Just got this how to from a person off of ebay. Don't know if it works but I guess its worth a try!
Cleaning Cast Iron Rust.
Don't know if this will be consider helpful or not but since these tend to sell better in good condition I thought I'd offer a tip on getting it cleaned fairly easily. :o)
Use olive oil and a little pile of salt! Heat the pan, pour in the oil then dump in a small pile of salt. Turn the heat off once the pan is quite warm and use the salt to…
Continue
Added by Big T on December 23, 2008 at 4:59pm —
4 Comments
http://afamilyheirloom.com/
This Collection has over 700 Steins all to be sold off through the month of November. Pics are of just a taste of what we have. See our listing through our…
Continue
Added by Big T on October 23, 2008 at 9:30am —
5 Comments
What we have here is a Toledo Short Sword Walking Cane. As it is a consealed weapon we aren't allowed to list it on Ebay. So how do we find a good starting price for this particular piece. We believe this to be Late Victorian. The knarled wood style stick is in good shape with a little cracking. The cane measures 35-1/2" long and the blade is 14-1/2" long. Top of the cane is brass. We have a basic appraisal at about $200 but we can't find any exact…
Continue
Added by Big T on May 3, 2008 at 1:52pm —
1 Comment
Marbles, I see them online selling for in lots for hundreds of dollars, yet when I take some great close ups of a large lot that we just got in we get no action on a $10 starting bid. What's the deal? A lot of these looked like hand blown glassware that everyones after but I wasn't sure. Are there name brands? Should I be loking for markings like Ground Pontils? Please, no "I've lost my Marbles"…
Continue
Added by Big T on May 3, 2008 at 1:39pm —
4 Comments
We just happened to get two bayonets into the store at one time. The difference between the two to figure out the age is a simple one in this case. Not only do the markings on the blade identify these but the scabbards are the dead give away. The first example up there from Toledo came in a leather and metal sheath. The second, which is a Japanese model, came in a sold metal sheath. It’s a usual thing for…
Continue
Added by Big T on May 2, 2008 at 11:00am —
No Comments
What we have here is a Durgin Dauphin Sterling Serving Spoon
Excellent Condition! No bends or Pitting. Marked with a very faint Sterling and with a "D". Measures 7-1/2" long and weighs about 2 Ounces Troy. We are unsure what the cutting edge and spoon is exactly used for so if you have any information we could use to sell this that would be great.
This Sterling Silverware and pattern is an example…
Continue
Added by Big T on May 2, 2008 at 10:55am —
No Comments
Identifying Heisey is the easy one. Look for the H in the middle of the piece as you see.
But some Vintage and Antique glassware is hard to identify. EAPG and Hex Block style can get confusing. Even Waterford Glass watermarkings style of signature is very hard to find even with the trained eye. Just be very careful on looking through lots of glassware. You've gotta do a lot of sifting through clear glassware to get to the good stuff. Fenton is…
Continue
Added by Big T on April 29, 2008 at 11:27am —
1 Comment
As you can see we just obtained a very exquisite example of Imperial Glassware. The Cut glass style is labeled IG in the bottom of the bowl which is chip free. Measures 8" in diameter and 3" tall. Our listing can be found here http://www.afamilyheirloom.com/id1.html
This Particular piece isn't your usual red Imperial Glassware though. It has an irridescent gold pattern to the base which seems very unique to us. Anyone out there know of a pattern…
Continue
Added by Big T on April 28, 2008 at 1:30pm —
1 Comment
It's really amazing to me how popular the Jadeite restaurant plates are these days. Again, half of the buyers are overseas contacts. In the past we’ve gone through many of these plates, some with the curved 3 section style as well as some straight triangle restaurant plates. Even the plain plates can be seen hitting at least $25 a piece. Now, why aren't the other colors of Fire King Glassware getting the same amount of action? We've had the primary…
Continue
Added by Big T on April 28, 2008 at 1:23pm —
1 Comment
To see this listing: http://www.afamilyheirloom.com/id1.html
Holy Crappy Economy for Furniture Batman!
No, I don't think the boy wonder ever used that phrase but regardless, It's hard to be a piece of antique furniture these days. Shipping has pretty much been its downfall. You have a figural glass top table? Great. Selling it for only $100! Amazing. Oh, it's going to cost me how much to ship? See ya!
This is a Victorian table we have…
Continue
Added by Big T on April 28, 2008 at 1:11pm —
3 Comments
We got in a load of Mints, Proofs, and Commemorative Coin Sets. What I'm wondering is whether or not PCGS Coin Grading for Coins tabbed by the US Mint Certified is necessary. What is more valuable in the grading process? US Mint certification seems more practical, but some of the certified coins are easy to pop out of their protective cases. With PCGS tabbing it’s easy to see an opened or tampered coin. Has anyone had any experience in this, and is…
Continue
Added by Big T on April 28, 2008 at 12:14pm —
2 Comments
Early 1890's the Hubley Manufacturing Company of Pennsylvania began work on Cast Iron Toys and appliances pertaining to the times. Mostly toy guns pee shooters and even model horse drawn carriages we're largely popular. As the automotive and military markets and designs began to spread so did the style of Hubley vehicles in the 1900's. The rare stuff though is any and all cast iron toys. By WW2 most of the public donated these collectables to the war effort and toys were melted to become…
Continue
Added by Big T on April 28, 2008 at 12:03pm —
No Comments
Their are many other types of Antiques out there from the Civil War era that are not necessarily Military in nature but was produced at the same time regardless. Pottery for one had a unique flavor during this time. Pictured here is a Lusterware pitcher from about the same time period. A combination of clay and copper glazed firing made these very unique style serving pieces. Our here has a green and yellow pattern running underneath the copper. It's…
Continue
Added by Big T on April 28, 2008 at 10:49am —
No Comments
This just in our store. The Lamp base is labeled Miller and New Vestal. Definitely a Victorian Brass Style. Electrified in the 1930's. But the greatest thing about this Fine Arts Lamp or Piano Banquet Lamp, is that the original globe is still perfectly intact. The star and Frosted Acid Etchings are in beautiful condition. We've seen a bunch of Banquet lamps in our day but this is by far the best in its class.
See our…
Continue
Added by Big T on April 28, 2008 at 10:27am —
No Comments
The only real English Antiques that come through the store here just about once a month is China. We've done lots of Flow Blue, but there has got to be more to the English Antiques market than just china and small things. Being in the US its sometimes difficult only because we we're influenced by the English in so many facets of the Antique world, especially in New England, through the ages that its hard to see the difference between English and…
Continue
Added by Big T on April 28, 2008 at 10:19am —
No Comments
Lately the International Market has been pulling some big numbers in the instruments, Ebay Antiques, and vintage collectables category. Accordions, Saxophones, Even Keystone Movie Projectors, selling overseas for much more than they would in the US only market. What gets me is that these buyers are shelling out sometimes twice as much as what their product cost just for shipping it to them. Maybe its because we actually offer shipping to the international market of these large items. It might…
Continue
Added by Big T on April 28, 2008 at 10:08am —
No Comments
For the past week I've been watching one of our auctions which are some Mickey and Minnie Mouse Watches in a lot. All of them not working but still falling under the collectab;e watches category. Now, hoe do you differenciate from the modern watches, The Vintage watches, and the truly rare Mickey or Minnie Watches that were first produced. It's the first time I've seen active watching and bidding on broken items of yesteryear. Half of these people are…
Continue
Added by Big T on April 28, 2008 at 9:30am —
1 Comment
Please list any or all Doll Repair contacts you might have.
We've had many antique German style dolls come through the store here and of course, condition is everything. When there are bisque pieces everywhere either because of age or just from a little one being rough with and antique, what is the most important thing to prepare for preservation and possible repair? We all know the doll heads by themselves can sometimes bring a good buck here and there, but if you have tattered bisque…
Continue
Added by Big T on April 17, 2008 at 4:30pm —
1 Comment
I just did an appraisal today of some Silver Flatware. I won't bore you with the details but suffice to say this person had a number in mind that was seen off Ebay. This number was so substantially inflated I had to laugh. I asked the customer: "Did the item actually sell for that amount?" The retort was "What?" "Did the item actually have bids and sell for that amount." Again, the normal answer "I don't know" I looked the set up that they saw and told them how it worked. If you've come across…
Continue
Added by Big T on April 17, 2008 at 4:00pm —
1 Comment
It's 75 degrees, Sunny, no customers, all I want to do is go out and find old collectables. I don't mean going to a house and dealing with customers either. I mean hoofing through the woods with a metal detector. There are so many cool things that are just laying out there ready to be unearthed. Especially old coins. I'm actually located in a traffic hub area for houses built on or before 1770. Lots of history in the area means lots of dropped older items to be found. Primarily coins. Old Coins…
Continue
Added by Big T on April 17, 2008 at 2:59pm —
No Comments
