Month: July 2020

What happened in 1876?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn HistoryLeave a comment

Whenever I look up information on the items that I have bought, there are times that I run across some fun facts that happened at the same time the item was made.  Here’s some of the facts that I have found:

February 2 – The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs is formed at a meeting in Chicago, Illinois.  This league replaced the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players.

May 18—Wyatt Earp started work in Dodge City, Kansas and he served under Marshal Larry Deger.

July 4 – The United States celebrates its centennial.

August 2—Wild Bill Hickok was killed in a poker game.  This happened in Deadwood, South Dakota and the cards that he was holding were reportedly the Dead Man’s Hand (it consists of 2 black aces, 2 black eights and an unknown hole card).

This is a small slice of what happened during the year.  What fun facts have you run across?

How do I find inventory to sell?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Shopping tipsLeave a comment

One of the questions that I get asked quite a bit is “How do you find inventory to sell?”.  I literally cannot count how many times that I have been asked this, and here’s a list of some of the ways that I find items to sell:

Auctions, garage sales and even estate sales are three of the easiest ways that I find inventory.  One trick that I do is to look in my local paper and online for sales that are in my area.  Another thing that I do is to look for signs that lead to a sale that may not be advertised as well.  I have found some good deals at sales that are not well advertised.

Here are some other ways that I have found some inventory:

I have also found items to sell that were thrown away.  There have even been a few items that I have gone into a dumpster after.  When you do this, you need to be careful because that could be something in the trash that could hurt you!

I also picked up items that have been put out with a FREE sign by them.  This could be someplace like the curb or in a garage sale—you never know where you might find a free bin!

There have also been a few times that people want to get rid of something and they let me have it if I haul it away for them. It always pays to look when you are out and about—you never know what you will find.  Where have you found items to sell?

What are some different types Of Sports Cards?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Beginning to collect, Tips for the beginnerLeave a comment

Think a sports card is a sports card?  Far from it.  There are a ton of different types of cards that you could find.  Here’s a few:

Retail Card—these are cards that are sold to major retailers like Kmart.  The cards will often have the name of the store printed on the card as well.  You might even find a card from a now-defunct retailer.

Insert Card—these are cards that are inserted into packs at a staggered rate (like one card being inserted into every 24th pack).  There is also a number on the back of every sports card.  The number on the back of the insert card will be different than the normal set numbers.  The normal set numbers will appear as 1-400 (or however many cards are in the set), the insert cards will have a number like ST1, or PL1.  When you buy a pack, you never know what kind of insert card could be in there.  There even could be a player who became much more famous later on.

Sell Sheets—these are not cards at all.  They are ads that are sent to distributors for cards that are for sale to the public.  This would show what cards you could get in the set and would show the players that are featured in the set.  You could get these ads from a sports cards dealer for pretty cheap, or even free if the retailer is going to throw them away (it never hurts to ask them if it’s possible for you to have it).  They’re also great to display along with a complete team collection!

So, what’s the rarest card that you’ve ever found?

What happened in in the year 1900?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn HistoryLeave a comment

Not too long ago, I was looking up some information about an item that I was going to put up for sale on Etsy.  While looking around, I found some fun tidbits about the year 1900.  Here’s some of the things that I found:

On March 15th, the Gold Standard Act is ratified, placing the United States currency on the gold standard.  The United States printed the words “Gold Certificate” on them, and these notes are highly collected today.

On June 25th, The Daoist monk Wang Yuanlu discovers the Dunhuang manuscripts, a cache of ancient texts that are of great historical and religious significance, in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China.  These manuscripts include works ranging from the Buddhist religion to history and mathematics to folk songs and dance.

On November 3rd, The first Auto show in the United States opens at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

What kind of fun facts have you run across when you are looking for more information on an item?