunks

Vintage Louis Vuitton Trunks: Last, and maybe not the least, is the 1920’s Louis Vuitton trunks. These were the trunks for people who traveled in style. It is somewhat eye-opening to me that designer luggage has been around for more than 100 years. I had no idea before starting to do research for this article. There are thousands of sales recorded on WorthPoint for this link of luggage and I found some that were valued at much more than $5,000. There is obviously a lot more that can be learned here, as there has to be a reason as to why some are worth $5,000 and others $1,000. I am sure original condition and restoration come into play, but am also sure that there is a lot more than that.

Well, that summarizes what’s hot in antiques search for the month of March and I’m looking forward to see what stays hot in April.

Will Seippel is the president and CEO of WorthPoint. Will has been an avid collector since 1974 and dealer of just about all things—with a emphasis on ephemera—antique since 1984.

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The US Army dirigible RS-1 at Scott Field in Illinois.

ATLANTA – I wandered off to the Scott Antiques Markets in Atlanta (Scott is a show that that runs monthly shows in Atlanta and Columbus, Ohio). The show in Atlanta is larger and is run on the second weekend of the month. I would guess that the Atlanta show has more than 1,000 dealers.

I like going to markets that are focused on antiques and that encourage sellers who are actual house pickers. These types of sellers get you closer to the source of material, and their items are usually fresh to the market and unique in nature. While Scott cannot quite compete with a good, old-fashioned New England flea market, it does a very good job in keeping the junk dealers out of the show and segregates the more sophisticated, high-end dealers in the North Building and the more casual dealers in the Southern Building. I immediately head for the southern building, as that is where I typically make the discoveries.

A pilot from an observation squadron stationed in Long Island, N.Y.

I had gone to my first Scott show several months ago with a friend who got me off my duff one Sunday. I actually came back from the show with a prized cabinet photo of Gen. George Custer’s 7th Calvary officers and wives on the porch of Fort Lincoln, taken a little more than a year before their ill-fated fight with the Sioux at the Little Big Horn (there is a similar photo on www.Mandanhistory.org). True to my above point, I found this photograph in the South building with a part-time dealer who was selling the photo for a neighbor of his. I found some other neat items there, including a 19th-century US Army regimental flag that will require further research when I find the time.

So, I went back this month with the anticipation of some more great finds. I immediately headed for the southern building, as I decided that was where I wanted to spend the two hours that I had allotted for this visit. I paid my $5 for parking, which also covered admissions for both buildings for the multi day event, parked and headed in. I immediately placed a phone call to a dealer I knew who was setting up there and needed his location, as this place is just so big I’d never find him. He gave me his coordinates and I was off.

The first thing that grabbed my eye was a book of WWII German aeronautical maps. This was an unusual find. Not that I have customers lining up for these, but I figured I might if I advertised them. They were large—at about two feet by three feet—and were neatly folded and numbered in the original notebook that they had been liberated from. These were Luftwaffe maps and covered many major European cities. I could only imagine their use by a German WWII pilot. These were an immediate buy for me, as they only cost about $6 a map (there were 80 of them); I figured if I could not sell them, I would use it as an excuse to pay for a trip to Europe to see if I could use them to travel to major cities. I also grabbed a flight log of a WWII military officer who had flown many flights connected to the test dropping of the atomic bombs on the Bikini Atolls in the late 1940s and early 1950s. This log is another future research project that I will eventually get to, but some of the items in the book and signatures speak to its importance. Additionally, ephemera and historical items involving the development of the atomic bomb are always good sellers.

A “Land Battleship” tank at Fort Benning, Ga.

Once I was ready to check out, my friend introduced me to a dealer in the next booth by the name of Gordon. Gordon is what I refer to as a “house picker.” He is generally the first person to get into a house and buys up whatever a family is willing to part with to earn extra cash. Thus, Gordon is a good source for new things to the market. Gordon’s philosophy is buy good things and to turn his inventory over quickly; a “wholesaler” and someone who I enjoyed meeting.

What immediately caught my eye were two scrapbooks of 1920s US army photos. Normally, photos “between wars” are not very exciting, and do not sell well. But these photos were in a league of their own, as they taken by someone with a good eye for a picture and subject. They contained about 400 photos of the army’s early ballooning and flight efforts at Scott Field, outside of Chicago, and then in Forts Bragg and Benning. The soldier/photographer had a great eye for detail and subject, and appeared to also have been an aviator. The batch was a gem, but I did not want to let on to much with Gordon about my enthusiasm. We were finally able to negotiate a price for them and I have included some of the remarkable photos in this article. The photographer’s eye also caught some of the less obvious detail around the base by even recording the various bases’ canine mascots. He also meticulously documented the subjects and dates on the back with typed notes containing various pertinent bits of information. While this purchase ran into the four figures, selling this type of content quickly and making a profit will be a rather easy thing to do, thanks to the soldier’s attentiveness to subject and detail.

The dirigible “sign post” outside the barracks for the Second Balloon Group at Fort Bragg, N.C.

A kite balloon in practice at Fort Bragg.

As usual, the best is saved for last. The last item we bought, also from Gordon, was a small 19th-century chest that was folk-art painted with blue with a gold horn of Gabriel on top that resembled a Civil War Union soldier’s infantry cap insignia. This in itself was an unusual find in Dixieland. Gordon explained to me that this was a trunk that he had pulled out of a house in southern Georgia from an African-American family and the trunk was full of early African-American Masonic gear from the little known fraternal mason group called the Heroines of Jeherico, which turned out to be the African-American equivalent of the Order of the Eastern Star. (African American’s in the 19th century had their own branch of Masons called the Royal Arch Masons.)

I found this as an intriguing find, and quickly negotiated a purchase with Gordon, and my partner-in-crime for the day—my son Jacob—loaded up and headed home. I will say that the Masonic gear bought that day, and the story of the African American Heroines of Jericho, are worthy of a future WorthPoint article, as information of that organization is very scarce.

Will Seippel is the president and CEO of WorthPoint. Will has been an avid collector since 1974 and dealer of just about all things—with a emphasis on ephemera—antique since 1984.

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Mathmos Lunar lava lamp.

Lava Lamps: These are very popular as retro items from the 1960s and are very popular with a 12- to 25-year-old buying group. The higher-end ones are also popular with an older, 50-year-old crowd, like me, who want to go back to an easier time and chill. Some advice on buying these is to make sure that you know what you are buying and pay for what you are getting. There are a lot of reproductions out in the market. That is not bad; as the buyer may want the “look.” But make sure you pay the price of a reproduction. My second piece of advice is to be sure that the lamp is working before you pay for it. I have seen some of these at garage sales where you are told it is ”only missing the bulb” and you get it home and it does not work. (Some require nonstandard bulbs.) The fun news is you can still find older ones at garage sales. My favorites, when I scanned through the 185 pages of lava lamps online in the Worthopedia, was the Mathmos Lunar lava lamp. A vintage 31.5-inch-tall one sold for $600.

Tom Thumb Typewriter.

Tom Thumb Typewriter: These were toy typewriters put out around 1960 and, for some reason, typewriters are a popular collectible. Condition is everything on these, as kids beat on them and sometimes they would get taken out into the yard and would rust in the rain. It is always nice to have a toy in the original box, and it is no exception with these. It is still a reasonably priced toy and can be sold for $15-$60.

1957 Topps Mantle/Berra #407 Power Hitters card.

1957 Topps Mantle/Berra #407 Power Hitters card: This card made it to the top for the second month in a row. It is as timeless as any investment in Mantle and will be good as long as baseball is the National Pastime. Be ready to shell out a couple of hundred for this in a clean condition. As with any last card in a set form this period, remember kids would often put rubber bands around there se and damage the end card. Thus it makes this particular one more difficult to find in good condition.

U.S. Navy Binoculars.

Lemaire Fabi Paris Binoculars.

U.S. Navy & Lemaire Fabi Paris Binoculars: Vintage binoculars were also popular last month. In this case, we had users looking for U.S. Navy binoculars, as well as Lemaire Fabi Paris binoculars. This is a case where rarity may not equate to value. The Worthopedia contained only three pages of the Lemaire binoculars. These were generally covered in mother of pearl and made in the early 1900s. They looked “pretty” and expensive, bout a pair could easily be bought for $50, when you could find them. On the other hand, there were at least 80 pages of naval binoculars and the few I looked at started at $100 and went up a lot from there. I know like most areas of collecting, military binoculars quickly get into a science of their own, but these glasses can get very pricey. It is still possible to find these glasses at military estate sales.

Goat Pin Brooch.

Goat Pin Brooch: Hmm . . . I had never thought about such a thing, but I know people like jewelry, and they like jewelry with animals. Looking into this on the site, I did not find a lot, but found almost 20. About five of these were for the Hattie Carnegie designer jewelry type and these would average about $300. I will admit that one of them, too me looked satanic, but what the heck, I always leave that up to the buyer. Prices also ranged down to the $15 dollar range for non designer jewelry.

Art Nouveau Upright Player Piano.

Art Nouveau Upright Player Piano: I found one specific player piano on the site that was of the Art Nouveau style. There were about another 500 on the site that were of varying styles. I also found some interesting piano items, including 1930s metal bookends that were of musicians playing a piano. The price of the Art Nouveau piano . . . a whopping $14,000? I would say it takes a very specific buyer.

Framed Chinese Cork Carvings.

Framed Chinese Cork Carvings: I had always wondered what these were when I saw them in people’s homes. They are quite intricate and usually in a frame. They are a tourist trade item and generally new and relatively inexpensive. I would suspect there are some older ones around that could bring considerably more money, but the newer ones are bringing $15-$25.

Zippo Glock Lighter.

Zippo Glock Lighter: Another hot item was the Zippo Glock commemorative lighter that was put out in 2006. This lighter was commemorating 20 years of something for Glock, the arms manufacturer, and Zippo. I had expected to see a cigarette lighter shaped like a gun, but this one had a small medallion that was set into a conventional lighter. Lighters are very easy to sell and a popular collectible. This one sell for $20-$35, new in the box. I have sold some specialized Zippo lighters for hundreds of dollars, so be on the lookout for them.

Bonnie Parker.

Clyde Barrow.

Bonnie and Clyde Autopsy Photos: For the weird and macabre, in the most searched, there was a pair of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow autopsy photos that were apparently prizes from a carnival. For those of you to young to remember, Bonnie and Clyde were two Depression-era bank robbers (played Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty in the 1967 movie). They met a very violent end in an ambush by authorities and were riddled with bullets. These photos certainly attested to that and were not for the squeamish. They sold at Cowan’s Auctions, a leading auction house in Cincinnati, for $460.

General Erotica: Lastly, I will say erotica is still, and always will be, hot (no pun intended), as long as there are smoking hot guys and girls. This month we had some odd searches that aggregated into big numbers. For the large lot of you that were looking for the “Iroquois-beer-fridge-magnet-girl-sexy-nude-Indian” well, I hope you find her. It sounds as elusive as true love. It is out there, but truly difficult to find!

Will Seippel is the president and CEO of WorthPoint. Will has been an avid collector since 1974 and dealer of just about all things—with a emphasis on ephemera—antique since 1984.

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A photo of Bob Lang and other members of the Wild Weasel, and F-4 squadron in Viet Nam. Will purchased this pilot’s flight gear, as well as some 1,000 photos from Ross Kapstein’s Garage Sale Warehouse in Atlanta.

WorthPoint CEO and President Will Seippel will be traveling to numerous antique and collectibles shows throughout 2010. He will Twitter where he’s going each week. Anyone who sees him there and comes up to say hello will receive a one-year CEO Club discount membership to WorthPoint. You’ll know it’s Will because he’ll be wearing a white WorthPoint polo shirt.

ATLANTA – This week I made an unannounced stop to on my weekly schedule to Helen Daesy’s estate liquidation sale in the Atlanta NW warehouse District. Helen is the first lady of Atlanta antiques. She knows everyone. She knows more people than I have forgotten. (I will write about Helen another week.)

So, last weekend I was going to do my taxes. Taxes for me, as a dealer, are difficult, as I do not know how much I paid for half of my items, and because I buy in lots, it is near impossible to assign a value to everything.

Anyway, Helen had mentioned to me that I should stop by Logan Circle, down by Chattahoochee, sometime and go see her friend Ross Kapstein, who is opening a new antique store. He sells the type of things I like, she said. Hmm . . . Part of me is thinking: “I have a lot to do this today, Helen, and it is almost noon and I have not shown up at the WorthPoint Corporate offices yet to show the employees I do work on Friday. How do you think I have time to go to a preopening to a new store?” The other side of me is thinking: “Hey, this is cool. Who needs to go to an office on Friday? I can still make it to my patent attorney by 5 p.m. and maybe I can beat everyone else to the stuff that I like and get the good deals!”

Lang’s helmet visor.

Well, the buyer side of me one out and I was off to Ross’s (after I stopped by the office and had lunch with the employees). Totally a good decision. First, let me welcome Ross to the trade. Ross is a retired Atlanta school teacher. He, like some of the rest of us, has been buying things for years. His wife insists it is time for him to start selling some of the things that he has been buying and get that which some of us buyers do not rank as a top priority, otherwise known as “cash flow.”

I was a few minutes late to see Ross, as the Atlanta traffic was itself, exasperated by rain. It took me more than 40 minutes to do what my GPS said I could do in 10. I found Ross the warehouse that he shared with a Chinese importer of new antiques that have the “look” that many Atlantans are chasing at the fraction of the cost of the older items. Then I saw Ross’s inventory that he had set up. I said “wow” to myself as I saw his inventory beautifully displayed in lighted cabinets, but kept my composure. Ross had a very good eye for what to buy and detail. I asked him to walk me through all of his items. It was very quickly clear that:

• Ross loved what he had assembled and sort of collected;
• His favorite was photography and 1960s paintings;
• He did meticulous work on researching the history of his items.

Lang’s flight suit.

A few of the items that he focused on were photographs and photographers of the ’60s. Other items that Ross had that caught me eye were a cabinet photo of a former slave who had the foresight to write his life’s history on the back of the photo; a history book with 200 photos of the 40th US Army Division, in World War Two that ends in the taking of the Negros Islands and McArthur coming in by plane to take over his newly captured prize. Ross’ photo collection of the Southern Ballet left me speechless. He also had vintage electric guitars, Army uniforms, ephemera, early baseball items . . . and much more coming in.

After taking a tour of Ross’s world, we talked for several hours. Ross’s new venture is called the “Garage Sale Warehouse.” Ross is cleaning out all of the cool things he purchased and saved in his travels through Atlanta over the years, moving it form his house to the warehouse. We laughed as I noted his collection was significant enough to open up a museum, covering a lot of Atlanta’s post-Civil War history. He says he focuses on paperbillia and is an eclectologist. He also has a Board of Advisors to council him on purchases he likes but does not understand! We discussed electronic selling and I suspect that you will see Ross on WorthPoint and GoAntiques in the near future. I sensed that Ross liked the hunt so much, and was good at it, he should find a Georgia Tech student to help him start photographing and getting his inventory on line to start producing some cash flow so he could reinvest in additional new inventory. Thus, his former accumulation disease would quickly become a business. This proves to be a difficult transition for many new dealers, as they mostly experienced the buying side, have not worked with computers in this form and often rue parting with some of their beloved stock.

I purchased a car full of WWII- and Viet Nam-era military items from Ross. This included the a Wild Weasel pilot’s flight gear from Viet Nam, about 1,000 photos and the papers, and WWII Army Air pilot flight jacket—very interesting items and things my customers will love.

I will return to Ross’s store soon as he has more I would like to purchase. I also enjoyed making a new friend in the trade and in Atlanta.

Will Seippel is the president and CEO of WorthPoint. Will has been an avid collector since 1974 and dealer of just about all things—with a emphasis on ephemera—antique since 1984.

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Pure White Hennessy Cognac bottle.

1) Pure White Hennessy Cognac: OK, are you a buyer or seller? I am a buyer and love this stuff. I do not know the value of a 1953 Hennessey vs. a 2003, but apparently this is a hot item and it matters. Are there readers out there who can help me learn something about cognac values?

1928 Luden’s Cough Drop/Smoking Drops advertisement.

2) 1928 Luden’s Cough Drop/Smoking Drops: I know that advertising and pharmaceutical items are well collected. Just how well is indicative of something this obscure making it to the Top 10.

1916 Liberty Standing Quarter.

3) 1916 Liberty Standing Quarter: This coin is a favorite of mine. It is the first year of what is a beautiful but short-lived coin, and it also has its own scandalous past. This is the only American coin that I know of that features a design with an exposed breast. Needless to say there was a public outcry, and congress immediately had Ms. Liberty put her top back on. No wonder people are looking for this coin and I would be a buyer of the Variety 1, topless, in good condition. The price of a Mint 10 Type 1 bare-breasted Miss Liberty Standing Quarter would be in the five digits, dependent on precise grade and mint mark.

Topps 1957 Mantle and Berra baseball card.

4) Mantle and Berra Baseball Card: Number 4 on our list is card number 407 of the Topps 1957 baseball card set. This is the last card from the set for 1957 and features the two New York Yankee power hitters of the Year, Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra. It is a classic card in the set and a strong close to a beautiful set of cards. It is also a difficult card to find in a near mint condition. A mint condition #407 card would be in the thousands of dollars.

Wood Duck telephone.

5) Wood Duck Telephone: A what? This just shows there is something for everyone. I would have not given something like this the time of the day, and suspect it quacks when it rings? There are more than 100 duck phones listed in the Worthopedia and are put out by Ducks unlimited and Abercrombie and Fitch. I saw prices from $10-$60. I bet there are some rarer ones of these that top $100.

F-4 Phantom Ejection Seat

6) F-4 Phantom Ejection Seat: OK, this is too cool. Only on the world’s largest price site can you find more than 70 items related to this. I have recently been selling the personal items of a Viet Nam-era F-4 pilot’s gear and know this stuff is hot. But when I saw this ejection seat I was jealous, as I did not get a seat with my gear. The one I researched on WorthPoint went for more than $2,000. Thus, if you find one of these on your garage sale searches, definitely go for it.

Blood on Blood” by Izumi Sakurazawa.

7) Soul-Eater Arts Material: I recently wrote an article about the evolving world of collecting and the new items replacing the traditional items. I had never heard of the soul-eaters and it was too good to pass up. The only soul collectors I knew of were venture capitalists. Thus, a trip into the Worthopedia on this showed me the world around Japanese manga art. It is hot and growing market. While this is an evolving market, I think it will be a lasting one, and where the patient could have some fun and make some money. I will try to get one of my daughters—who happens to be a magna artist—to fill us in more later, but I would love to get some user comments on the Japanese anime market, which is now more than 25 years old.

MGM Grand Las Vegas Bruno vs. Tyson $100 chip, front and back, from the March 16, 1996 fight between Tyson and Bruno.

8 ) MGM Grand Casino Chips: Looking on the WorthPoint site there are more than 60 pages of these. This blew my mind, as I am used to playing poker, but with your basic chips at a casino. I did not ever think that a casino could have so many types of chips for so many occasions. This is obviously a broad and deep market with potential, as I saw chips valued in the $100s of dollars and imagine they would go well over $1,000 for the rare ones. Anyone out there with some special examples or a collection they want to showcase?

A copy of a Venice Italian plague mask.

9) Venice Italian Plague Mask: I think this query was prompted by the “Ghost Adventures” show on the Travel Channel. Recently they had a show about the haunting on an island off of Venice where they took more than 100,000 people infected with the bubonic plague to die on the island and to be incinerated. The doctors wore masks resembling large toucon beaks that would be stuffed with spices to filter out the stench and disease. We had hundreds of searches on WorthPoint looking for these masks. Alas, all we had were the values of modern reproductions, and I imagine the originals would be in the thousands of dollar and very desirable. The two copies on our site went for more than $100.

1940 WWII U.S. Navy Quartermasters Mark 1 16X Spy Glass.

10) U.S. Navy Quartermaster Spy Glasses: This description caught my attention as I thought the Nay had “messes” to eat at and the army had the quartermasters, thus I am confused. There are two pages of WorthPoint items that feature quartermaster spyglasses that span from the 1800s to WW II. There prices are nothing to scoff at, and the ones that caught my interest range from $100 to $500.

A fun summary of items, and this list shows you can always learn something by looking at what others are looking at!

Will Seippel is the president and CEO of WorthPoint. Will has been an avid collector since 1974 and dealer of just about all things—with an emphasis on ephemera—antique since 1984.

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One of the photos Will bought at the John Smickle estate sale in Chattanooga, Tenn., was this one showing Generals George S. Patton (left), George C. Marshall (trench coat), Omar Bradley (over Marshall’s shoulder) and Dwight D. Eisenhower (center), watching former concentration camp prisoners demonstrating tortures used on them.

WorthPoint CEO and President Will Seippel will be traveling to numerous antique and collectibles shows throughout 2010. He will Twitter where he’s going each week. Anyone who sees him there and comes up to say hello will receive a one-year CEO Club discount membership to WorthPoint. You’ll know it’s Will because he’ll be wearing a white WorthPoint polo shirt.

This is just a fraction of the merchandise available at the John Smickle estate sale.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – My trip into the collecting world this week was a tremendous event, as I traveled north from Atlanta to Chattanooga and the sale of the estate of John Smickle. For those of you that want to know the story behind the man, unfortunately, I do not fully know it. I did meet someone in the line that morning who knew him and told me John passed in his 50s. I did see some Smickle family World War Two documents in the sale, so I would have to assume that they belonged to his dad.

The first part of the Smickle sale was held three weeks ago. For those of you not familiar with the sale, John Smickle had one of the largest collections of stuff that I had seen in my life. Apparently, he bought a lot from estates and certainly bought more than he sold through the malls he would frequent. But I can say that he had a good eye and seemed to have a focus on militaria and old records, as they made up about two-thirds of the sale.

The first weekend of the sale was the militaria zenith, as there were more than 185 vintage World War One and WWII helmets available, some quite rare. Loose lips slipped, as several people actually slept out in zero degree weather the night before to be the first in line for numbers handed out at 4 a.m. I did not arrive until noon on the first day, and I knew the militaria would be picked hard by that time, but did not feel like leaving at 2 a.m. to get a ticket at 4.

By noon, the militaria was indeed picked hard, but there was still some phenomenal bargains to be had. For example I got a Gorham Joseph Bissell 1916 Gorham bronze plaque of Thomas Jefferson, in an Art & Crafts oak easel frame, for $60. George Bissell works start at several thousand dollars. Another favorite find of mine was a Carlisle Indian School Post card I picked up for $2. I bought several soldier scrapbooks and many other items that I have already turned around and sold, including WWII-era street propaganda posters from the Philippines.

One of the interesting pickups of the day was an ashtray made by an German Afrika Corps prisoner.

The bottom of the ashtray is marked “PW Camp 126,” which was Mellands Camp, located in Gorton, Manchester, Lancashire, England.

Aside from the 185 helmets, there were scores of rare Nazi/SS collar insignias, a (disarmed) aerial bomb, a WWII cockpit canopy, and more than 10,000 WWII photos, which I was able to purchase the majority of them. In regard to the albums, there were more than 25,000 albums and the dealers noted they were cleaning up.

Given my success at the first day, I truly understood the breadth and depth of this sale and was eager for second part of the sale. Apparently, there were several more tractor-trailer loads of items to unload for Part II. I did not know what to expect but I had hoped it would be as good as Part I. I also vowed to get up early this time so I could arrive an hour or so before the doors opened to get a number and go have breakfast before getting down to business.

Planning is great, but reality often the killer. With a son and daughter to act as accomplices, we left my house as planned on Saturday morning at 6 a.m. I had thought about leaving the night before, but the snow/freezing rain anticipated in Tennessee was a concern. I was fortunate I thought about this decision as Interstate 75 was treacherous the night before and was actually closed for several hours. Driving up the next morning I could still see the abandoned cars on the shoulder of the freeway. We got to the sale an hour before it opened and was No. 3 in line! The only problem was they were not giving out numbers and I would have to wait out in the below freezing weather. I resigned my body to that fate and persevered for the next hour standing in a mix of snow and cold rain. The kids stayed in the car.

Another interesting pick includes this Pan Pacific Exposition medallion.

This pair of pre-war Japanese dolls was still in their original cardboard box.

Alas, the Welch’s Antique and Estate Sales, the sale facilitator, held the doors until 9 a.m., sharp, and made sure that the lines were organized and no one cheated to get in early. Given the quality and fair pricing I saw at the previous sale, I immediately found the ephemera and took every stack of paper and photos and gently dumped them into boxes or bags. As I filled each box, my kids hauled them to the storage spot for check outs. This enabled me to work much faster, but I wasn’t sure about what all I was getting or what I was spending, but that did not matter; this was cool, unpicked stuff that my buyers would love (they get frustrated that I only have a virtual store and they can not come to a physical one.)

The next five hours that day were spent picking though John Smickle’s life collection and spending $3,700, mostly on “smalls.” It was quite a sale. My Grand Cherokee was so packed that I practically could not fit my son and daughter in to drive back with me.

The unique items abounded: WWII German POW African Corps-made ashtray; Howard Hughes Spruce Goose crew photo… The list goes on and on. I saw things I have never seen in my almost 40 years of selling.

Jo Welch of Welch’s Antique and Estate Sales of Chattanooga.

Kim, another Welch employee.

Josh made sure everything was under control.

The sale was run by Welch’s Antique and Estate Sales of Chattanooga. They run an extremely professional sale and I would use them as a seller. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff and provide all kinds of bags and boxes to take things home, security . . . you name it. Their focus on detail is fantastic. For me, Chattanooga is now on my list of places to go, if they are running a sale. Thank you Jo and team.

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Will Seippel is the president and CEO of WorthPoint. Will has been an avid collector since 1974 and dealer of just about all things—with a emphasis on ephemera—antique since 1984.

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There were lines of people at the doors on opening day of the Original Miami Beach International Antiques Show. So many people, in fact, that show officials were forced to open early to control the crowd. That is a very good sign for all of us dealers.

Editor’s Note: WorthPoint CEO and President Will Seippel will be traveling to numerous antique and collectibles shows throughout 2010. He will Twitter where he’s going each week. Anyone who sees him there and comes up to say hello will receive a one-year CEO Club discount membership to WorthPoint. You’ll know it’s Will because he’ll be wearing a white WorthPoint polo shirt.

MIAMI – How is the economy doing . . . hmm . . . if the antiques and collectibles market in South Beach and Miami are any indication, it is doing pretty good. I am spending much of my time in the field with buyers and sellers in 2010. It was a New Year’s resolution. I know, it sure sounds like a hardship to start off with Miami in January, while the rest of the country in an icebox! Yes, I even went for a swim while down here and would recommend that the rest of you make the trip and meet me here next year and take in the show.

Will’s tour guide for the Original Miami International Antiques Show was Wortholgist David Mycko, who specialized in horology.

I toured the Original Miami Beach Antiques Show at the Miami Convention Center with our horologist Worthologist David Mycko. For those of you who think that is a dirty word, let me assure you that David is a timepiece expert who specializes in watches. I asked David to help me learn the ropes of the show. I came down on the second day of the show (which ran from Jan. 21 to 25, 2010) and David already had a great opening day, having bought and sold numerous items. David told me there were lines of people at the doors on opening day. So many people, in fact, that show officials were forced to open early to control the crowd. That is a very good sign for all of us dealers.

While walking the floor with David, I immediately noticed two things. The first was the amazing amount of energy present, as the hall nearly crackled with it. The second thing I noticed was that one of my kids had borrowed my memory card from my camera and that I was out of luck as far as taking photographs to illustrate my first thought. Luckily, I was at the booth of Matt Bain of Miami Beach when I realized I was to go photo-less. Matt had a killer display of wristwatches and is a great person. But it was Alison, who works with him, who immediately came to my rescue, offering me the card from her camera. With two gigs of memory, I was back in business at one of the world’s greatest watch and clock shows.

This tiny box, with a portrait of Kaiser Wilhelm painted on the front and edged in diamonds and rubies, was, according to the dealer, a gift from the Kaiser to his daughter.

The thing that caught my eye immediately at Matt’s booth was a really cool James Bond watch. All of us guys want to be like Bond, or at least experience a Bond-like situation, and it is cool to see such a famous timepiece. Matt had a great collection of Rolexes, Breitlings and anything else you could possibly want in a wristwatch. If you’d like to for any of you that want to ask Matt about the Bond watch, you can visit his Web site.

We wondered around some more and I found a New England dealer by the name of Butch McGrath of Scituate, Maine. Butch, who runs a booth with his dad, was an oasis for me, as I am from Maine and it was nice to see New England antiques in Miami. One of things that peaked my interest was a tiny box with Kaiser Wilhelm painted on the front that was edged in diamonds and rubies. On the back was the date of a daughter’s birthday. According to Butch, this was a gift from the Kaiser to his daughter. Another item he had that I thought quite highly of was a leather World War Two flight jacket from the 14th Air Force with the original leather local theatre patches and the flyers bag with the original accoutrements. The flyer’s name was sewn in the bag so someone could have fun with doing research on this ensemble. If you are interested in the above items, Butch can be reached at 781.545.3661.

Next David showed me another watch dealer by the name of Steve Smith. Steve was a great guy that a buyer would feel immediately comfortable with. He seemed to have a watch for everyone (and in their price range).

My favorite watch of the show was the timepiece once owned by Lt. Col. Edward R. Warner of the 1st NY Volunteer Light Artillery.

While I was blown away with some of the pocket watches I had seen earlier, and despite the glory of the earlier European examples, my favorite watch of the show was the timepiece owned by Lt. Col. Edward R. Warner of the 1st NY Volunteers Light Artillery. This group saw very heavy action in the Civil War. The unit’s history can be found at this very cool Web site.

While looking at this watch, I noticed a couple of restored 1960s-era Vespas nearby. The good life would be to drive one of those out with a new vintage time piece in your pocket.

We had a lot of fun. We spotted another great watch over at The Red Barron’s of Atlanta. The watch was attached to an ancient—well old—single-shot percussion gun with a very decorative chain. It was for a gambler, so the story went.

David and I then walked over to see another watch he was looking at buying, but by the time we got there, it was gone. This was another sign that buying that was going on and can only reaffirm the old adage: “you snooze, you lose.”

At this point I was tired and Dave was going on. I ran into a friendly visitor from Baltimore who gladly shared his lunch with me, as I was too tired to wait in line.

All-in-all, it was a great day, and I left the show to head off to the airport. And a special thanks to Andrea and Mary from show promoters DMG World Media for such a fun time. I would highly recommend the show to others next year and heard very good things from shoppers and dealers and that each year the show only gets better.

Will Seippel is the president and CEO of WorthPoint. Will has been an avid collector since 1974 and dealer of just about all things antique—with a emphasis on ephemera—since 1984.

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Will Seippel, the founder, CEO and president of WorthPoint, recently discovered a pair of these 18th-century Sevres end pieces at an estate sale after many people passed them over, including a pair of expert appraisers, who tagged them at $125 each. Their true value is much, much more.

Just as the everyday collector hopes to come across a Great Find—an item bypassed by many, purchased for a pittance and worth thousands—experts can miss a valuable item staring them in the face.

Will Seippel, the founder, CEO and president of WorthPoint, recently had such an experience.

Will wanted to attend a private estate sale in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta, but circumstances—in this case a late flight back from Ohio—had delayed his arriving at the sale. By the time he got there, there were only minutes left before it closed for the day at 5 p.m.

“I thought I could get them to apply their second-day 50-percent-off discount early, if I found anything,” Will said.

But after briefly talking with the organizers of the sale, Will had learned that most of the estate’s pieces had been sold ealier in the day, prior to his arrival. Additionally, the sales company had hired two appraisers to help evaluate prices before the sale. So, he thought, finding anything worthwhile was going to be a longshot.

Still, Will decided to look over what was left. His eyes were immediately drawn to a pair of white porcelain pieces—each with four cherubs surrounding a pillar holding up a low bowl. He looked at the tags: $125 each.

He picked one up and turned it over: “I thought I recognized the mark on the bottom and knew immediately I had something.”

The pieces were early porcelain, 18th-century French, Will thought, judging by the irregular salt-glazed finish. They were also made in pieces and then combined into the final piece, as the “technology” did not exist in the early 1700’s to mold such intricate and large pieces in one mold.

A mark and the iron assembly helped to determine the identity of this circa 1740 Sevres end piece.

“They were also sophisticated in the detail and that the floral decoration is usually indicative of Meissen porcelain of the period, but the puttis/cherubs were typically French,” Will said. “The square iron bolts holding them together also dated them.”

What he had found, hiding in plain sight from all the experts and experienced buyers all day long, Will decided, were Sevres porcelain end pieces.

Still, he stood there for a few moments, blinking, because he couldn’t believe what he was holding.

Well, it was time to buy. Since it was 5 p.m. and the end of the first day sale, Will asked the persons conducting the sale to give him second-day pricing to save a trip back the next morning, and possibly waiting in line. He ended up with a very good deal, if not a textbook “Great Find.”

The sophistication in the detail and that the floral decoration is usually indicative of Meissen porcelain of the period, but the puttis/cherubs are typically French.

After getting his buy home, he called Thom Pattie, WorthPoint’s chief Worthologist, who, looking at photos send via e-mail, confirmed that Will had indeed made a good buy: the pieces were marked in an early Sevres mark and were made about 1740.

Wow, a pair of Sevres end pieces in great condition, acquired at a steal at $100, that are easily worth $1,000 to $3,000 each. This story only goes to show that when on the hunt for a Great Find, don’t disregard an item just because an “expert” passed on it.

Gregory Watkins is the editor of WorthPoint.com.

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With banks closing, fraud investigations of financial entities, major companies threatened with bankruptcy and stock prices on the decline, investors are looking for safe alternatives. This week gold jumped to $967 an ounce, the highest since July 17, 2008. Collecting gold items and coins is looking more and more to be a viable investment alternative.

James Taylor, CEO and president of ANACS, American’s oldest coin-grading service, says his business is up 20-30 percent. “People are not only collecting gold, but they want to know its value. It’s not just the new collectors, but people who have been collecting for decades are sending us coins for authentication, grading and attribution,” Taylor said.

With a community of collectors around the world, we’re interested in knowing if you currently view collecting as an investment. Do you consider investing in collecting art, antiques or collectibles an alternative to the stock market? Would you share your strategy with the rest of us?

To start the conversation, we’ve gathered some of the comments from WorthPoint’s Linkedin page for Antique Investors, Sellers and Fans.

“It’s always been something my parents did, I just do it naturally. Been buying anything silver since forever. Gold too! Even if it isn’t great looking, I always figure that one day I could scrap it for more. My Dad was big into scrapping gold and silver. It was like his side hobby! Art is also a decent investment, and some paintings and lithographs cannot only go up in value, but can be passed along in the family for enjoying until there is a need to raise funds.”
Lynne

On WorthPoint’s Linkedin page for Antique Investors, Sellers and Fans

“I joined eBay in 2003, primarily to purchase underpriced, quality scrimshaw. As of this month, eBay prohibits the listing of ALL ivory, including antique scrimshawed whale teeth. I have other sources, but eBay was by far the most fun, and the easiest to monitor.

“I consider my collection to be my personal IRA (Ivory Retirement Account). Most of my scrimshaw is posted on WorthPoint.com, divided into several different collections. Descriptive and historical text is posted with each item. Will Seippel recruited me to become WorthPoint’s scrimshaw Worthologist. My WorthPoint ID is ScrimCollector.

“I believe the knowledgeable acquisition of antiques will outperform traditional stock investments. And it is a heckova lot more fun!”
Douglass Moody, sole proprietor at TradeWinds International

On WorthPoint’s Linkedin page for Antique Investors, Sellers and Fans

“I have to admit that I invest in antiques as opposed to the traditional investment vehicles. I probably average a return of at least 60% if not much more. My IRA, on the other hand, lost 67% this year.

“I did very well this year on my platinum and gold. I lost my job in October and have been very well subsidized through my antiques. My collection is nearly gone, but it can be rebuilt once I have an income.

“I decided long ago that I would be better off with antiques than stocks. The best thing is that I can enjoy them and share them while I have them. No one is in the least bit interested in seeing a portfolio, but they do get a kick out of the antiques.

“The first time I had to sell things off was heartbreaking. The second time was annoying. The third time I was happy that I changed my approach and considered them as investments, which meant that I had to be more careful and knowledgeable about what I bought and at what price I bought it.”
Doug

“Yes, in the past 10 years carefully acquired fine antiques purchased at conservative prices have grossly outperformed the Dow, S&P, gold and silver markets. Of course, your average savings bank account most likely also outperformed my 401k plan (my wife calls it our 201 kaka plan).

“Many years ago as a kid working for Max Vas, the well-known Madison Ave dealer, he used to say ‘It’s always a good time to SELL antiques, or to BUY antiques . . . but it’s never the SAME time.’ I didn’t understand this back then, but after several cycles consisting of several years of hot sales (money chasing after merch) and no sales (product chasing after buyers), I am currently BUYING QUALITY antiques at REASONABLE prices for FUTURE sale.”
Steven

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Brimfield, Mass., is a small New England town with a population of about 5,000 or so. Settled in 1706, it shows its traditional New England quaintness rather well. It has its large, steepled church, and with the leaves of autumn or the snow of winter, looks the part in any Norman Rockwell painting. And then for one week every spring, fall, and summer, the population doubles with 5,000 antique dealers converging on Brimfield to create the “Antique Capital of the United States.”

I had the most unique opportunity to go antique hunting with Will Seippel, CEO and founder of WorthPoint.com to learn about furniture and other things that caught his eye. Will is quite the collector himself and he finds the most fascinating items.

We wandered to the original show that started it all back in 1959; J&J Promotions. There are 20 different shows now at Brimfield, and Will was glad to be back to the place where he himself was a dealer about 20 years ago.

The first stop was the RCA, Edison Electric booth. We were greeted by an oversized Nipper, the original RCA Victor logo and mascot—you remember, the perplexed black and white dog looking into the new fangled Victrola that played the original 78 rpm records. Will found quite a stack of original Edison wax cylinders used for the original phonograph or gramophone. “The thing you have to be careful for is that they don’t end up with a mold on them. When that happens, no more sound.” Will says. These cylinders are very plentiful and the WorthPoint Worthopedia has many auctions where similar cylinders sold on average of $3 to $5 each.

Interestingly, Will walked into a trailer displaying early phonograph cabinets and noticed one from the Sonora Phonograph Company of New York, N.Y.

“It actually belonged to my great-grandfather and that was his record company,” Will says. The company produced phonographs from about 1907 and later also distributed radios until the company closed in 1930. Will tells the story of his grandfather locking the plant after a union strike which bankrupted the firm, all while his father, the true owner of the company, was on vacation. Still, a well preserved Sonora phonograph has been sold at auction for $200 to $300.

I pulled a surprise on Will that day. As the Worthologist recruiter for WorthPoint then, I passed a box full of old license plates and informed Will that we just brought on our own Worthologist for license plates, a very collectible item these days. We found plates for Massachusetts 1966, California 1974, New Hampshire, Kentucky 1970, and Michigan 1976 still in its wrappers.

“I always like to see the ones from Washington, D.C. with ‘No Taxation Without Representation,’” Will says. To get a good idea as to the value of any early license plates visit WorthPoint’s Worthologist Andy Bernstein. Some very early license plates have values into the thousands if you know what to look for.

As always, antiquing with Will Seippel is a great educational experience. Will’s stories, knowledge and the practiced eye made me a better collector. Everyone should go antiquing with Will at least once. It was a great treat.

To watch a video of Will Seippel’s tour of Brimfield, click here.

To see an example of an Editon gramaphone, click here.

To see an example of an Sonora phonograph, click here.

To visit Andy Bernstein’s Worthologist home page, click here.

Tom Carrier is a general Worthologist, with an expertise in a wide variety of subjects, including vexillology, or the study of flags.

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

EDITOR’S NOTE: Brimfield, Mass., is a small New England town with a population of about 5,000 or so. Settled in 1706, it shows its traditional New England quaintness rather well. It has its large, steepled church, and with the leaves of autumn or the snow of winter, looks the part in any Norman Rockwell painting. And then for one week every spring, fall, and summer, the population doubles with 5,000 antique dealers converging on Brimfield to create the “Antique Capital of the United States.”

I had the most unique opportunity to go antique hunting with Will Seippel, CEO and founder of WorthPoint.com to learn about furniture and other things that caught his eye. Will is quite the collector himself and the things he sees is often nothing like what I see at all.

It’s a small table he notices first. “What we have here is a beautiful New England work table dating from about 1820, in what they call the Sheraton style,” Seippel says.

Now to me, it was just a small table, but Will notices the brass knob on the front of the small drawer and the birch top. The legs, though, draw his particular attention.

“Generally in New England, you can tell the difference from the southern tables, because the legs were much thinner, which was really more the Puritan ethic to save material. The southern tables would have large legs which they would flaunt how much material they would use, kind of the opposite,” Seippel says. “A very, very nice table.”

We keep moving down the line until he notices an entire table of furniture accessories, such as Victorian hand carved walnut drawer pulls for cottage furniture, door knobs, and even claw feet for a table. “Fred Taylor, our Worthologist for all things Victorian to 1920s to 1950s Grand Rapids furniture, can tell you more than I can, but these are hard to find and they are great to use on your furniture,” Seippel says.

Lastly, we came across a rather large wooden bed. “Here is a nice bed here that’s made out of walnut. It’s a little bit higher end of Victorian furniture. These are very functional beds, and is a great piece to recycle and use. Very comfortable, and saves cutting down a tree to make a new bed. Something like this I would really recommend,” Seippel says. He particularly notices the hand-carved fruit decoration on the headboard and at the foot of the bed itself. “It’s a very nice piece of furniture,” Seippel concludes.

WorthPoint’s Worthopedia auction prices put the door knob at only a few dollars within a large lot, the Victorian bed frame sold at auction from $110 to about $200, while similar small Sheraton work tables were auctioned from $50 to more than $1,200 for an 1830’s walnut southern Sheraton-style work table.

Just to be able to walk alongside Will as he points out the kinds of important antiques and collectibles that would just pass me by is a lesson in itself. After “antiquing” with Will Seippel, I now understand more fully how he was able to pay his way through higher education through the buying and selling of antiques. I certainly will not be able to look at furniture legs quite the same way again.

To watch a video of Will Seippel’s tour of Brimfield, click here.

Tom Carrier is a general Worthologist, with an expertise in a wide variety of subjects, including vexillology, or the study of flags.

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Today, as I write this, we are a little more than a year old. We are ranked in the top 6,000 sites on the Internet, our page views have jumped to 1.5 million a month, and we are growing at a 5-percent compounded rate.

You have been good to us, checking us out and coming back again and again. We take that as a sign that you like what you see. I promise you that when we launch the new WorthPoint, it is going to get even better. On the redesigned WorthPoint site, we have created the tools for networking, learning, pricing, buying, selling and making a profit. The new site will make all of our collecting experiences easier and more productive. During the next week, we will showcase many of the features and benefits of the new site, and our new membership levels, but here’s a sneak preview of some of the highlights.

What You Can Do on WorthPoint’s Redesigned Site

• Use your profile page to connect with others who share your collecting interests

• Find people who own items you want to buy or who want to buy what you need to sell

• Find and bookmark events and shows on WorthPoint’s extensive, searchable calendar

• Post events and shows on your calendar that others can follow

• Locate business professionals by city and state, for example, estate planners or insurance agents specializing in antiques and collectibles

• Learn about the items you own or want to buy or sell with more than 100 videos and thousands of articles by experts

• Ask our expert Worthologists for evaluations or seek information from the global community of collectors

• Use our extensive database of millions (100 million by the end of 2009) of historical items to price items you want to sell or determine the price you want to pay

• Sell your items: on the classifieds, in our GoAntiques marketplace (dealers only), at one of our auction house partners, through a dealer at an antique show or other venues you find on the site

Room for Everyone

We have room for everyone connected to the collecting world: collectors, buyers, sellers, dealers, Worthologists, galleries, associations, clubs, auction houses, auctioneers, writers, content producers, media professionals, educators, estate planners, insurers, museums, book publishers, repairers, restorers, show promoters, suppliers and wholesalers—you are all valuable members of the collecting community.

I have seen many professionals and respected experts in the collecting world struggle for years to grow their Web traffic, yet they still don’t rate in the top 100,000 sites. Please know that if you are laboring in obscurity, posting useful information on the Internet that no one is seeing, you can put your profile on our site. With a professional membership, you can link to your own site and use our page views to help you build traffic, whether you are an expert collector, a museum or provide professional services to the collecting community.

Last week, our organic traffic grew by a very hefty 16 percent. We expect to continue to grow at a rapid rate because what we offer is valuable to all segments of the collecting industry. Together, by sharing our knowledge, providing information buyers and sellers can trust, creating a fair marketplace for buyers and sellers, we will level the playing field, and that will bring new people into the collecting world.

When we launch next week, I hope you will take a look and let me know what you think of the features on the new site, what works best for you and what changes you’d like to see. We will be adding new features and tools throughout the year, and as always, we intend to listen closely to what our users and members want and need.

Thank you for your trust and support during our inaugural year. In return, we plan to provide you with the best possible experiences on the Internet in the collecting world.

Will Seippel
CEO & founder of WorthPoint

WorthPoint Corp. announced Thursday that it has signed a seven-year partnership agreement with Terapeak, the industry leader in eBay research and education.

Victoria, British Columbia-based Terapeak, a subsidiary of Advanced E-commerce Research Systems Inc. (AERS), lets sellers know what’s in demand by supplying two years of tracking data. It provides a 90-day guide on specific items—sell-through rates, pricing trends, the best keywords and categories to use for maximum exposure.

Under the terms of the agreement, AERS will provide WorthPoint with eBay’s entire daily sales of antique and collectible, which will be added to WorthPoint’s database. In addition, Terapeak will resell WorthPoint’s knowledge-based products. These include expertise provided by Worthologists (WorthPoint’s art, antiques and collectibles experts), WorthPoint employees and related professionals, who have more than 2,000 years of combined domain experience.

Easy-access information

“Our partnership with AERS and Terapeak will make WorthPoint the world’s most comprehensive source of information on art, antiques and collectibles,” said Will Seippel, CEO of WorthPoint. “We will be adding more than one billion items to our database over the course of this agreement and will make information accessible in an easy-to-use format so that people can learn more about the value of their collectibles. In these difficult economic times, people need help finding additional sources of income, and WorthPoint is the resource to help them do that.”

Seippel added that the partnership with Terapeak is a major element in a significant WorthPoint product rollout slated for late January.

Commenting on the partnership, Fred Speckeen, CEO of AERS, said, “Terapeak and WorthPoint aim to develop the ultimate resource for collectors and sellers. Comprehensive new products will be created with the vision of serving the breadth of the market, from small collectibles to high-end works of art. We are excited to work with the experts at WorthPoint to offer services that answer the questions most collectibles enthusiasts and sellers ask, ‘What is this worth? Where can I buy or sell this? Which of these items are valuable?’ The combination of education, market research data and analytics will provide pinpoint responses to these concerns and more.”

WorthPoint and Terapeak partnering is great news for the art, antiques and collectibles world. After all, to paraphrase Sir Francis Bacon, knowledge is buying-and-selling power.

For more information on the two companies, click here.

WorthPoint—Get the Most from Your Antiques & Collectibles

Data—millions and millions of items of data—is what WorthPoint and Terapeak, a subsidiary of Advanced E-commerce Research Systems Inc., are offering WorthPoint members.

WorthPoint has signed a seven-year contract with Terapeak, the company that provides eBay users with trending data. That’s how savvy eBay sellers know how to price an item and smart buyers know what to pay for it.

Easy access in one place to the most prices

Under the new partnership, WorthPoint will be able to offer its members more historical prices than anyone in the world—more than 100 million historical prices by the end of 2009 and more than one billion items over the course of the contract.

Will Seippel, WorthPoint’s CEO, promises to make this data accessible in an easy-to-use format. And he is a man of his word! To me, accessibility means whether I am at an antiques store, a show or shopping online, I have access to this information when I need it most. I want to know whether the price I am willing to pay is reasonable and that I am not about to get fleeced.

Almost as good as shopping with an expert

In my perfect world, I’d head into an antique store with the ranks of Worthologists right behind me. If I wanted to buy a clock, I’d whisper to Mark Peer, WorthPoint’s clock expert, “What do you think, Mark? Is that a good deal?” Or if I found a Mary Alice Hadley platter, I’d want our pottery expert, Audra Blevins, with me. And if I were considering buying a Shaker rocker, I’d definitely want to confide in Fred Taylor, our American furniture Worthologist. In the real world, however, Mark, Audra and Fred live east of the Mississippi, and I live in Colorado.

Get info from computers or cell phones

With this new partnership, I can access millions of historical prices with a few keystrokes on my computer. And as WorthPoint also owns PriceMiner, I can also get this data on my iPhone or any other cell phone with Internet access. That means I can have millions of historical price records with me whenever I shop, wherever I shop. I can find out what other people have recently paid for the item I want to buy while I’m right there in the store! I can also access the collective wisdom of these buyers and experts before I make my offer.

Access to data—through WorthPoint and Terapeak’s partnership—will allow me to buy and sell as though I have an expert whispering average prices in my ear. It’s not as good as taking a squad of Worthologists with me, but it is the next best thing!

This is why data is my new best friend.

For more information, see WorthPoint Signs Partnership Agreement with eBay Research and Education Firm Terapeak. For more information about PriceMiner, click here.