1950s Gift Baskets For Christmas

I hope everyone has a good holiday season and gets time to spend with family and friend. I finally got all my Christmas shopping done and for the first time ever I won't be doing any last minute gift buying on Christmas eve. I know this blog is about antiques and collecting but I really had to tell someone about this great accomplishment. I'm terrible at buying gifts for those office exchanges and holiday parties with co workers and friends. I'm always having to scrounge around last minute to get things bought, wrapped and delivered on time. One thing I did this year to make things a bit easier was to create gift baskets with themes. Since I'm an avid antique collector and everyone knows it I decided to make baskets containing period type items like 1950 style ornaments, candy, and other small trinkets. I was orinally only going to make a couple gift baskets but once I got into it was so fun and easy I decided to make several. I got the idea after reading a website about 1950s candy and remembering how many of the old penny candies I used to buy are no longer available. You can customize each basket using not only 1950s and 60s candy but also throw in some old toys from the period as well. Nothing overly expensive but something from the 50s that would remind someone of their child hood even an old marx tin farm animal would do. I also threw in some 50's style dish towels, postcards and other odds and ends. Anyway you get the picture, just be creative and you can come up with unique and easy Christmas gift basket ideas as well.

Coins Make Great Collectible Gift Ideas

Are you like me and always struggling to find gifts for those teenage nephews, nieces, cousins and other young adults? I usually revert to giving cash, gift cards or some other type of gift that can easily be exchanged, returned or used to allow them to purchase what they want. I decided this year that for all those hard to buy for people on my Christmas list, I'll be giving them collectible coins. I know it doesn't sound like giving coins as a gift is much different than giving cash but in reality it really is. Giving a young adult or teenager a Silver American Eagle dollar or a 2008 Silver Proof gives them the opportunity to start their own coin collection. Giving coins as a gift isn't much different than buying bonds for kids. I know plenty of people that get kids U.S. Savings bonds every Christmas or birthday. I've decided instead of giving them bonds I'll give them a gold or silver coin that can both act as an investment and allow them to get something quite unique under the tree. Even getting them a proofset for their birth year might be a good idea. It will allow them to have something different to remember you buy. State quarters are quite popular as well. Now that the Hawaii State Quarter has been release all 50 state quaters are available to choose from. I'm not saying to go out and buy an overly expensive rare coin but a fairly current proof set, mint set , silver round or commemerative coins is well with in the price range for most people's Chrismas budget. You can check out a full list of coins produced at the US Mint. If you would like ot start introducing your kids or perhaps start colleting coins for yourself you might find some good information about coin collecting for beginners here.

Grandpa's Old Pocket Watch

Many of us have been blessed by receiving an old pocket watch from or Grandpa or perhaps from our father. These beautiful antique time pieces don't have much demand as a time keeper in today's world but the do still have both sentimental value and value as a collectible. Many antique pocket watches were made with very high quality precious metals and gems. Some of the most popular and most commonly found pocket watches found today were made by Elgin. Elgin watches very greatly in price from fairly inexpensive to outrageouly priced. Depending on the amount of jewels, the metal the casing is made from, how decorative the face is will determine much of its monetary worth.

Silver and Gold are probably the most common metals used to make the watch case and chains found on antique pocket watches. Diamonds, rubies, emeralds and other precious gems can also be found on some of the most ornate of these pocket watches.

Like any collectible antique there is a large quantity of these pocket watches avialable through garage sales, online auctions and local thrift stores, so keep your eyes peeled as you are out and about. With the price of gold and silver doing particularly well in the market today you might be suprised at the price you will have to pay for a Gold Antique Pocket Watch

Collecting Art Deco Antiques

Art Deco refers to a period in time from the mid 1920's thru 1940. There are literally thousands of different types of antiques to collect from the art deco period the most popular being sculptures, furniture , artwork and jewelry. Almost every item produced during the Art Deco age was greatly influenced by the geometric, lacquered, and industrial look that was present in art deco architecture. Most of the large cities throughout the world still have skylines littered with art deco buildings.

Collecting art deco antiques might lead you down a path of collecting fine alabaster statues, bronze figures, or highly lacquered sleek figurines of the period. Many of these art deco statues are found made from various other metals including bright chrome finishes with marble bases. Many of the statues are of nudes, panthers , fish and a variety of Egyptian influenced figures.

The home appliance and furniture industries were also caught up in the art deco movement and pieces from this era are easily recognized. Antique art deco radios, often short wave radios are one of the most sought after of the home appliances in today's antique market.
Many other antiques items such as jewelry were highly influenced by the art deco era. The jewelry much like other art deco antiques has several differnt styles including costume jewelry with many various types of glass beads, egyptian influnced jewelry made with precious stones, gold, silver and platinum. Art deco antiques fall into so many differnt categories that rarely will you see anyone collecting them all. Most people who decide to collect art deco antiques will usually focus on one section of the market like art deco jewelry, figures, lamps, radios or furniture. You will need to decide what works best for you

Collecting Antique Postcards

Since the summer is in full swing I though I would cover a topic on antique post cards. Collecting antique postcards is a very popular pasttime for many in the antique world. There are several reasons collecting antique postcards for beginning antique collectors. First antique postcards are realatively cheap compared to many other items that are gobbled up by antique dealers. Second reason collecting postcards for beginners is a good way to start is that they are relatively easy to find. And lastly collecting antique postcards on vacation adds a new and exciting twist to the normal tourist shopping you might normally Do.
When collecting antique or new postcards you want to make sure to keep them well protected. Don't bend the postcard or damage the corners. Provide your antique postcards the proper storage that will protect the corners. You should also keep them in holders designed for antique paper products to prevent damage from sunlight and the acids in some papers. Many hobby shops, coin shops and antique dealers will have a supply of these on hand or can tell you where to get them.
Learn the different types of postcards and thier dates. The most valuable postcards are often are the black and white photocards. These will usually have white lettering at the bottom of the face of the card describing the photo on the antique postcard. Many of these old black and white photo cards are highly sought after by authors looking to document a specific topic. Antique postcards that depict ships, boats, trains, early cars, horse track , and old travel destinations tend to bring the highest money at auction in my experience. I once sold a set of old post cards of Saginaw Michigan to a guy writing a book about the early ships of the area. All of the antique postcards I had depicted different steam ships and he used them in his book as illustrations. I even bought the book so I could see my old antique postcards put to use. It was a rewarding experienc to see them used that way.
Collecting antique or new postcard photographs for that matter can be great fun for the whole family. You can use them to document your family vactions and break them out years later to relive those beautiful times. It is also a great way to get involved is stamp collecting Good luck and happy hunting.

Collecting Antique Carnival Glass For Beginners

Antique Carnival Glass is another form of glassware from the depression era. The first and probably most well known maker of carnival glass is Fenton. They began producing carnival glass in the early 1900's. Northwood is also a well know producer of some of the finest antique carnival glass and they began production shortly after Fenton. Northwood carnival glass is usually marked on the bottom with a capital "N" surrounded by a circle. Dugan is one of the hardest types of carnival glass to find. Dugan is also know as Diamond as they were bought out in their later year. Imperial, Indiana and several other glass companies all manufactured a nice looking set of carnival glass.

If you decide carnival glass is an antique you would like to collect you had better do your research as there are many reproduction pieces on the market. Spend some time running through Antique Carnival Glass price guides and reproduction guides to make sure you know the difference between the various types of carnival glass in existence. A Saturday or Sunday stroll through your local antique mall, auction house or flea market is another very good way to learn not only the prices of Antique carnival glass, but you'll soon be able to tell all the makers of carnival glass apart just by looking at them. As with any antique glassware you never want to purchase something that is cracked, chipped or heavily worn unless it is an extremely rare piece.

Before ever getting into the Antique glassware or pottery market you had better know what your looking at and for if you don't want to end up loosing your shirt. Trust me I've been had many times in my earlier years of antique glassware collecting

Collecting Antique Depression Glass

Depression Glass Is another of the many different types of antiqes that I collect. Learning the ins and outs of collecting antique depression glass can be fairly difficult as there are plenty of reproduction items on the market. You can tell a quality piece of depression glass from a reproduction by weight, the way its made, and checking the markings on the bottom of the glassware.

While reproduction depression glass is usually far less valuable than the originally produced antique depression glass, there is still a market for some of it. Some of the earlier reproduction glass pieces are actually just as valuable as the originals. Buying an antique guide for both depression glass and reproduction depression glass is something I highly suggest if you plan on starting to collect this type of glassware.

Usually collectors of depression glass tend to stick with one particular color, pattern, or glass maker. My preference is the Pink Miss America or Pink Cherry Blossom patterns of depression glass. I have nearly a complete set of both types of pink depression glass but will continue to seek out the most rare pieces as time goes by. If you want to learn the value of or recognize the various pattersn there is no better place to start than Ebay. The wonderful world of online auctions has given us collectors a realtime value guide for evaluating our pink depression glass. You can also find some nice examples of Pink Green Amber & Cobalt Blue Depression Glass here

Collecting Antique Pottery For Beginners

Collecting Antique and Vintage pottery has been one of my favorite things to do. I hit garage sales like a bears flock to honey. It amazes me how many people dont realize the value of the things they sell. I've bought very nice pieces of Roseville, Weller, and Rookwood for just a couple of dollars. If you not familiar with these pottery makers they are worth much more than that. Some of the most common types of pottery I find at garage sales are McCoy, Frankhoma, Antique Wedgewood and other more modern pottery makers. If you know what your looking for even the common pieces of pottery can be worth considerably more than you will pay for them at garage sales. If you want to get serious about collecting pottery or buying it for resell though garage sales then you need to learn more about what items to buy. Take the time and get yourself some reference books on pottery. They don't have to be new ones, I often buy 5 or 6 year old collectors books and price guides from garage sales just for information. Ignore the prices guides in these older books but learn to recognize the different types of pottery by their makers marks and other identifying characters. The price guides can be useful to keep you from paying too much for something at garage sales but don't necessarily reflect current market values so just be cautious.

McCoy cookie jars are really common finds at garage sales and can be very valuable if you find the right ones. Cookie jars in general usually have a pretty good resell value as do tea pots and water pitchers. When your shopping the local thrift shops and garage sales look for age marks on the pottery. Many glazes tend to get cracks through out the piece, this is often a sign of age. The more you see older pottery you will start to recognize genuine signs of age. Weight is also something to look at. Most of your older pottery tends to be heavier than the new stuff on the market today. The thickness of the pottery walls and bases is also another good indicator that a piece of pottery might be vintage. I hope this gives you some insight into collecting antique pottery.

Antique Roseville Art Pottery For Sale

Things I Have Collected Over The Years

Welcome to my site "Things I Have Collected Over The Years". Its amazing how many things we end up calling collectibles during our lifetime. I'm creating this site to share some of the may things I have collected with all of you. I'm not exactly sure where I'll end up going with this blog as its my first attempt at such a thing. I believe I'll start out describing in general all the different things I have collected and share information about each of them. You can expect to see some normal antiques, pottery, vintage toys, old sports equipment and many other pieces of odd collectible junk I have accumulated. I'm not like some people that collect one thing like Owl figures, I have a huge collection of tons of odd items.

Just to let you know a few of the things I have collected I'll make a real brief list

1. old lighters with various advertising

2. tobacco tins

3. Tiffany Lamp

4. Muncie Pottery

5. Roseville Pottery

6. Old golf equipment and other assorted vintage sporting goods

7. Die cast toys - Nascar , matchbox and hot wheels

8. Joe Camel items

9. Old Post Cards and books

10. About anything else I can stuff into the trunk of my car and get home

I hope you find my site both amusing and educational at the same time, so I'll try to post quality information about all the different things I collect. I'd love to hear from you, though comments, about some of the unusual things other people collect.

Louis Marx Tin Toys For Sale