Another Reunion Pending - We'll Keep You Posted

Antiqueswest has had the considerable pleasure of reuniting fine old things with descendants and family members of their original owners or makers and we've got another one of those reunions coming up, it seems.

Really fun for us to do this and when it comes together - we wear this big, sloppy grins for a couple of days around here.

The deal is still pending but suffice to say the items are from the Civil War and may soon be returning to descendants of the man who owned them.

So cool. Thanks for reading!

"Cannon Ball" Unearthed by Gardener Turns Out To Be Old Fence Post Finial

Police in Fort Smith, Arkansas say a man puttering in his garden was surprised to find a Civil War era cannonball in his garden. Only the "cannonball" turned out to the top of an old fencepost.

Proving that even experts can be fooled when it comes to dirty, crusty old things the four-inch round chunk of metal was "touched off" by sympathetic detonation later today and later x-rayed - when it was determined to be decorative and not combative.

There were a number of Civil War engagements in and around Fort Smith, including the Battle of Massard Prairie.

"Pocket Time Capsule" Opened, Lincoln's Watchsmith Was Grateful

For nearly 150 years, a story has circulated about a hidden Civil War message engraved inside one of Abraham Lincoln's pocket watches.

On Tuesday at the National Museum of American History, a watchmaker opened the case and found watchmaker Jonathan Dillon's thoughts scratched neatly inside:


The first line says: "April 13 - 1861. Fort (sic) Sumpter was attacked by the rebels on the above date. J. Dillon." A second line reads, in part: "Thank God we have a government."

The story circulated around Dillon's family and friends, eventually reaching a New York Times reporter. In a 1906 article in the paper, Dillon said he was moved to engrave a message after the first shots of the Civil War were fired in South Carolina.

One hundred and fifty years later, his reaction again saw the light of day.

Rats!

Well, close but no cigar. I hail from the "all or nothing" school and it seems our CS Oval with Stars is a no show... though it had style. Floating around in the bottom of a cigar box at the house I decided to offer the plate for sale at a favorable rate, immediately setting off alarm bells from some of the biggest names -- well, actually the biggest names in the business, several of whom said they were "90 percent certain" it was "right."

Turns out it's a very old restrike, done in a wax mold and loaded with deep patina - just like the real deal. If it had been found genuine, I was going to take the family out to dinner and put a new roof on the hacienda on the proceeds.

Instead, back into the cigar box! Thanks to all of you who wrote us about this piece and to the real pros in the business who looked this plate over for me. Gentlemen all!

Vintage or 1862?

This little guy has sparked something of a controversy on the site. We had thought it was a vintage strike of the famed CS Oval with Stars and brought it out of storage for sale. Now, we're told by a couple of experts we've heard about before who say it is real and from the war years.

Your thoughts? Any other experts care to weigh in? Beautiful chocolate patina and nice overall finish.