Buying Tips

Personalized Buttons Make a Statement, Whether it is About One's Business, Personal History, or One's Beliefs and Interests. They are a Way Of Stating "This Is Who I Am, This is What I Care About."   Though the modern use of buttons typically advertises business or group affiliations, historically they have been used for many purposes, and collecting these items has developed into a subculture and big business.   A Brief History Buttons first came into use during the late 1700s, and for a century were used mainly during political campaigns to show party affiliation and candidate preference. Each candidate...

Collecting Model Cars is a Hobby with Most Children and Quite a Few Adults as Well.   Serious collectors even buy and sell model cars. Collecting model cars started off as a male-centric hobby but today women are just as attracted to this unique pastime.   Before you Seriously get Down to the Business of Collecting these Model of Cars, you Need to Decide on the Scale that you are Going to Specialize In. Model cars come in varying scales such as 1:8; 1:18; 1:24; 1:43 and 1:87. The most popular scale among collectors is the 1:43. This is also...

Of all the Types of Vintage Glass Available on the Market, one of the Most Sought-After and Collectible is Hobnail Glass.   It's really no wonder, either, given that it has such a unique and interesting texture. This glass, which came out in the 1930s, is covered with bumps that give it a look all its own. If you are looking for a fun collection to start, you may want to consider focusing in on hobnail glass pitchers. For one thing, hobnail glass itself comes in so many different colours, opacities and styles that it can be a lot of...

To Determine the Age of an Item in your Shop, you can Either Look it up in an Antique Reference Book or Online, or you can Look for the Following Characteristics.   Furniture  All old wooden furniture can be identified with simple examinations. Size and shape of dovetails on drawers. Dovetails on old furniture are always larger and less symmetrical than those on modern pieces. Woodgrain. Furniture makers about one hundred years ago often con­structed tables, dressers, and such, of quarter-sawn wood. This wood was cut to produce a distinctive wavy pattern, sometimes called tiger oak. This cutting method was...

Buying and Collecting Vintage Wrist Watches is Often Stressful.   Especially if you do not know much about them. But it can also be fun, once you get the hang of it. They often have a unique history, and you will be surprised by all of the features and complications that were available back then. The pioneer watchmakers have set the stage for some of the most advanced movements (gears and pinions inside a watch) that the world has ever seen.   So what type of Vintage Wrist Watch should you buy?                 ...