unexpected treasures

Unexpected Treasures: The Case of the International Stamps

A reader recently contacted Unexpected Treasures with a question regarding some international stamps. We aren't experts in philately but luckily, we've got friends in the stamp world. Charles Shreve, President of Spink Shreves Galleries in Dallas, Texas and New York, New York was kind enough to take a look at the pictures our reader sent in.

Luxist reader Beth reports that she received the collection from her grandfather. The stamps included the first one shown above which appears to be an error from Nicaragua. Stamp errors can in some cases be worth millions. The Inverted Jenny is the most famous example of this type of error which occurs when a sheet gets flipped upside down between press runs. The stamp shown at right isn't a true error. Charles Shreve says that it is what is called a freak rather than a true error which refers to an inverted center, a missing color or another major defect. This stamp is a misperforated stamp which is not unusual on this particular series of stamps from Nicaragua, which are called "Seebeck" issues. It has very little commercial value.

Tags: philately, spink shreves, stamp collecting, stamps, unexpected treasures

Continue reading “Unexpected Treasures: The Case of the International Stamps”

Unexpected Treasures: The Case of the Morgan Silver Dollar

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Coins are some of the most easily passed down collectibles. They are small, often easily stored and immediately cherished as something of value which means they don't end up forgotten in an attic. Luxist reader Jerome sent us some photos of United States coins that he reports belonged to his late mother. The first was immediately recognizable to me as a Morgan silver dollar. The Morgan dollar takes its name from the designer, George T. Morgan and features a profile of Liberty wearing a "Liberty" coronet or small crown surrounded by stars on one side. The reverse shows an eagle with outstretched wings.

The Morgan dollar was minted intermittently from 1878 to 1921. This example dates from 1883 and was minted at the New Orleans Mint. The small "o" designating the New Orleans Mint appears between the the D and O in the word dollar. Judging by the photographs this piece appears to be in "good" condition meaning that it is heavily worn. the design and words are still visible but the sharp details such as the eagle's wings and Liberty's hair are worn smooth in parts.

Tags: coin collecting, coin collection, coins, liberty cents, morgan silver dollar, numismatics, old coins, unexpected treasures

Continue reading “Unexpected Treasures: The Case of the Morgan Silver Dollar”

Unexpected Treasures: The Case of the Tumi Classic

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Handbags

We love handbags and briefcases on this site so we were excited to see the Tumi briefcase shown at right come in for an Unexpected Treasure. Luxist reader Dana tells us that this Tumi Classic Sienna Briefcase was a gift in 1975. The briefcase may be older but it is in great shape and the classic style means that it's just as functional and useful as it was decades ago. In fact given the aging of the leather it might be a little more attractive and a little more valuable.

We asked Matthew Rubinger, who runs Heritage Auctions new luxury accessories department what he thought about this piece. He agreed that it is a nice bag and pointed out that natural leather ages beautifully creating a soft and appealing patina. He believe that it would probably sell for more than it originally retailed for estimating that it might fetch $200 to $300 at auction.

If you want to submit your own unexpected treasure, click over here for details.

Tags: briefcase, tumi, unexpected treasures

Unexpected Treasures: CIRCA Evaluates A Reader's Finds

by Unknown (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Timepieces / Watches

A reader submitted the following letter to Luxist's Unexpected Treasures column and CIRCA agreed to help us evaluate:

Going through some old "junk" chests I had I came upon a few of interesting pieces I thought I would submit.

The first piece is an 18K gold Zenith wristwatch. The watch belonged to my grandfather and I believe it is pre 1930. Upon further inspection (I am a watch aficionado) I believe it uses a Valjoux .22 Calibre Chronograph movement (I could definitely be wrong). The watch does not have a model or serial number as is common with a lot of older timepieces. I have not been able to find much information on the piece online so any help you and circa could provide would be wonderful.

The second piece is a Tiffany's sterling silver bean clutch purse designed by Elsa Peretti. Elsa was a good friend of my mothers and gifted the purse to her in the late 70s or early 80's (as the stamp on the back of the purse suggests.)

The third piece are a pair of Tiffany's earrings made out of palladium(stamped in the back), designed by Paloma Picasso, also gifted to my mother by Elsa.

I would love to see what circa has to say about these pieces and they certainly were an unexpected treasures.

Best Regards,
Federico

Click through for the response from CIRCA...

Tags: circa, circa jewels, elsa perretti, luxist guest post, paloma picasso, tiffany, tiffany and Co, TiffanyAndCo, unexpected treasures, zenith

Continue reading “Unexpected Treasures: CIRCA Evaluates A Reader's Finds”

Luxist Guest Post: Chris Del Gatto of CIRCA On The Real Value of Jewelry

by Unknown (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Timepieces / Watches

Have you ever wondered what that diamond necklace that your grandmother left you would be worth if you ever wanted to sell it? We did, so we asked Chris Del Gatto, Chairman & CEO of CIRCA, the largest global buyer of fine jewelry from the public, to share some trade secrets on the true market value of jewelry.

As you can imagine, there's typically a disconnect between the public's perception of what jewelry is "worth", and the true market value of that item. True market value means the price that you would get if you were to sell the piece. This is very different from an appraisal value – what you would have to pay retail to replace an item if it were lost or stolen. What's important to realize is that when you're paying retail, you're paying for labor, marketing and the various profits made along the way.

For example, the generic yellow gold & diamond tennis bracelet that retails for $5,000, will typically cost a retailer an average of $1,800-$3,000, whereas the manufacturer's cost to make the piece would be more like $1,260 - $2,100. As someone who now owns that bracelet, and is selling it back into the marketplace, you're starting over again. You're not going to make back the profit that the manufacturer and retailer made. You also have to discount the labor that went into the piece. What you have left is the intrinsic value of the stones and the metal as your base. However, you can start adding value back if:

1) the piece is superbly designed and manufactured

2) the stone qualities are very high

3) it's a period piece, like Art Deco, Retro, etc.

4) the piece is signed by a famous maker such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany & Co, etc.

Tags: accessories-pedia, awards-main, cartier, circa, circa jewels, jewelry, luxist guest post, luxist-awards, main-pedia, unexpected treasures, watches

Continue reading “Luxist Guest Post: Chris Del Gatto of CIRCA On The Real Value of Jewelry”

Unexpected Treasures: The Case of The Crystal Goblet

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

We're back with another installment in our sporadic series, Unexpected Treasures, which looks at reader belongings. Today's treasure: the case of the crowned goblet.

Penny E. tells us that the Czech crystal goblet (which measures approximately 3 1/2 inches in diameter and is 9 inches tall) was purchased by her father wen he was in the Army. He bought the goblet from an antiques dealer in Frankfurt, Germany in the late 1950s. Penny's father was told that the goblet was supposed to be one of 12 that were a gift from Czar Nicholas of Russia to Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany on one of Wilhelm's birthday's.

We asked Heritage Auctions for a little help on this one. They received photographs of the items and Penny's email. This is not an official appraisal but is for entertainment purposes only. A comprehensive appraisal often can't be made with a few pictures alone, the item usually has to be examined in person. Eric Smylie who works in the Historical Department at Heritage Auctions told Luxist that the monogram and coronet on the goblet "indicate the glasses belonged to someone with the initials "WM" who was a European count or countess." Wilhelm II would have had his cipher "WII" or "WRII" under either the Crown of Charlemagne (as Kaiser of the German Empire) or the Prussian Crown (as King of Prussia and would never use a coronet. Smylie stated that the value of the goblet should be determined without reference to a royal or imperial association, because it does not exist. His estimate is approximately $150-$250 if the item is in good condition and without chips or cracks.

Tim Rigdon, Director of Silver and Vertu, Decorative Arts & Design, Heritage Auctions, corroborated this evaluation, saying that the engraved insignia is incorrect for the Kaiser and the crown "is for someone holding the rank of count." Nicholas Dawes, Consignment Director, Heritage Auctions, believes that the glass is fairly recent in make, "based on the 8th North European 'air twist' or 'mercury twist' type and form." The glass was likely "made in Bohemia probably early 20th century which would be consistent with the story" but he also agrees that the glass was probably engraved for an East European count or noble of some sort.

For information on submitting your own finds for a future Unexpected Treasures column, please see details here.

Tags: glass, glassware, unexpected treasures

Unexpected Treasures: African Figure

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

or our first Luxist Unexpected Treasures column we got hit with a bit of a puzzler. Lynne from Songs of Now, an art and curio shop in Santa Fe, New Mexico sent us an image of the little guy shown at right. She reports that they found the fellow, who sits just under 8 inches tall, at an estate sale. The previous owner told them that he picked it up during his travels in Africa.

We consulted a couple of experts. Andrew Berz, of Sujaro Gallery in San Francisco tells us that indeed the piece resembles decorative bronze and brass standing figures that he has seen on occasions in the market in both Bamako, Mali and in Accra, Ghana. He tells Luxist that the pieces are not identifiable with one tribe and are not authentic pieces made for use in a tribal context.

Another expert, Tom Slater of Heritage Auctions says that the African figure market is still a new market and that while a few contemporary African artists have developed reputations and followings, both in Africa and in the West, most is by anonymous artists and therefore the value is generally whatever the eye of the beholder dictates. Slater says that if the work was by an identified hand whose work has an established market it would have a greater value.

He says this figure "does not appear to fit in any traditional tribal style, and doesn't seem like a particularly distinguished sculpture." His estimate is that the small figure would probably retail in a shop or gallery anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars to perhaps somewhat over $1,000, depending on size and the location and price points of the shop.

To submit your own Unexpected Treasure, see the instructions here.

Tags: african art, bronze, tribal art, unexpected treasures

Luxist Wants To See Your Unexpected Treasures

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

We've noticed a little something on this site. Whenever we write about a collectible that sold for a great deal of money, some people weigh in with details of their own belongings, some seeking answers on questions of valuation. It's fascinating and we want more. So Luxist is launching a new column, Unexpected Treasures, to help get you some answers. We'll be working with appraisers in a wide variety of fields to help you learn a little bit more about your belongings, and like the optimistic title of this column, maybe we'll find something amazing.

If you want to enter a piece for possible inclusion, email unexpectedtreasures@luxist.com. In order to evaluate an object we will need enough good quality jpg images (high resolution if possible) so an appraiser can see the object from every angle and as much history on the object as you have. If your treasure will be of general interest to our audience, we will have one of the appraisers look at the item and post one or more of your images of the object on www.luxist.com along with the appraisal and potentially comments from the appraiser. Because the value of your objects are influenced by many factors that may not be evident from your images, an appraisal will only be a rough estimate of an object's value and must not be used for insurance or other valuations; its true value may be much less or much more. Please take your valuables to a local appraiser for those purposes.

Finally, please note that by submitting images for evaluation, you grant AOL Inc. an irrevocable, royalty free, perpetual, worldwide right and license to use the images and your history of the object in any manner, and syndicate this content in any medium and through any form of technology or distribution.

Looking forward to seeing your treasures!

Tags: antiques, collectibles, unexpected treasures

unexpected treasures

Featured Galleries

HuffPost AOL Social News Most Popular

Also on AOL