Badge No. 4!
Beautiful black fired enamel with vine and scroll engraving. Marked to Ed Jones of Oakland and in a deeply patinated Sterling Silver. If you know anything about the man fill us in...
Sunday, October 17, 2010
A-Maze-ing California Law Enforcement Badge Rolls In
This gorgeous old, heavily embellished and named badge just came in... named to Sgt. George Maze from the Martinez, Calif. police department and circa 1927.
Badge No. 4!
Beautiful black fired enamel with vine and scroll engraving. Marked to Ed Jones of Oakland and in a deeply patinated Sterling Silver. If you know anything about the man fill us in...
Badge No. 4!
Beautiful black fired enamel with vine and scroll engraving. Marked to Ed Jones of Oakland and in a deeply patinated Sterling Silver. If you know anything about the man fill us in...
Friday, September 24, 2010
Antique Armor a Target For U.K. Thieves
Police in the U.K. are searching for thieves who made off with an antique armor helmet from a hotel lobby.
Northumbria police said on Sept. 12, thieves stole the helmet from a display in the Derwent Manor Hotel in Allensford, located in the northeastern part of the country. The suspects then took off in a car.
Police said the helmet is valued at $1,100.
"If this was someone being silly and a prank then I'd appeal for them to return the helmet, it's a valued piece from the hotel and they want it returned as soon as possible," Insp. Kevin Oates said in a release.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Antiques As The New Retirement Portfolio
Antiqueswest had the distinct pleasure of meeting a fellow collector in the Phoenix, Arizona area recently who wished to speak with us about consigning his considerable collection of militaria.
A somewhat nondescript (but lovely) home in a Phoenix suburb was the scene. Upon entering, there wasn't anything older than about 15 years to be scene and I'll confess to misgivings. The (lovely) lady of the house offered food and drink but it was some time before the man of the house made an appearance, not saying much and looking me over.
It was not the first time this has happened so I let him look. Pretty soon things got down to business and he gestured for me to follow him. We took a few twists and turns and ended up in his War Room - the place in the house most men we know make their own, sometimes called "The Boys Club," or "No Girls Allowed."
For a collector, stepping into his world and seeing walls filled with artifacts and weaponry patiently collected over decades and lovingly cared for during all that time, the moment was a lot like peering directly into the man's soul.
"Well, this is it," he said simply. "My pension."
"Beautiful," I said, and meaning it.
After years of collecting Mr. X is finally prepared to sell, hoping for enough to "see us through retirement and on into old age."
Looking at his room and doing the mental math only one answer came to mind: "No problem there," I breathed.
It's not the first room we've entered like that, won't be the last, but in this age of dodgy economics, subterranean bank rates and negligible returns, more and more people are choosing to surround themselves with the things they love with a mind to selling off when the time is right.
"I am," Mr. X said. "Sitting on my pension. The only thing is I got to have it around me to enjoy all those years."
With antique guns and other choice militaria holding steadily at about 17 percent annual return and antique car sales reaping huge rewards for owners, it's easy to see why people are turning to investment-grade antiques to use as a hedge against inflation.
Tom Hartley, a UK dealer in exotic cars, says that the market is chilli-pepper hot. "In the last three days I've sold three Ferrari 458s at £50k over list, and the phone hasn't stopped ringing.
"These are new buyers with cash to spare, who know they can own a supercar for two or three years and make £200k profit tax-free.
"Leaving their money in the bank and getting one per cent interest is plain reckless."
When leaving money in the bank is referred to as "reckless" and folks are making money on collections they have amassed and kept in their homes or garages, you'll agree there's a sea change afoot in the way people are planning for their retirement day. We're seeing more evidence of this every day.
A somewhat nondescript (but lovely) home in a Phoenix suburb was the scene. Upon entering, there wasn't anything older than about 15 years to be scene and I'll confess to misgivings. The (lovely) lady of the house offered food and drink but it was some time before the man of the house made an appearance, not saying much and looking me over.
It was not the first time this has happened so I let him look. Pretty soon things got down to business and he gestured for me to follow him. We took a few twists and turns and ended up in his War Room - the place in the house most men we know make their own, sometimes called "The Boys Club," or "No Girls Allowed."
For a collector, stepping into his world and seeing walls filled with artifacts and weaponry patiently collected over decades and lovingly cared for during all that time, the moment was a lot like peering directly into the man's soul.
"Well, this is it," he said simply. "My pension."
"Beautiful," I said, and meaning it.
After years of collecting Mr. X is finally prepared to sell, hoping for enough to "see us through retirement and on into old age."
Looking at his room and doing the mental math only one answer came to mind: "No problem there," I breathed.
It's not the first room we've entered like that, won't be the last, but in this age of dodgy economics, subterranean bank rates and negligible returns, more and more people are choosing to surround themselves with the things they love with a mind to selling off when the time is right.
"I am," Mr. X said. "Sitting on my pension. The only thing is I got to have it around me to enjoy all those years."
With antique guns and other choice militaria holding steadily at about 17 percent annual return and antique car sales reaping huge rewards for owners, it's easy to see why people are turning to investment-grade antiques to use as a hedge against inflation.
Tom Hartley, a UK dealer in exotic cars, says that the market is chilli-pepper hot. "In the last three days I've sold three Ferrari 458s at £50k over list, and the phone hasn't stopped ringing.
"These are new buyers with cash to spare, who know they can own a supercar for two or three years and make £200k profit tax-free.
"Leaving their money in the bank and getting one per cent interest is plain reckless."
When leaving money in the bank is referred to as "reckless" and folks are making money on collections they have amassed and kept in their homes or garages, you'll agree there's a sea change afoot in the way people are planning for their retirement day. We're seeing more evidence of this every day.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
"Ride to My Guidon," Collectors Say - Custer Swallowtail On the Block In October
Collectors know provenance is key when it comes to iconic objects. They also know that in the avidly collected militaria market, there are few more iconic names than George Armstrong Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
And now, a swallowtail pennant carried 134 years ago by Custer's 7th Cavalry on that final foray into present-day Montana - and found under the body of a vanquished trooper days after the battle - comes to the auction block, and the collecting community holds its collective breath to see what it will bring.
Sold by the trooper who found it to the Detroit Institute for the Arts for $54 in 1895, the guidon has stayed in Detroit all its modern life - except for occasional exhibitions, most recently at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana.
Ragged and bloodstained, the pennant was discovered by Sgt. Ferdinand Culbertson, a member of the detail dispatched to the Bighorn - or Greasy Grass Creek as the victorious Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne referred to it - under the body of an unidentified soldier.
Another flag from the battle site was found months later in an Indian village seized by U.S. troops and is now owned by the National Park Service, but auctioneer Sotheby's - who will put the Culbertson guidon on the block in October - said it is in very poor condition.
The Detroit Institute for the Arts has decided to part with it and use the proceeds for future art acquisitions.
John Doerner, chief historian at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, said he believes the flag is stained with the blood of a fallen soldier and that the banner belongs to the American people.
"It was an act of courage and bravery," said Doerner, a 20-year veteran of the National Parks Service.
"To lose the colors was really something that a soldier would give their lives (to prevent)," he said.
Sotheby's says expectations are that the Custer flag sale price might exceed Sotheby's $2 million to $5 million estimate, but the hope is that the sale will come close to the $12.3 million paid for a Revolutionary Battle flag in 2006, a record for any military relic at auction.
And now, a swallowtail pennant carried 134 years ago by Custer's 7th Cavalry on that final foray into present-day Montana - and found under the body of a vanquished trooper days after the battle - comes to the auction block, and the collecting community holds its collective breath to see what it will bring.
Sold by the trooper who found it to the Detroit Institute for the Arts for $54 in 1895, the guidon has stayed in Detroit all its modern life - except for occasional exhibitions, most recently at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana.
Ragged and bloodstained, the pennant was discovered by Sgt. Ferdinand Culbertson, a member of the detail dispatched to the Bighorn - or Greasy Grass Creek as the victorious Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne referred to it - under the body of an unidentified soldier.
Another flag from the battle site was found months later in an Indian village seized by U.S. troops and is now owned by the National Park Service, but auctioneer Sotheby's - who will put the Culbertson guidon on the block in October - said it is in very poor condition.
The Detroit Institute for the Arts has decided to part with it and use the proceeds for future art acquisitions.
John Doerner, chief historian at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, said he believes the flag is stained with the blood of a fallen soldier and that the banner belongs to the American people.
"It was an act of courage and bravery," said Doerner, a 20-year veteran of the National Parks Service.
"To lose the colors was really something that a soldier would give their lives (to prevent)," he said.
Sotheby's says expectations are that the Custer flag sale price might exceed Sotheby's $2 million to $5 million estimate, but the hope is that the sale will come close to the $12.3 million paid for a Revolutionary Battle flag in 2006, a record for any military relic at auction.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Unknown Chaplin Film Turns Up At Michigan Antique Sale - How Did We Miss It?
If you call yourself an "antiquer" and you live for the occasional discovery of a long-forgotten piece of history you're like us and you ask yourself: "Why didn't I find that?" when something juicy turns up out of a closet or garage.
One very nice little item emerged from its hiding place in Michigan recently, film of this silly looking little guy with a very recognizable mustache and wiggly way of walking.
Collector Paul Gierucki found the 16mm print at an antiques show. He thought it was another old Keystone comedy and didn't bother to research it until early March, when he realized he'd stumbled onto Charlie Chaplin's "A Thief Catcher," ground out in 1914.
Chaplin makes a cameo appearance in "A Thief Catcher," the 36th film he made at the outset of World War I.
The movie, released by the Mutual Film Corporation was thought to be among the half of all silent films lost to history. The short actually stars Ford Sterling, Mack Swain and Edgar Kennedy. Chaplin appears for perhaps 2 minutes of the 10-minute film.
One very nice little item emerged from its hiding place in Michigan recently, film of this silly looking little guy with a very recognizable mustache and wiggly way of walking.
Collector Paul Gierucki found the 16mm print at an antiques show. He thought it was another old Keystone comedy and didn't bother to research it until early March, when he realized he'd stumbled onto Charlie Chaplin's "A Thief Catcher," ground out in 1914.
Chaplin makes a cameo appearance in "A Thief Catcher," the 36th film he made at the outset of World War I.
The movie, released by the Mutual Film Corporation was thought to be among the half of all silent films lost to history. The short actually stars Ford Sterling, Mack Swain and Edgar Kennedy. Chaplin appears for perhaps 2 minutes of the 10-minute film.
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