Antiques Prices

Antiques and Collectibles Price Charts and Value Guides

Popular Royal Doulton Fine Bone China Dinnerware Sets and Their Values

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Bone China simply refers to a white porcelain that contains bone ash. The bone ash in this particular porcelain allows thin but strong plates and saucers to be created. ‘Royal Albert’, a sister company to ‘Royal Doulton’, is one of the most well known Bone China companies in the world. Their ‘Old Country Roses’ and ‘New Country Roses’ collections are two well known dinnerware sets that sit within many collector’s cupboards. Although Royal Albert is more commonly known for beautiful bone China dinner sets, Royal Doulton has an extensive list of their own.

Bone China has been made in Britain since the early 1800’s and the Royal Doulton company began creating their own pieces soon after in 1815. The Royal Doulton company use a soft-paste porcelain that contains more than 35% tricalcium orthophosphate. Their china pieces are comprised of a strong porcelain making them hard, durable and water repellent. The china produced by the Royal Doulton company is amongst the strongest know in the porcelain industry. [Read more…]

The Value of Top 10 Vintage Royal Doulton Mugs and Cups

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Not often is a Royal Doulton mug a collector’s first pick at an auction house or local estate sale, however some of these can be worth a fair amount of money while being overlooked. The company first began in 1815 by John Doulton and after multiple name changes, began trading as the well known brand ‘Royal Doulton’ in the early 1900’s. Toby and Character ‘jugs’ are amongst the most popular Royal Doulton Mugs/Cups. Vintage Royal Doulton mugs can be worth a few dollars to a few thousand dollars so it is important to research the value of your item before you list it for sale.

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A Guide to the Ten Most Valuable Lladró Porcelain Figurines

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The Lladro (Lladró) story began in 1953 when three brothers used their bare hands to create the beginning of a now large scale Spanish porcelain company. Brothers; Juan, Jose, and Vicente Lladro had a passion for art and were first inspired by European manufacturers of Meissen. This inspiration led them to create plates, vases and ceramic figurines. Situated in Almácera, Spain the brothers worked on their handcrafted creations for almost seven years before opening their first shop in Valencia.

In today’s society, Lladro pieces are highly sought after by collectors. Amongst the most valuable are ‘biblical scenes’, the ‘Don Quixote’ series and ‘wedding related’ ornaments to name just a few. [Read more…]

Popular Wooden Antique Children’s Toys & Their Value in Today’s Society

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Pull Toys

The most famous collector pull toys were created in the 1930’s by popular brands such as Fisher Price and Lego. Pull toys made during this time were wooden, had string attached for a young child to pull along with the majority of them having wheels attached to the base. Many pull toys were animal or car shaped, painted and hand crafted. Animals such as lions, horses, dogs, lambs, goats and bears were popular pull toys created during the 1930’s. Well known pull toys collected today include the 1935 Lego Duck and the 1923 No. 4 Liberty Coaster Wooden Wagon.

1935 Lego Duck

Released in 1935, this wooden duck on wheels would be one of the first toys made by the Lego company.  Not only one of Lego’s first toys made but also amongst the most popular within the wooden toy collection. Made completely of wood, the Lego duck features a painted orange mouth, a red body and black wings, tail and head. The duck sits upon a black plank with four red wheels. The beauty of this antique wooden toy is that when the child pulls it along the beak of the duck opens and closes.

These were hand painted by workers of the Lego company making each wooden duck slightly different. Later versions of the wooden ducks were painted using stencils. Originally these toys sold for not much more than one USD. Today these are highly sought after collectors items making them worth upwards of $2000.

wooden-lego-duck [Read more…]

15 Retired Hummels and Their Values

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Hummels and Retirement

Whether it’s a temporary leave, a one off limited edition or production has simply ended; Hummels go into retirement as apposed to being discontinued. This means that they may return for a special occasion under a new Hum number extension.

Here’s 15 Such Hummels That Have Gone Into Retirement

1. Barnyard Hero

barnyard hero hummel

First modeled in 1948 by master sculptor Reinhold Unger.

Originaly made as 3.75″-4″ figurines.

More sizes were released in the mid 1950’s, 5.50″ and 5.75″-6″.

With the larger 195/I (5.75″-6″) being put into retirement in January of 1999.

Estimated Value: Hum 195/I – $175

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Toby Jugs Prices – Henry VIII and His Wives

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Toby Jugs – King Henry VIII

Modeled after the historical figures of King Henry VIII and his wives. These collectibles allow you collect the heads of both the tyrannical King and that of his unfortunate wives alike.

King Henry VIII Lrg 6 1/2″ – D6642 (1975)

Reigning King of England from April 21st 1509 until his death on January 28th 1547.

King Henry VIII is more remembered for his six marriages, in particular, the methods he used to end those marriages.

Henry VIII Toby Jug

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The Seven Most Famous Hummel Figurines and Their Values/Prices in Today’s Society

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Hummel Figurines are showcased in many antique collectors cabinets. These porcelain figurines, based upon drawings by Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel, first became popular towards the end of the second world war. These porcelain ornaments were often gifted by soldiers in Germany to family back home in America. Although not an overly expensive item during this time, in today’s society Hummel Figurines have become greatly sort after antiques by keen collectors leading to a large price increase. 

First Hummels Produced: 1935
Creator of the Porcelain Hummel Figurines: Franz Goebel 

1) The Merry Wanderer #7

One of the most popular Hummel Figurines in a collectors cabinet is the ‘Merry Wanderer’. This porcelain figurine depicts a young traveller walking with a spring in his step (merrily walking) with a red umbrella and luggage bag.

Model Date: 1935
Expected Sale Price Today (depending on condition): $180 – $500

the-merry-wanderer

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Antique Canes and Walking Sticks Price Guide

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Antique canes and walking sticks are about so much more than you can imagine. The golden era of canes is from 1550 to 1930. Most people think that canes and walking sticks were used for the purpose of supporting people; however that couldn’t be further from the truth. Canes were a reflection of the culture and a lady and gentleman never went anywhere without one. Canes were made of ivory, porcelain, enamel, gold, silver, hand carved wood, glass, narwhal tusk, Bakelite, whale bone, rhino horn, ebony, snake wood, Wedgwood, gemstones just to name a few. There were 1500 patents for gadget canes in America alone. There are gadget gun canes, sword canes, musical, political, Doctor, compact, perfume, flask, picnic, microscope, fishing pole, scientific instrument, pipe, cigarette holder, vinaigrette, barometer, undertaker, and horse measure. Name an occupation and there is probably a walking stick to represent it.

antique-cane-gold-cap-and-ebony-wood

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Antique G. Argy-Rousseau Price Guide

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Joseph-Gabriel Rousseau, born in a small village outside of Chartres to a farming family. In 1913 he married Marianne Argyriadès, a highly cultured woman of Greek descent who fueled Rousseau’s interest in Greek and Classical art. After his marriage Rousseau added the first four letters of his wife’s maiden name “a-r-g-y” in homage to her cultural, emotional, and domestic support, signing his name “Argy-Rousseau” for the remainder of his artistic career.

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