Tag: History

What are some of the different types of coins that are made?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Beginning to collect, Coins, Tips for the beginner, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!, Vocabulary WordsLeave a comment

When you start to collect coins, you will quickly find out that there are different types of coins that you can find.  The strike, what it’s made of or even the shape will quickly jump out at you.

Here is a few of the different types that you can find:

Business strike—this is a coin that is produced for general circulation, and you will find it in pocket change.

Commemorative coin—this is either a coin or medal that is issued to honor an outstanding event (like a bicentennial) or even a person (like Booker T. Washington).

Bi-Metallic—this is a coin that has been made out of two different materials like bronze and silver that have been bonded or fused together.

Proof—this is a coin that has been struck on a specially produced highly polished planchets and dies.  There are even proof coins that can be purchased that are struck more than once on the dies to help accent the design.This is a small look at some of the different types of coins that you can find.  What have you run across?

Madrid Depression Glass and its counterpart

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Beginning to collect, Glassware, Item highlight, Tips for the beginner, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!Leave a comment

The Madrid pattern has been around since 1932, and it is still being produced today.  The name of the pattern has been changed to the Recollection Pattern, and it is made by the Indiana Glass Company.  There are quite a few ways to tell if the piece you are looking at is a piece from the Madrid pattern or is part of the Recollection pattern.

In 1976, the Federal glass company released Madrid as part of their Bicentennial line.  To help discern this from the original, there is a “76” that has been stamped into the mold.  It is easy to spot due to the size of the numbers and that it is often located near the top edge.

The Indiana Glass company released the Recollection pattern starting in the 1980’s.  Some of the pieces that Indiana Glass has released were never produced by the Federal glass Company.  Some of the molds were even put together.  One example is the mold for the candlestick and fruit bowl were put together to produce a kind of pedestal bowl.  If you happen to run across one of these pieces, look at where the bowl joins with the “base”.  If you see some ribbing inside what looks like a hollow area, then this is a modern piece.

The grill plate is different as well.  The original has been divided into three compartments and the newer one only has two.It is amazing how much of both patterns are here in the Ozarks.  Keep an eye peeled when it come to this pattern—you just might be paying good money for a newer piece.

What happened during the year of 1946?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn HistoryLeave a comment

Whenever I am looking up an item that I have recently bought, I will occasionally run across a fun fact that happened during a certain year.  You never know what you might run across, and I always find what I run across interesting.

Here is what I have run across for the year 1946:

The movie IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE was considered a failure at the box office when it came out in 1946.  What helped make it a Christmas classic was a clerical error that put the film in the public domain.  This let many local TV networks to play the movie for free starting in 1974.

The Cozy Dog made its debut in 1946.  This was the first corn dog on a stick, and it was invented by Ed Waldmire Jr.

The Magic 8 Ball, Lionel Trains with ‘steam’ and even the Streater Steam shovel truck were popular Christmas gifts for 1946.

This is a small handful of what I have run across for the 1946 year.  What interesting tidbits have you run across?

ITEM SPOTLIGHT:  Fenton Grape Leaf pattern pink milk glass from the 1950’s

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Fenton, Glassware, History, Item highlight, Tips for the beginner, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!Leave a comment

During the 1950’s, the Fenton Glassware company produced many patterns and pieces.  One of the patterns that was produced is called the GRAPE LEAF pattern.  It comes in many colors like white and pink milk glass to name just a few.

The pattern was made for a couple of years, and one of the pieces that was made in this pattern was this footed decorative plate.  You can tell that it was made by Fenton is the fact that some of the pieces were marked on the bottom of the plate.  If it is not marked on the bottom, one of the giveaways that it’s a Fenton piece outside the pattern itself is by the styling of the handle and the edge that is on the plate.

Even though desert, salad or even Buffalo wings are only a small portion of what you can serve on this plate; it was described by Fenton as a decorative plate (so most likely you will see this item displayed on the top of a piano with either candy or potpourri).

What kind of interesting pieces of Fenton Art Glass have you seen?

It happened in 1947

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

It happened on April 15th, 1947, and it happened to be a Tuesday.  The first day of Major League Baseball is a day that people always look forward to, but this year was special.  Spring was in the air, the smell of hot dogs was wafting around, and Jackie Robinson was making his Major League debut.

When Jackie Robinson took the field on this day, he became the first African American to play baseball in the majors.  He succeeded in every way possible, and he eventually found his way to Cooperstown (this is the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame).

When it comes to the collectibles area that features either Jackie’s name or likeness, it is very wide-ranging.  It includes everything from hats to jerseys, ads or even bats and gloves (this doesn’t even begin to cover how much is out there).

One of the areas that is very sought-after are baseball cards.  Not only are they easy to store, but they can also command a very pretty penny.

The downside of the collectibles that feature Jackie Robinson is that there are plenty of reproductions or fantasy pieces on the market that you will run across.  You need to do your homework to see what an authentic piece looks like so that you don’t get taken for a ride.

One of the best ways to tell if the card pictured above is authentic is to look for the TOPPS copyright information on the card.  One of the best areas to find it is on the back of the card where the players stats are.  Another way is to look at the paper stock that the card was made of.  For 1956, TOPPS used paper stock that had no sheen to it, and the card itself is a little bigger than modern cards.  If you have a question about a certain card, lay a modern card over it to compare the sizes.

The picture above shows what to look for about the size differences on the cards.

What kind of Jackie Robinson collectibles have you run across?

What happened in the year 1880?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn HistoryLeave a comment

When I am on the internet looking for some info about an item that I just bought, I often run across things that happened during a certain year.  It’s always fun for me to see what I run across; I never know what I might find.

Here are a few things that I have run across that happened in the year 1880:

January 3 was when Francis Brown, the Irish Jesuit priest that became famous for the last photos of the doomed luxury liner RMS Titanic, was born on this date.

February 2 saw the first electric streetlight get installed in Wabash, Indiana.

March 31 was when Wabash, Indiana become the very first electrically lit city in the world.

November 4 was the day that the first cash register was patented.  It was patented by James and John Ritty of Dayton, Ohio.  They called it “Ritty’s Incorruptible Cashier”.

1880 also saw The British Perforated Paper Company debut a new item called toilet paper.  Not only that, but the English Inventor John Milne also create the modern seismograph.

This is just a handful of what came about in the year 1880.  What are some of the things that you have heard about?

Paper advertising comes in all forms

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Advertising, Beginning to collectLeave a comment

Advertisers have always relied on colorful product labels, magazine and broadside advertising, and even giveaways to promote their products.  Periodical ads contain colorful product illustrations so that buyers can readily recognize a particular brand and model.

Collecting paper ads is an excellent way to document changing tastes.  Our social and technical history can be traced through the products offered in the ads of the time.

Pries vary with posters and signs being the most expensive.  Bookmarks, trading cards, and magazine ads are often affordable for the beginning collector.

The ads can even be used to decorate around the house.  You could even be creative about it as well; you can display ads for kitchen items in the kitchen and even ads for kid’s toys in a child’s room.

What ads have you run across that you could not do without?

What are some of the things that happened in 1984?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn History, Tips for the beginnerLeave a comment

Whenever I look for info on an item that I buy, I try to find out some things about it (like when it was made, the value, etc.).  When I do this, there are times when I run across tidbits of information that happened during a certain year.

I knew that the Summer Olympics and the Louisiana World Exposition were going on in 1984, and there were some tidbits I saw that were really surprising.

On January 24, The Apple Macintosh was released to become the first mass-marketed featuring a graphical user interface and mouse.

May 14 saw the introduction of the one-dollar coin in Australia.

June 6 was the release date of the video game called TETRIS.  This immediately became popular, and the game has been recognized by The Guiness World Records as the most ported game in video game history (it has been on 65 different platforms as of 2011).

Do you know what really surprised me?  The Chrysler Corporation officially debuted the first vehicles that are to be officially labeled as minivans (I thought this one actually happened in the 1970’s!).

This is a small handful of what happened during 1984.  What were some of the things that happened during 1984 do you remember?

What are some of the things that happened in 1974?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn HistoryLeave a comment

Whenever I am looking for some info on a purchase that I made recently, I often run into some fun info that happened during a certain year.  I never know what I might find—it could be anything from what happened in sports to a little history on Fiesta pottery to even something about coins.

Here are some of the things I ran across that happened during the year of 1974:

The Magna Doodle made its debut in 1974, and there were millions of this art pad sold (this was a decade and a half after The Ohio Art Company introduced an item called the Etch A Sketch).

April 8 saw “Hammerin Hank” Hank Aaron hit home run number 715, breaking Babe Ruth’s lifetime home run record.  Two fans ran onto the field to congratulate Hank on the home run while he was going past second base.

August 8 saw the resignation of President Nixon because of the Watergate scandal.

This is just a handful of what happened during 1974.  What are some of the other items that you have heard that happened during this year?

Weeding out the reproductions

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Beginning to collect, History, Reproductions, Shopping tips, Tips for the beginner, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!Leave a comment

Homeowners this time of year begin to get rid of lawn weeds in hopes of having a lush green yard.  Likewise, shoppers need to learn to “weed out” those items which typically show up on flea market and antique shelves this time of the year.

Weeds are what I like to call reproductions, and they can be quite convincing.

It could be an advertising sign that is rusted and looks to be ever so real.  Damage to the corners, fading to the paint, and even dents are all applied to a brand-new sign to help make it look older than it is.

There’s glassware on the market that copies Depression Glass and art glass patterns.  It is so convincing that the pattern and the color are the spitting image of the old items.  There are some manufacturers that have figured out how to make a piece of glass “glow” in a black light like the old stuff without using Uranium.

Brass imports such as spittoons or candle holders already come with tarnishing.  Wooden boxes and furniture furniture that is hammered, faded and well-used are also plentiful without much looking around.

So, buyer beware and do your homework!  You can never have too much information when it comes to antiques—it always comes in handy.