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Ask any question you’d like, except those that deal with the value of your item.
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You may ask:

how to sell it

where to sell it

what it is

how old it is

what it’s made out of

where it was made

where to find a match for yours: etc.

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What is the origin of this pie safe?

Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 3:59PM | |

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Gabrielle asks:

Wally,

This piece was purchased in an antique store in the Hamptons in the 1980s for $1800. I have had it for awhile and just found out that it is a pie safe.

It is in beautiful condition, I even have the original key for the lower cabinet. The screening is in very good shape except for a hole in one of the circular, lower side vents. It is lovely and I have become curious about it’s origins. Anything you could tell me would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Gabrielle

front antique pie safe

side of pie safe spoon carving on doors

Hi Gabrielle: That’s an American made pie safe, circa 1880s or so, the design on the front is done by a method referred to as, “spoon carving”.

It appears to have the original pulls, or at least they are period pulls. The wood is probably be Chestnut.

Pie safes are very collectible pieces of kitchen furniture, and are fairly rare.

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Aug232010

Can anyone help identify this NFL football?

Monday, August 23, 2010 at 8:15PM | |

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Denise asks:

You previously helped me with a victorian ginger jar….and I’m hoping you can help me out with this one….it’s quite different.

I obtained, at an estate sale, a Leather Football marked: NFL 100, Officially Licensed. On the other side is marked: Korea 01000. It also has the NFL logo. There is no team name. There are no white stripes on the ends. I was in contact with Rawlings Official License Division and the guy there said he has not dealt with these type of footballs, so he couldn’t help me. He said they usually name the team name on them. He said the professional balls do not have the stripes.

I found it interesting that he could not give me any info on this, since he works for Rawlings. He forwarded my request on to someone else, but didn’t say who….said he would let me know if they provided any info.

What I also found interesting is that I find NO such football on ebay or anywhere on the internet. There are lots of Wilson NFL balls. A couple Rawlings, but no NFL 100 Rawlings. Also interesting is the Korea….it doesn’t say Made In Korea….just Korea 01000. I know there was some type of NFL going on during the Korean War. I wondered if this might have something to do with that…from the early 1950’s.

I’m hoping this is something really rare and valuable…obviously. But at this point, I am just intrigued about the origin of this football, age, etc…particularly since Rawlings wasn’t able to provide me with it.

I’m attaching photos….let me know if you need anything further. Thanks again.

Denise

AW says: We’ll Denise, I have to admit, I’m stumped on this one. So let’s see if the community can find out anything for you.

What do you say folks? Does anyone know anything about this football? If so, please leave your answer in the comments here, or email me directly at info@auctionwally.com

If someone can help us out with a definitive answer, I’ll send out one of my prize envelopes I reserve for my weekly newsletter contest winners.

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What to do with chipped and broken china?

Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at 12:42PM | |

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Kristi asks:

Will you please talk to me about broken, chipped, crazed china? I know that “it decreases the value significantly”, but what does that mean, exactly?

I’m in a situation where I have inherited about 250 pieces of china and glass, none of which has any sentimental value to anyone in my family. I have no space for this stuff in my house—I’m literally climbing over boxes of it to get to things I need. I am trying to get all of these pieces photographed & cataloged so I can attempt to sell them, and several pieces have chips, cracks, or have been broken and glued back together (poorly).

For example, I have an RS Prussia cracker jar that is beautifully hand-painted & appears to be worth about $100; but, one of the handles was broken off and was glued together. The glue has turned yellow & looks terrible but is otherwise in pretty good shape.

My question to you is, under these circumstances, is it worth it to hang on to these pieces & try to sell them, or am I better off tossing these items to gain some space.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this.

AW says: In my opinion, it’s better of to rid yourself of the. I’ve never had any luck w/ broken porcelain. When I have boxes of it that accumulate, I look for crafts people or jewelry makers to give it to. It just doesn’t seem to ever sell for me.

The exception to the rule may be if you had a high end item that has damage, such as a Roseville jarinere etc. you can get a small fraction of it’s original value.

Thanks for your question,

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