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COLLECTIBLES Novelty Teapots
1/6/2009 -  I am not a big tea fan. Though I recall once serving tea and tangerines to my dolls, tea, in our house, was strictly medicinal. It was reserved for dosing sore throats and barking coughs. Moroccan friends, however, introduced me to a different world of tea. Full story
KNIVES Take Good Care of Your Blade Babies
1/6/2009 -  Do you consider your knives your “babies”? That may be taking it a bit far for some, while for others it may not be taking it far enough. Most knife enthusiasts probably fit somewhere in between. Wherever you fit in the equation, following are some of the latest in knife maintenance products. Check them out. At least one should fit your knife care needs. Full story
COINS Where Have All the Coin Clubs Gone?
1/5/2009 - Coin Clubs have vanished just the way movie theaters, phone booths and some local newspapers have, but not for the same reasons. The Internet, cell phones and advanced technology of television are the primary reasons, but coin clubs had a few other reasons. True, the internet and e-bay may be primary reasons some individuals have decided not to join a club, but club losses began before the internet became a routine household item. Full story
MILITARIA They Were Right—The Lusitania was LOADED!
1/5/2009 -  May 7, 1915, a quiet day that became one of the most important for the US in World War I. The Lusitania, a passenger ship carrying nearly 1,200 people, 128 of whom were American citizens, was sailing along the coast of Ireland, when a German torpedo struck in the side. A second explosion from somewhere within the ship’s bowels rocked the giant ocean liner as passengers scrambled into lifeboats. In less then 20 minutes she had gone under, and with her, 1,119 of the people who had occupied her decks. Full story
MUSIC Market Watch: Low-Numbered Beatles LP Hits Five Fab Figures
1/2/2009 - Almost exactly 40 years after the release of the Beatles' self-titled double album, usually known as The White Album, an eBay auction closed, and one of the rarest copies of the album changed hands. What sets this album apart, and what's the story behind the record? What did it sell for? And what other album auctions racked up big enough numbers to land in this installment of Market Watch? Full story
TOYS Speaking of Dolls: The Mysterious Burgarella
1/2/2009 -  Once in a while, you come across something so different that you want to share it with your doll friends. This is the case with a doll that I have recently acquired. It is not a doll that every collector will love and certainly not one that every collector would like to add to their collection, but it is one that deserves to be recognized for its unique features that reflect the period of its origin. Full story
POSTCARDS Wish List For A Perfect Postcard
12/31/2008 -  Every collector has a different idea of what the perfect postcard is. Some might favor a particularly beautiful card, perhaps one by an Art Nouveau artist. Others look for the historical importance of a real photo or a bargain on a very valuable card. For those who collect complete series, a particularly scarce card needed for completion would rank highest. Full story
SPORTS Jackie Robinson, Barack Obama Signed Card in Topps American Heritage
12/30/2008 -  Topps believes it may have produced one of the greatest historical autographed cards to date – the dual autograph featuring Barack Obama and Jackie Robinson. This card and several other pieces of Americana will highlight the all-new new and exciting Topps American Heritage. Full story
KNIVES Rocket Man Shane Sibert
12/30/2008 -  You’ve read about guys who have a natural talent for something and always knew from early childhood what they wanted to do with it. You know, Eric Clapton with the guitar, Michael Jordan with the basketball, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., with the Chevy Impala. That’s Shane Sibert with the knife. Shane is one of today’s fastest-rising makers and is making some of the hottest custom knives in the industry. Full story
CARS Bon Voyage to Old Cars?
12/29/2008 - It’s been described as the biggest loss of a national treasure since the famous art spoils of World War II. Even before The Great War, American automobiles have been popular in foreign countries. Yet as much as Americans today embrace their Volvos, Mercedes, Jaguars, BMWs and Volkswagens, our own Chevrolets, Fords, Dodges, Oldsmobiles, Thunderbirds, Chryslers and Corvettes have always held higher court in such places as Australia, Japan and Scandinavia. Full story
COINS Coin With Ugly Design Proved Very Popular
12/29/2008 - Technically Robert E. Lee had already offered his sword to Ulysses S. Grant, but there is no real doubt that despite having the first example released after that event the Shield nickel was a product of the Civil War. As it turned out, the Shield nickel would not only prove to be useful in an emergency, but its composition would ultimately pave the way for virtually every nickel since that time. Full story
COMICS The Satire That Made Mad Magazine a Success
12/20/2008 -  On the heels of an auction of Mad Magazine art that brought almost $750,000, Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries is offering the first page of the Mad story that arguably made the magazine the phenomenon it is today: Superduperman from Mad #4 (1953). As the book Completely MAD notes, sales of issue #1 were “abysmal” and it was #4 that finally turned the corner to profitability. Full story
COLLECTIBLES Simply ‘The Best of the Best’ in the Heritage Holiday Catalog
12/17/2008 - Where can you find the most famous stamp in the world, the single most valuable set of baseball cards known, original Winnie-The-Pooh artwork, an amazingly rare Patek Philippe pocket watch, an Atlas rocket, JFK’s rocking chair, a John LaFarge stained glass masterpiece and a 1795 small eagle $10 gold piece? Where can you find last-minute gift suggestions for the collector who has almost everything (or wants almost everything)? Full story
MILITARIA 16 WWII Stuart Tanks Discovered
12/16/2008 -  Renowned military-vehicle dealer Mike Stallwood, has pulled off an incredible coup and imported 16 WWII-vintage M3 Stuarts tanks from Brazil. One would think that, 63 years after the end of the conflict, the chances of discovering a large cache of WW2 military vehicles—let alone tanks—in reasonably good condition would be virtually zero. But that is exactly what Mike Stallwood of RR Motor Services has done. Full story
COINS Zero Interest Makes Gold Attractive
12/16/2008 -  Early last week, the U.S. Treasury sold $27 billion of three-month debt at 0.005 percent interest and $30 billion of four-week debt literally at 0.00 percent interest. With an effective negative return, after taking inflation into account, the attractiveness of owning Treasury debt is almost non-existent. Who wants to loan money to another party merely on the promise that you will get your inflation-ravaged principal back later? Full story
CARS Loveable Loser: The Unforgetable AMC Pacer
12/15/2008 -  The 1970s were a decade of unusual challenge and change for the United States auto industry. When the decade began, the most popular cars coming out of Detroit were still getting larger every year. The majority of American car buyers were still following the mantra that “bigger means better.” Yet by 1975, fuel shortages and the first Arab oil embargo had made big cars less appealing. Full story
TOYS Tin Toy Expert To Visit Trenton City Museum
12/15/2008 - Noted tin toy authority Alan Jaffe will speak at 2 p.m. Jan. 11, 2009 at Ellarslie, the Trenton City Museum, in conjunction with the ongoing exhibition A Toy Story: Seven Decades of J. Chein and Company, New Jersey Toymaker. Jaffe, a former newspaper reporter, editor and contributor to Inside Collector, an antiques and collectibles magazine, has collected antique toys and advertising characters since the early 1980s. Full story
MUSIC All Hell Breaks Loose: 1968 in Review, Part II
12/10/2008 -  The immediate response to the killing, however, was considerably less calm and respectful, as rioting broke out across America — the country’s most serious outbreak of civil unrest since the Detroit riots of the previous year. It might have been worse, too, had it not been for James Brown. Full story
ANTIQUES A Cut Above: Exquisite, Brilliant Heisey Glass
12/10/2008 -  Exquisite, finest, brilliant … words you come across repeatedly in reference to Heisey glassware. Whether browsing through the company’s formative years or reading current descriptions, those adjectives continuously jump off the page. Qualities many CEOs can merely dream about were achieved by Augustus H. Heisey the minute he opened the A.H. Heisey and Co.’s doors in Newark, Ohio, 112 years ago. Full story
TOYS Court Prohibits MGA from Producing or Selling Bratz Products and Awards Rights to Bratz Name to Mattel
12/4/2008 - Yesterday, Judge Stephen Larson, the United States District Court Judge presiding over ongoing intellectual property litigation between Mattel and MGA Entertainment, Inc., granted Mattel's motion for a permanent injunction barring MGA from manufacturing, distributing or selling Bratz fashion dolls, or using the "Bratz" name for any goods or services. Full story
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