Antique Roadshow Interesting Item 1957 Fender Stratocaster April 3, 2008

I was browsing the web today and I came across one of the most surprising antique appraisals I’ve ever seen. I’ve always been pretty fond of guitars and I have even owned a few. I thought I knew a little bit about them, so I was shocked when the seemingly normal old guitar on the video below was valued at $60,000. I wonder if that is the highest value antiques like guitars have gotten on Antique Road Show.

My interested was piqued so I did some research. Fender has been making Stratocasters since 1954. They were designed by George Fullerton, Leo Fender and Freddie Tavares. Apparently, the design of this guitar has been widely celebrated and featured in museums. Many year models of the guitar are highly sought-after collectibles, though the highest value is generally placed on strats from 1954 to 1958.

The 1957 model is particularly collectible because of style and material changes made over the years. Buddy Holly and other famous stars have owned and played 57 strats throughout their careers, which also lends to the model’s popularity. Fender still makes and sells Stratocasters today and even has a custom shop where your guitar will be made to your specifications. Who knows, in fifty years or so, your guitar could be one of the hottest antique collectibles out there.

Apparently, there are a lot of fakes out there so it is important to be an informed buyer and to find a trustworthy dealer. While I was researching, I noticed that many strat collectors out there have horror stories of bad sellers that they are more than willing to share. I hate that those people were tricked, but at least they are sharing what they learned from their mistakes. It is always good to see collectors who are so willing to look out for each other. I hope you enjoyed this video, I’ll be on the look-out for more interesting items to share.

By Jamie.

April Fools Sports Card Memorabilia Collectors April 2, 2008

Apparently huge sports card memorabilia companies like Topps, aren’t above April Fools Day trickery. Today they announced that the widely questioned Kazuo Uzuki “Future Stars” card was a hoax. You can almost hear the “I told you so’s” on message boards across the country.

With all the new Japanese players in baseball these days it was hard to tell if “The Uzi” was real or not. His card said he was going to be the first Japan-based high-school student to go right into the major league here in America. Topps says it created the card to generate excitement for the upcoming 2008 season.

Collectors might be wondering how this little stunt will affect the baseball cards worth. It could really go either way. The card is limited to one in every seventy-two packs, so already it is probably considered a short-print card. That and the added buzz that was created by the joke might raise prices on the card’s online auctions.

Collectibles prices all boil down to supply and demand. If most collectors think the joke was funny and want to add the interesting card to their collections the demand for it will be high, if they decide they don’t want a rookie card of a person who never existed the demand will be low. It really depends on how they value things. My personal prediction is that the demand for this card is going to be high. I’d want it for my collection.

All in all, I think it was a pretty good prank. For those of you who don’t value baseball cards, don’t worry! There are April Fools Day jokes for you too. Check out this video I found of a classic April Fools Day prank.

Antique Roadshow Recap 3/24-3/30 April 2, 2008

This weeks Antique Roadshow was shot in San Antonio, Texas, and originally aired this Tuesday. As I’ve said in previous blogs, I’m partial to the shows shot here in Texas, so I was pretty excited about this one.

The first item I wanted to talk about today was a painted candy box from 1910. I selected this item because it was so interesting to me that it was made of China. Of course antique china is fairly common. I’ve seen so many antique collectibles made of china, I can hardly count them, but never a candy box. Suzanne Perrault valued the professionally hand painted candy box at up to $600 dollars. I thought it was such an interesting item, because the original owner’s uncle had her childhood portrait painted on it for her as a gift. Apparently, professional portraits on china are rare from that time period. What a sweet story and sentimental item. Out of all the antique appraisals this week, this one was by far the lowest valued item on the show but I thought it was one of the most touching.

The next item on the show I thought I should talk about was a 1943 Ernie Lombardi “Giants” practice jersey. It isn’t very often that I see sports memorabilia from this era, so of course it is exciting. This item had another sweet story to go along with it. The owner had received the jersey as a child in Meeker, Oklahoma. The town’s doctor had asked professional baseball player, Carl Hubbell, to donate some jersey’s for the town’s baseball team to use. Since Meeker was Hubbell’s hometown, he happily sent Giant’s practice jerseys to the team. The lucky owner received a jersey formerly owned by Ernie Lombardi, a hall-of-famer. Simeon Lipman, the appraiser valued this item at up to $15,000, but I can’t imagine the owner would ever sell it, from the look on his face as he told the story.

This week’s show was sentimental and touching as could be, I got a warm fuzzy feeling watching all the people tell the stories of their prized possessions. Whether it’s antique furniture, or antique bottles, these items mean so much to the people who collect them.I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of watching this show!

By Jamie.

No Need to Check Your Antique Price Guide to Find Worlds Most Valuable Coin April 2, 2008

If you want to find the world’s most valuable coin, an antique price guide isn’t the place to look. You don’t even need to go on Antiques Roadshow, I’ve got the info for you right here. The 1933 Double Eagle is an extremely rare gold coin, and it holds the distinction of being the World’s most valuable coin. Few antique collectibles can hold a candle to its interesting past.

Over 400,000 of the coins were minted but none made it into circulation. Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6102 in 1933 to end the 1930s general bank crisis by making it illegal to use gold coins as legal tender.

It was originally thought that only three of the coins survived, but apparently 20 coins were stolen and circulated among collectors, including ten coins that were discovered in 2005. Two of the original three went to museums, the third was stolen and later ended up in a private collection. It was sold at auction in New York in 2002 for 7.59 million dollars.

Regardless of the number of coins in existence today, chances are slim you or I will ever end up with one. Except for the coin sold at auction, it is illegal to own the Double Eagle as they all belong to the United States Government. If you buy one, make sure it is a reproduction and if it isn’t you’ll want to keep it under your hat or the Secret Service will be along to collect it.

Coin values are often determined by rarity, but I’d be more interested in collecting coins that are legal to own and not so much trouble to come by.

By Jamie.

Suspect Arrested in Sports Card Memorabilia Burglary April 2, 2008

Apparently collectors aren’t the only people who value baseball cards, thieves do too. In Orange Park, Florida a man was arrested on suspicion of stealing baseball cards worth $100,000. Police found the cards stolen from Dan’s Sports Cards in the Suspect’s apartment. Police had pulled him over before the burglary occurred and noticed that he was acting suspiciously, later when they heard about the incident they tracked down his apartment using a vehicle description and found the cards.

It is so lucky that those cops remembered the suspicious man and then followed it through. One of the cards stolen was a Mickey Mantle card worth $30,000. Cards like that are hard to replace to say the least, I’m sure the owner of Dan’s Sports Cards is happy that he got it back.

Fortunately for all of us fans, sports card memorabilia theft is pretty rare. It isn’t a wise move to steal something that is so easily traceable. Any card that is worth money is rare enough to be noticed when it sells, and most valuable cards are PSA rated which makes them even more traceable due to serial numbers. If you have a valuable card be like iTaggit user Been_around_the_world and get it graded, not only will it preserve it’s value, but it will make it impossible for thieves to easily sell.

By Jamie.

List of Comics Prices for Feb 2008 Now Available March 25, 2008

If you are asking yourself “; how do I value comics?” Diamond Comics Distributors may be able to help. They recently released their list of sales estimates for Feb 2008. The list only covers Diamond’s direct market, news stands and overseas markets are not included.

The information they have complied could be really useful in helping you track the worth of comics, it includes comics prices, top comics by company, top comics by title and even the top traded comics companies. Last month, Marvel Comics barely beat out DC Comics in the Top Comics Breakdown. While DC beat out Marvel in the Top Trades Breakdown. Marvel and DC are really battling right now to be the top of the trade. It will be exciting to see who comes out ahead in the charts for March, but don’t forget to watch for the other two big publishers Dark Horse and Image Comics. Who knows when they might start to climb.

Marvel cleaned up on the Top Comics list, they had nine of the top ten spots, including “X Force” in the number one slot. DC had only one comic in the top ten with “All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder” in the number six slot. Other notable changes included “Hulk” and “Fantastic Four.” “Hulk” was in the number two slot in January, and fell to the number seven slot in February, dropping 32%. “Fantastic Four” was in the number thirty-eight slot in January and managed to climb all the way up to the number eight slot in February nearly doubling in sales.

I’m sure that comics appraisers use information like this to help them value comics, but these lists are available to every comic fan. If you are interested in the market fluctuations or need some insight to finding the worth of your comics just check out the information here.

By Jamie.

Celebrated Writer Leaves Marvel Comics March 25, 2008

Comic book collectors who attended San Francisco’s WonderCon may have already heard the news that writer, J. Michael Straczynski is leaving Marvel Comics and heading over to DC Comics. JMS’s announcement is the biggest news to come from the convention season so far.

Straczynski is known for his work on “Amazing Spider-Man” when some of the most controversial events took place in Peter’s life, including Aunt Mary learning his secret identity once and for all. Straczynski also worked on several other graphic novels for Marvel including, “Babylon 5,” “Fantastic Four,” and “Supreme Power,” but it is yet to be announced what he will be working on at DC. All we know is that his first title with them will be released in the fall of 2008.

This isn’t the first shake-up for Marvel this year, if you remember from my previous blog, veteran artist, Mark Bagley, left a few months ago to work with DC Comics. Surely with these two industry giants on their side the worth of comics at DC are likely to go up. I imagine they are pretty excited about all of this. Hopefully Marvel can maintain their level of success even though they are losing people to competitors. It is pretty interesting that they are having such a hard time holding on to people who have been with them for so long. DC could be making offers these writers and artists can’t refuse or maybe they are looking for new blood at Marvel. Only the industry insiders really know that for sure.

Like I said before, if you have any Mark Bagley or JMS comics, now would be the time to look into comic book appraisals, your comics prices may have changed.

By Jamie.

Historic Town and Antique Collectibles for Sale March 25, 2008

The ultimate antique collectible will soon be auctioned, an entire historic town. The town of Garryowen, Montana is located across the Little Bighorn River from the National Park Service’s Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.

Garryowen is home to the Custer Battlefield Museum. The sale of the town includes a 4,000 square foot home, a trading post, the museum, an office complex, a bed and breakfast, a post office, a gas station, a restaurant and an archive of Elizabeth Custer’s papers. The starting bid at the auction will be $6.5 million dollars.

The town’s owner, Chris Kortlander has owned Garryowen since 1993, and is selling the town in the hopes that someone with more resources will buy the town and build a museum and research facility for Elizabeth Custer’s archive. If you value antiques, you’ll love the archive, it contains photographs, correspondence, drawings, notes, book drafts, invitations and even a card from her and George Custer’s 1864 wedding.

I’m not sure exactly what the Custer Battlefield Museum holds, but I doubt youhttp://bp0.blogger.com/_3gEaBmtPzSE/R-LQQFaIGcI/AAAAAAAAACA/Sxto72YUR5o/s320/Peacememorial.jpg could find most of it from your local antique dealer. The Battle of Little Bighorn is one of the most famous battles in all of the Indian Wars. The value of antiques found on that battlefield must be more than I can imagine.

Hopefully, the person who ends up with this town will put all the historical items to good use. I’d hate to see our Nation’s history used by a corporation to make money.

By Jamie.

Antique Roadshow Recap #5 March 25, 2008

This week’s Antique Roadshow was the third in a row shot in Tampa. Like the two previous, it originally aired in 2006. Tampa has been fun to watch, next week will be from a new city and possibly even not previously aired. As usual there were lots of interesting items this week, but I think I picked the best two.

The first item I’m going to talk about was given the highest value of all of the antique appraisals just like last week. I don’t know why but the most valuable items always have the best stories. The item is a marine painting by James E. Butterworth. This item is particularly interesting since two weeks ago on Tampa hour #1 there was a painting misidentified as a Butterworth. I imagine the antique appraisers double checked this one before telling the owner.

James E. Butterworth was a celebrated painter who took boats out on the water to paint marine scenes in the 1800s. Nan Chisholm, the antique appraiser, valued the painting at around $90,000. The owner of the painting inherited it from her mother who had it hanging in her trailer near the bathroom. I could tell by her entertaining reaction that she had no idea the painting was worth anything. As you can see in the photo the painting is beautiful, but it was nothing compared to the owners reaction when she was told the antiques value. If you didn’t see this appraisal you should really go to Antique Roadshow’s official site and check out the video.

The next item I chose was a collection of Chinese snuff bottles. I thought these antique collectibles would be perfect for my blog. Not only are they antique bottles, but also Asian antiques, two of the most popular categories on iTaggit.com. The owner of the bottles had been collecting them for three years. He paid as low as $12 dollars and as much as $250 dollars for the bottles. I could tell he was very passionate about his impressive collection as he listened to appraiser Marvin Sokolow describe each bottle. He must have been so pleased to hear that it was worth up to $15,000 dollars.

Well, that was the show, as always feel free to comment and let me know what you thought of the items I covered.

By Jamie.

Breyer Horses, a Fun Vintage Toy March 19, 2008

I’ve always been an animal lover, and one of my favorite animals has always been horses. For as long as I can remember, I wanted a horse. I must have driven my parents crazy! I’m sure they thought it was a phase for the first five years or so. They satiated me with an endless supply of model horses, until finally I was old enough to get a job and buy a real horse for myself. Eventually I sold my horse, and few of my model horses managed to survive childhood with me and my siblings, but my love for horses has never wavered.

Recently, I was browsing the web when I found a community of Breyer Horse collectors. I’m sure most of you are pretty familiar with Breyer horses, particularly if you value collectibles. Breyer has been making horses since the 1950s and they have produced replicas of pretty much every famous horse you can think of. From Secretariat to Misty of Chincoteague, down to models of every breed you can think of, Breyer has a model for every kind of horse lover out there.

Some Breyer collectors have even started modifying the horses using paint and even reshaping the horses using boiling water. It is an easy way for collectors to have a one of a kind vintage toy of their own. Most collectibles loose value when they are modified but that isn’t always the case with these horses. The more realistic the customization the more the horse can be worth.

Every year, collectors come together for Breyerfest, a three day event where collectors can attend seminars, meet famous horses, see live performances and make their horses available as items for sale or trade. There is even an auction where you can get rare models. Check out this video from Breyerfest 2007, some of these models go for more than I paid for my real horse.

I should also note that Breyer doesn’t only make horse models, there are all kinds of animals now in the line up. One popular non horse item is a white stag from the Harry Potter Series, but there are many others. Money from Breyerfest auctions and raffles go to charity organizations every year, making Breyer collecting not only fun, but fulfilling as well.

By Jamie.