Month: January 2019

Enamelware parts and pieces for the beginning collector

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Beginning to collect, Enamelware, Kitchen Items, Tips for the beginner, Vocabulary WordsLeave a comment

When you are beginning to collect items, you will figure out pretty fast that each area has its own terminology for parts of the item and even what each item is called.  Here’s some of the parts and pieces of enamelware that you will run across:

Pie pan—this is a shallow dish that is made of either metal or glass.  The pan has sloping sides in which the pies are baked.

Double Boiler—this is a saucepan that has a detachable upper compartment.  The compartment is heated up by boiling water in the lower compartment.

Riveted handle—this is a handle that is held in place with Rivets (small pieces of metal that are crushed into position).  The resulting rivet holds the metal together, and you will also see rivets on other parts of enamelware (like the main body of a coffee boiler or even a tea pot).

Picture courtesy of Wikipedia.com

Bail handle—this is a handle that is typically made of metal.  It also consists of an open loop that moves freely within two fixed mounts, points or even ears.  This type of handle is also simply known as a “bail”.

This is only a small portion of what you will see.  What parts and pieces of enamelware have you seen or heard of?

There is more than one location for the United States Mint to produce coins?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn MoneyLeave a comment

When it comes to the United States Mint, did you know that there have been several branch mints that have been opened in different cities other than Philadelphia?  There are several locations across the country, and here are some of them:

Carson City Mint—this was a branch mint found in Carson City Nevada.   This Mint primarily made silver coins from 1870 to the early 1890’s due to the vast amounts of silver being mined in that area.  Carson City minted coins are easily identified by the “CC” mint mark that they put on them.

The Dahlonega Mint—this is a former branch of the Mint that was based in Dahlonega, Georgia.  The coins produced at the Dahlonega Mint bear the “D” mint mark, which is the same mint mark that is used today by the Denver Mint.  All the coins from this mint are gold (the $1, $2.50, $3, and $5 denominations were made there).  The coins that were made there were made from 1838 to 1861, and this mint was built during the Georgia Gold Rush to help the miners get their gold assayed and minted. This way, they didn’t have to travel to the Philadelphia Mint.

The Denver Mint is another branch mint that struck its first coins on February 1, 1906. The mint is still going strong and producing coins for circulation (as well as mint sets and commerative coins).  Like the Dahlonega mint, coins produced at the Denver Mint bear a D mint mark.  It has been said that the Denver Mint is the largest producer of coins in the world.

The San Francisco mint—this branch mint  was opened in 1854 to serve the gold mines during the California Gold Rush.  The mint quickly outgrew its first building and moved into a new one in 1874.  This building was also known affectionately as “The Granite Lady”, and this building is one of the few that survived the great San Francisco Earthquake in 1906. It served until 1937, when the current facility was opened.

The New Orleans Mint—this branch mint operated in New Orleans, Louisiana from 1838 to 1861 and then again from 1879 to 1909.  When the mint was operating, it produced over 427 million gold and silver coins of nearly every American denomination (this has a total face value of over $307 million).  It was closed during most of the American Civil War and Reconstruction.  The mint was formally decommissioned by the mint in 1911.

There are several more branch mints that are still open today like the ones at Fort Knox and West Point.  Which mint marks have you run across?

Take a seat and look at some chair designs!

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Beginning to collect, Functional items, Furniture, Tips for the beginner, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!Leave a comment

When it comes to furniture, there are quite a few different designs and forms out there—there’s more than enough to make your head spin.  This is also very true for chairs—take a seat and look at several of the designs that you will run across when you are out at your favorite place to shop:

Fauteuil—this is an upholstered armchair that has open sides, and this type of chair has also been referred to as an elbow chair.

*Picture courtesy of Wikipedia*

Adirondack chair—this is a very distinctively styled chair for the outdoors, and it is usually made out of wood.  Originally, the chair was made with a flat seat and a flat back composed of 11 flat wooden boards (it also featured wide armrests that are parallel to the ground).

*Picture courtesy of Wikipedia*

Ladderback chair—this chair gets its name from the horizontal slats that serve as the back support.  The design of the chair is reminiscent of a ladder.  Some of the other names of this chair are ladder-back chair, slatback chair or even fiddle back chair.

*Picture courtesy of Wikipedia*

This is just a few of the designs that you will see.  What have you run across?

Great vintage items that you can decorate your home with

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Functional items, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!Leave a comment

There are many items that you can use to decorate your home or apartment.  It could be anything–a great picture for the living room, a lamp for your bedroom, a vintage book for the corner of a desk or table, or even a vase on a table holding a bouquet of your favorite flowers.

One such thing that you can use is this terrific lot of two silhouettes.

One of the great things about this pair is that they don’t take up a ton of room on the wall–the small one measures 9 inches by 12 inches while the large one measures 9 3/4 inches by 12 3/4 inches.  You can see the pair in my Etsy store here.

Another great item to decorate item to decorate with is this terrific planter from McCoy.

The planter dates to the 1950’s and it has a Greek Key pattern on both the top and the bottom of it.  Not only would it be a great planter, it would be great as a pencil or pen holder for a desk.  You can see this great find in my Etsy shop here.

Another great item to decorate with that doesn’t take up a ton of room is this great table lamp.

The lamp dates to the 1950’s and sports a gazelle (or even a deer) motif, and it would be a great gift for the avid hunter.  I love that it’s green and brown and would look great with just about any color combination in any room.  This great lamp can be seen in my Etsy shop here.

As a matter of fact, you can see more terrific items to decorate your home with in my Etsy shop here.  Head on over and check them out!

Grab yourself a cup and saucer, it’s tea time!

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Glassware, Kitchen Items, Pottery, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!Leave a comment

One of the areas that you can dive in and have a lot of fun collecting are cups and saucers.  They come in a wide variety of makers, sizes and even decoration.

Some of the materials that they could be made of are glassware, pottery or even fine china.  They could be decorated with just about anything–flowers, people and even outdoor scenes are just a small portion of what is out there.

Hocking Glass, MacBETH-Evans and even Royal Doulton are but a tiny portion of makers that have made cups and saucers, and there are many more.

One cup and saucer set that you could run across is this great Depression Glass example.

As you can see, it sports the CHERRY BLOSSOM pattern and is by the Jeanette Glass Company.  It was made from 1930 to 1939 and can be found in my Etsy shop here.

Hand painted examples are always fun for me, you will never find two that are exactly alike.  One cup and saucer set that fits in this area is this one by NAPCO Pottery.

This set features a yellow floral motif, and it dates to the 1950’s.  You can see it in my Etsy shop here.

Wedgewood also made several examples, and one such example is this terrific Mulberry handle less cup and saucer from the 1800’s.

It sports the WASHINGTON VASE pattern, and you can see it in my Etsy shop here.

There are quite a few ways that you can collect cups and saucers.  Not only can you collect cups and saucers by the pattern that is on them or the manufacturer, you can also find examples that could go with a certain color combination that is in your house or apartment.

You can see all of the cups and saucers in my Etsy shop here.  Head on over and check them out!