Tips on what to collect now that should rise in price
1. Ash trays. “No one uses ash trays. No one smokes. Ash trays are getting very collectible.”
2. Zippo lighters, for the same reason.
3. Sterling silver: “The more ornate pieces of sterling are becoming very valuable because so many people melted it down when silver prices were high. I don’t think the younger generation appreciates sterling.”
3. Some primitives: Antique tools, like saws and hammers, and kitchen gadgets, like graters, though they have to be very different to sell.
4. Dog door stops made of iron. “They are very popular ... but you can only use so many.”
5. Cloisonne: decorative enamel work in metal strips. “People are holding on to it,” so it should go up in price.
6. Knives and watches, both digital and wind-up.
Source: Perk Perkins
Tips on building collections
1. Collect only what you love, then you don’t have to worry about values going up and down.
2. Read books and magazines related to what you collect.
3. Authentic Disney items all have a Disney tag, though some may have been removed by previous owners.
4. Be selective and choose items that are unique or have unique features.
5. Give used stuffed animals and dolls the sniff test, as odors are often hard to remove. Check for flaws and missing parts.
6. Check numerous sources to find what you are looking for at the best price. Many items can be found at flea markets and garage sales. Friends and family can help in the search.
7. The first edition of a comic book may not end up being the most valuable. It could be the 16th edition, one in which a new character is introduced.
Source: Audrey Rawlings and son Todd
For most collectors, the pursuit is all. Finding the right or missing piece to complete one’s collection is the end goal.
For Audrey Rawlings of Washington Twp. the pursuit of a lost Mickey Mouse doll, not just any Mickey, mind you, but a replacement for her 2-year-old son Todd’s beloved soul mate, became the start of a life-long collecting passion.
“I loved that Mickey. He went with me everywhere,” said Todd, 48, a professional musician, who has his own collectibles: Batman and comic book collections.
Were the original Mickey to ever come home, he would find more than 1,000 Mickey friends, looking similar but not the same. “There’s only one true Mickey,” said Todd as he, his mom and sister, Jennifer, who has a collection of Christmas Barbies, surveyed a wall full of Mickeys and Mickey memorabilia in Audrey Rawling’s home.
His original Mickey had felt hands and vinyl ears, Todd said. Rawling’s collection includes a white Mickey, an orange Mickey, a Mickey Mouse with a child’s face, a Mickey Mouse bicycle, Mickey Mouse watches, umbrellas, cups, binoculars, cameras, old and new Mickeys of every variety and size.
“People would give me a Mickey and ask, ‘Is this the one?’” she said. In search of the one true Mickey, she saw and fell in love with each new Mickey. “I guess I was jealous of Minnie,” she said. She insists on Mickey being alone and not with Minnie on items she buys or receives. A Minnie bride with Mickey as a groom is OK, but there are no Plutos or Donald Ducks in her collection.
“Mickey is the most recognized character in the world,” she said. “Everyone loves Mickey.”
She plans to leave the collection to her two children, with the last survivor inheriting it. “It’s family,” she said. “It is full of memories and the good times we had together.”
Collecting heirlooms
Helping sell family collections, from consignment furniture to antiques and collectibles to whole estates, has been a life-long business for interior designer Rowland “Perk” Perkins, 82, of Kettering, who has his own cane collection and enjoys dining on fine china and linens, collectibles not in fashion.
His daughter, Gayle Perkins Wells, moved back to the area to help her father run Perkins Interiors & Estate Sales on Dorothy Lane last year when he became seriously ill. Perkins has held tag sales for sellers for more than 50 years.
One thing they’ve never dealt with is auctions. “You don’t have much control over that,” Wells said. “Something can go for five bucks, whereas at a tag sale you can set the price at $325, if that’s what it’s worth. You sell it all at an auction. But at a tag sale you get more money because you can control the prices you’re getting.”
What’s collectible tends to change with each generation, and values can change, though some beautiful antiques hold their value, she said.
“China isn’t as collectible now,” she said. Today’s aging population collected lots of fine china, but the younger generation would just as soon go to Crate & Barrel or the Pottery Barn and buy all kinds of china. The market’s dropped on fine china and Hummel figurines. “Hummels used to go for $400. Now you’re lucky you can get $30,” she said.
“(Some countries) have copied those,” Perkins said, so “they’re not hot any more.” You have to study books and learn how to identify copies when collecting antiques, he said. He once bought 12 pieces of Roseville pottery from a man who said he found it in an attic, only to find out later the pieces were copies of the original.
Hang on to China
“Dresden china is beautiful. It always holds its value,” Perkins said. “Linens are not very good in our area, but they are in the South and especially in Texas.”
Though fine china is at rock bottom, Perkins said it should be kept in case its values increases later.
Young couples like more contemporary china that is dishwasher safe. He said plate collections are “the hardest thing in the world to sell today.”
Buying habits have changed in the collectible industry. Years ago, people bought used furniture for their children who were college-bound. “We used to sell chairs and blankets out of estates,” he said. “Now they buy new.”
Selling on eBay and Craigslist has opened other avenues for selling and buying.
“People are more savvy now,” Wells said. Family members often will keep heirlooms when a relatives dies. “They watch shows like the ‘Antiques Roadshow’ and believe everything they say about price.” Just try and get it, she said.
A customer brought in two ceramic pigs he said he saw on the show going for $600 a piece, she said. “We’ve had them for two years. We tried to sell them on eBay and on everything else. If you can find a buyer at that price, as my dad says, ‘Well gosh, you better take them and have them write a check for that.’ ”
Wells said they sell items on consignment, and she often finds herself in a Catch-22. She’s working for the seller but has to price something right to find a buyer.
“Things don’t sell to this generation if they say ‘made in China’ on them,” Wells said.
Even though “the best linens were made in China. Dayton is pretty Americana. It was a GM town and would only buy GM cars.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2341 or kullmer@Dayton DailyNews.com.
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