Buddy L Street Sprinkler / Tanker Truck

In real estate its location, location, location. In the antiques and collectibles business its condition, condition, condition. This is a very desirable toy that has condition problems. It was brought to us to be appraised last weekend at the Easton show. Excellent condition Buddy L street sprinklers like this will sell for $3,000 to $5,000. The question is what will one in poor condition sell for?

I estimated this one between $800 to $1,200. I will tell you however, that when you put toy collectors together in an auction house prices can end up significantly higher. Never discount the competitive nature of antiques buyers. They will sometimes pay crazy prices for poor condition items just to keep their competitors from getting it.

Restoration may be acceptable to some collectors on a rare toy like this one. Properly restored it could bring $2,500.

Aerolux Figural Light Bulbs

As one of our top ten items from the Easton Home Show, held at the Aladdin Shriners Center in Columbus, Ohio, this unusual bulb was an attention getter. The bulb was produced by the Aerolux Company. Aerolux was founded in the 1930's and closed in the 1970's. They made a variety of bulbs with figural filaments such as this one with a ram jumping over a fence. Prices for these bulbs vary depending on the figures presented in each one. I have seen the sell for well over $200 at local auctions. This particular bulb (in working condition) will sell for around $60.

North Canton Rescheduled

The North Canton Show has been rescheduled from next weekend to March. Stay tuned in, tomorrow we will show you the best items from this weekends Columbus show. We had a great turnout with over 200 appraisals completed.

Art Newdough!

My step dad's name is Glenn. Glenn is a great guy, often he travels around with me just for the fun of it. All I have to do is call or drop in and he is immediately ready to go. Sun, rain or snow, it just doesn't matter, he loves to get out and be part of the game. He is a sometimes buyer and actually has a booth at one of the local antique malls where he sells just about anything that he can pick up and carry in. Descriptions however, not quite his thing.

I recently purchased a storage locker at a local U-Haul facility. On pick up day I called Glenn and asked if he would like to go with me "I'll be ready when you get here." was the response. A few minutes later I was at his house and true to his word he was ready to go. We made a quick stop to buy him a cup of coffee (actually a cup of sugar with some coffee flavoring added) and off to Akron for the adventures of the day.

After 20 minutes of digging through what turned out to be a very average unit, Glenn announced that "You'll do really well on these art newdough stands!". Now I really appreciate the fact that he was there to help me out, but I was a little confounded when trying to figure out just what he was looking at.

So, I pushed and pulled my way out of the back of the unit to see what a pair of art newdough stands look like. Upon seeing Glenn I inquired "newdough what?" and he immediately pointed at the stands and exclaimed "these, these art newdough stands!".

A quick glance revealed that the art newdough (art nouveau) stands (candleholders) that included an authentic "MADE IN CHINA" label were not quite up to my expectations. I simply smiled and told them that they were nice (worth a dollar or two). Later, on the drive home I rambled on about the art nouveau period, trying to impress him with my wit and expertise, I repeatedly used the word nouveau, I described what the buyers are looking for and I gave him some direction on valuations. Unfortunately it fell upon deaf ears, because he didn't hear a word that I had said. When I glanced over at him he was sound asleep with his hearing aid sitting on his lap.

So, if your ever traveling Ohio and hear an older gentlemen talking about art newdough, its Glenn and I really did try to tell him.

Loose at the Table, Win in the Junk Box

What happens in here, stays here! For most people they are really referring to their money. The smart money isn't on the game its on the dice. Dice are one of the items that are often overlooked by auctioneers and auction goers. Don't get caught in that trap yourself. Determined searching through every box lot will often reward you with jewels like these. While the rest of the auction crowd was gambling to make $50 on a $500 purchase, you purchased a box lot with dice in it for $5. Your reward, a $100 pair of dice.

Most of the value comes in the form of the casino's advertising on the dice. Also keep an eye out for oversize Bakelite dice. Paying attention to the minutia can really pay off.

Easton Home Show, Columbus, Ohio Schedule

The Fabulous Easton Home Show, presented by Mid America Events will take place January 21, 22, 23, 2011. We will be having a presentation on antiques, collectibles and everything else, on Saturday (Jan 22) and Sunday (Jan 23) from 1:00 to 3:00.

Cash it, Stash it, or Trash it "find out what its REALLY worth", will be an interactive presentation covering everything from what you bring in for appraisal to whats going on in the business. Come on in and spend some time with us during this fun and interesting presentation. Additional Home Show information is available at www.ohiohomeshows.net .

I got it from Grandma!!

I know its old because my grandma gave it to me.....She was really old and she died 10 years ago. We have this statement made to us at every appraisal show that we do. It is usually brought on because of my telling someone that the item that they brought in for the appraisal isn't as old as they think it is. They typically get indignant because of my lack of knowledge and then proceed to blurt out the line "Grandma gave it to me...AND SHE WAS REALLY OLD!!".

Grandma's shop at Walmart too! We are grandparents, and not everything that we own is old. Grandma's everywhere on a regular basis put on their best pill box hat (complete with babies breath and white webbing), hop into their gold Buick LeSabre and head directly to the local WalMart. Why? Because Grandma's like nice things too! Not everything that Grandma owned was old, so be careful whenever you are using this overworked term.