Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with collectibles

Help me identify these figurines.

uans — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:52:34 -0800

Please help me identify these odd little figurines and "bunny house" teapot I bought for my bunny-mad niece. http://i38.tinypic.com/2vlpt2x.jpg I found them in St. Jacobs, Ontario, but even the owner of the antique store didn't know what they are called. I would like to buy more (from where? Ebay?"?) but I certainly can't until I know what they are called. The first two pics are of the figurines,the second two pics are of the back and front of the teapot. The teapot is hollow inside and certainly looks as if it was meant to be lit from within by a candle. All the items appear to be made out of plaster. Any help with identification would be much appreciated.

Old Picture Postcards

gteffertz — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:25:17 -0800

My favorite aunt passed away recently, and among the things she left me is a shoebox full of picture postcards. My sense is that at least some of them may have some value, but I don't know where to look. About half of them are used (were sent to her), half unused. There are a few from the 1920's and quite a number from the 30's, 40's, and 50's. Condition seems pretty good to me - not "mint", but pretty good. I did do a Google search, but didn't come up with anything immediately useful.

Comic Book Question

mikedelic — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:20:09 -0800

Comic Book Filter. Help, my wife has 2000+ comic books from the 80's & 90's...all your favorites - Superman, Batman, Green Lantern. How do we get them appraised or sell them? She has boxes and boxes of comic books in sleeves, but in no order or organization. She would like to sell them, but find the whole process of sorting, etc very daunting. How should we go about this and who should we call? Are there comic book appraisers/Services?

Any help would be appreciated

When all the time is tyranny time

milagu — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:10:42 -0800

Are Iraqi wrist watches with Saddam Hussein's face on them valuable? My friend who was living in Iran is now in Damascus and keeps finding Saddam Hussein wrist watches in the market there. The shop-keepers say that they were hocked by refugees who had been guards or military officers and received them as gifts, and generally quote a price around $100 apiece. I have google searched and ebay searched for anything about their value, but all I have found is a photo book and a few scattered listings on ebay - no real indications as to what the market is, or whther there is any market. Any hints as to where I might look?

(She also found some great stamps from Yemen with pictures of JFK and I am similarly having a hard time finding value, but that is because there are too many links rather than too few.)

Close Personal Friends of Baron Munchausen

plinth — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 07:05:57 -0800

Poster collectors: what's the value of this poster? This is a teaser poster that is in mint condition and has lived in a professionally done frame for more than a decade (nearly since it was acquired). I've not seen it's like since.

Glass Collectible Experts: What is this marking on this decanter?

MMALR — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 08:43:34 -0800

Glass Collectible Experts: What is this marking on this decanter? I have a decanter set that has Federal Glass Company glasses with it with the Federal Crest on them. The decanter has what looks like an Oval shape with a Ring around the top half of the oval, somewhat like an early 1900's woman with a hat on, but obviously more primitive than that. Photos included

Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3

What model of typewriter is this?

quickasfoxes — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:18:47 -0800

What type of typewriter is this? I know it's a Royal Typewriter, but beyond that, I'm not really sure. Any idea what timeframe, or anything really? Not too many resources available online, at least none that show this guy. Looks like Sylvia Plath's typewriter, but I can't find what model that is... Here's photos of my Royal on my picasa page Thanks a ton guys! bc

How to get art insurance?

Dukebloo — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 08:36:05 -0800

Does anybody know about art insurance? How to go about getting coverage? How much it costs? Who are some trustworthy insurers? I don't have a Picasso or anything, so I'm not talking about a million- or even hundred-thousand dollar coverage policy. Just have some random things I've collected that might warrant considering it.

Help me push this hobby even further into the pathology zone.

sneakin — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:22:11 -0800

What's a good magazine subscription for a 30-something guy who is really into watches and pens? My brother is young, hip dude who is super into (obsessed with, really) collecting and repairing and tinkering with old, antique and collectible watches and pens/ink. What are some cool publications for a collector like him? I'm especially interested in anything slightly less popular and a bit more off the beaten path (that he's less likely to have already stumbled upon).

I'm sure I can just google around for titles but I was hoping for feedback about quality of specific publications.

Please help me identify this porcelain doll.

tomatofruit — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:57:13 -0800

I picked up this porcelain doll at a thrift store a couple years ago hoping to sell her, but I was never able to identify her age, name, or manufacturer, so I've got no idea what she might be worth. Can you help me identify her? Photos and more details inside. She stands about 19" tall, and has a soft torso with porcelain arms and lower legs. Her only identifying mark is a stamp in the porcelain at the base of her neck of the letters "FHD". She has a sewn pocket in the back of her torso for a doll stand to slip into.

Here are some photos of the doll. I would appreciate any information that would help me price the doll correctly.

How to best submit comics to CGC?

humannaire — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 19:21:08 -0800

I am about to begin submitting a number of valuable comic books for CGC grading. Does anyone have experience with/recommendations about the process? These are the real deal. First editions of all the big Marvel hitters from the 60's. The entire Spiderman collection from his first appearance (including if I am not mistaken Amazing Fantasy #15). Crazy comic books, really. Stuff most of us may have heard of but never actually seen or (in latex gloves) held.

So my buddy turns me on to CGC grading, and tells me it's the way to go. And from what I have learned, I agree: The time and expense seem extravagant at first blink, but the price jump from valuable but non-CGC graded comic books to their CGC-graded counterparts is astronomical.

Is CGC the way to go? Any advice about the submission process and what to expect?

How do I sell very large and potentially valuable LP and comic collections?

ROTFL — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 11:31:59 -0800

How do I sell very large and potentially valuable LP and comic collections? We're finally ready to part with most of our childhood/early adulthood collections, so my husband is going to sell his comics and I'm going to sell my LPs.

The comics are mostly Marvel and DC, with scattered indies. The dates are mostly late 70s-late 80s, but some are older. Most are in pretty good condition; some are in excellent condition. There are upwards of 1500 to sell.

The LPs are mostly mid-60s to late-70s, and they're all over the map condition-wise, from near-pristine to barely holding together. Content is mostly pop/rock, with lots of soul and funk thrown in. Decent stuff, honestly, but I know LPs are not as desirable as they once were. There might be 2,000 or more LPs to dispose of.

In both cases, we know there are some valuable items amidst the commonplace, but we want to get rid of all of them, not just the cherry-picked prizes.

We're trying to hit a happy medium between "very expedient but not profitable" and "very profitable but not expedient." In other words, I don't want to sell it all to the first Craigslist reader who can pony up $50 and a van; neither do I want to catalogue and grade everything and put ads in record-collecting or comic-collecting publications.

What will allow us to maximize our profit while minimizing our work?

(We're in NYC, in case that makes any difference to your answer.)

How to best sell my father's old-school collectible cards?

Ufez Jones — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 17:41:09 -0800

So, my father has a ton of old (50's-60's) baseball/football/collector cards and is nearing retirement. I'd like to help him sell them. I've a lot of questions here. We're talking the heyday of baseball, especially for the boomers. Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and the like, many of them rookie cards. There's also a lot of old football cards and those weird monster/comic book cards in his collection. When I last dug through them (several years back) there were a *lot* of impressive cards. They've been stored in shoe-boxes for a long, long time, but last I saw them, they were still in pretty good shape. We've talked about this before, but I'm headed up to see him this weekend, and would like to discuss this with him.

I know the market for collectible cards has taken a bit of a downswing, but I believe there's still a lot of value in these. My questions are:

1) What's the best avenue to sell these? I'm assuming there will be some variance between selling the individual classic cards vs. a grouping. Is E-bay the best resource? How would I value the lot of them as a whole to a big bidder?

2) What would be a fair commission on my part if I were to help him do this? This is something that we've brought up in the past, and we have a good relationship that I'd like to keep intact through it all. He's already talked about giving me a percentage of the take, fwiw.

3) What would the tax implications on my end be (assuming he doesn't just pay me under the table)? He's got a CPA that can take care of his side of the income from this.

For those that have specific questions about the cards and the best of the bunch, sorry, but I won't be able to answer those until Saturday afternoon at the earliest, but I'll post the best updates I can figure out both here and shoot you an e-mail (provided you have one in your profile).

Thanks.

Where to find law memorabilia?

DirtyCreature — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 13:39:02 -0800

Collectibles/antiques/memoribilia relating to law and legal practice. Where to find/buy? I am thinking original manuscripts of famous legal cases (if such manuscripts exist), letters by famous judges or participants, first editions of famous law books or discussions, or possibly even artefacts. I am mostly interested in civil law memorabilia from common law countries and not interested in law enforcement memorabilia (but you might as well include that stuff here in case anybody else is and comes across this thread).

Reputable Asian Ball-Jointed Doll Vendor?

vanoakenfold — Tue, 09 May 2006 08:48:58 -0800

Asian Ball Jointed Dolls Filter -- Can you recommend a reputable American seller/dealer, and what has been your experience with them (the vendor)? It seems like the only ones I can find are foreign companies and I'd rather buy from someplace stateside if I can, unless I'm confident enough in them from recommendations.. Only just today I came across a couple of livejournal entries when surfing toothpaste that had people making fiction shorts with these dolls, posing in different ways to act out comic-like panels with a caption. I found Gigglegeek.dk that has loads of sites to buy from, but pretty much all of them look foreign and I don't know one from the other as far as reliability.

In addition (although the recommendation is what I'm really after) -- How expensive would you say they are generally? I'd like to get one just to set on my desk. Is it possible to get customized eyes? I'd rather have one with cat-slit eyes than the regular kind.

Finding a Crow On A Teacup

crw — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 20:15:32 -0800

Back in the early 90's, I saw a color magazine ad for a piece of art I've been unable to locate since. It was a crow poised on the edge of a teacup. Teacup and crow were beautifully lifelike. I think I remember that it was Victoria Magazine. I've purchased old issues of this now out-of print magazine in an effort to find the crow again. I think the price was 200.00. I cannot remember if the piece was porcelain - could have been carved, but I really think porcelain. I'd love to find him. At the time I saw the ad, I suggested it to my husband as a Christmas gift but he was sure I didn't really want it. All these years later, I still do!

Online Auction Tips?

Shane — Sat, 14 May 2005 12:38:25 -0800

Cleaning house, looking to sell books, CDs, toys etc., and I'm LOST. Need advice both specific and general. Is eBay best for books and CDs, or are there other places to get better value? With the 'Net awash in Star Wars paraphernalia, how do I find a price for this elaborate 1998 14" talking Darth Vader? (I've checked books and they're mostly about "vintage" SW toys.) How do I value odd things for my uncle, like this pipe from Germany circa 1890 or earlier, or some Xmas cards circa WWII made by Chinese Xtian nuns in Tsing Tao? Is there a market for historical magazines and newspapers, for example with headlines about the first moon walk? Darth is in mint condition, but has been removed from and returned to the box. The cards are intricate paper cutouts overlaid on metallic embroidered background and could be considered WWII memorabilia.

I don't mind selling books and CDs cheap, but would like to maximize the $$ while not spending too much effort. Is something like a first edition hardcover of DaVinci Code worth more than other "just books," though?

Thanks. Any advice is welcome.