Thursday, January 30, 2014

ROSE MEDALLION pattern collectibles



The ROSE MEDALLION pattern first began to appear in the 1830’s (and ended a century later in the 1930’s), and was made in China.  It was found on dinnerware, vases, garden seats, jars, punch sets, rice bowls, and much more.

The pattern has tons of colors—reds, blues, greens, and pinks.

Today’s collector searches for anything unique and still vibrant pieces.

What do you need for your collection?

Monday, January 20, 2014

Wow! Cookbooks are cool!



Cookbooks are becoming more and more collectible.





Vintage cookbooks with illustrations that give us a peek at what grandmother cooked can also show how to prepare a tasty meal with very few ingredients.



There are books for the sugar lovers, for the vegetarians, for the bar-be-quer, or even for the family who can’t get their little one to eat his vegetables.



Better still, they are usually relative cheap.


 
You can see all of the great cookbooks in my Etsy shop here.  What kind of cookbooks do you search used book stores for?

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

What in the world is a Capped Bust Design on United States coins?



When I was younger, I was at a local coin show and I heard a dealer say, “Yeah, that’s a Capped Bust design.”

 
*image courtesy of Wikipedia.com

I stood there for a little bit and wondered what that could be.  This is a pretty good description of what the design looks like on this type of coin.  As you can tell from the picture above, the coin features a bust view of Lady Liberty looking left.  She even has a cap on her head with an inscription on the band of the cap telling who this is.

This design was on several coins.  It was on a half dime (which is a 5 cent piece) which ran 1829 to 1837; a dime, which ran from 1809 to 1837; a quarter, which ran from 1815 to 1839; and a half dollar, which ran from 1807 to 1839.

Collections are assembled different ways, especially with this design.  People collect the design by year, denomination, or even by die variety (which can be collected anyway under the sun, too).

What kinds of cool designs on coins have you seen?

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

There was a Half Disme? Really?



When 1792 rolled around, the United States started to produce coins under the Coinage Act Of 1792.  Some of the coins that the United States mint (which is based in Philadelphia) include a half dollar, a cent, and even some gold pieces.  But did you know that they also produced a coin called a half disme?

*picture courtesy of wikipedia.com
Pictured above is one of the early examples of a half disme, which ultimately became a half dime.  The face value of the piece is what the name suggests it was worth 5 cents.  The coin was produced in pure silver up to the time it was renamed in 1873.

The coin was renamed to 5 cent piece, which is what it is called today, and today one of the nicknames for it is “nickel” (which is a pretty good description for the metal which it is made of).

What kind weird names have you heard a coin called?

Monday, January 6, 2014

It’s a winter wonderland!



Greetings from the land of snow and 14 degree below zero!  I found out today that the South Pole was actually warmer than where I live.  The South Pole came in at a whopping 9 degrees below zero.

I hope that 2014 is filled with days of treasure hunting and smiles from finding those special items you’ve been searching for.

As always, Wisdom Lane Antiques will be here offering a wide range of antiques and collectibles.  It’s a great place to shop—in any weather!

Happy New Year!