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Learn about antiques and collectibles with Dr. Georgia Caraway
any rarer. Meanwhile, Mattel issued so many different limitededition Barbies over the years that few collectors could collect them all, and most stopped trying
Exception: Early Barbies dating from 1959 through the 1960s in top condition still can have considerable value It’s the modern ones, originally sold at high prices as collectibles that are likely to be worth less than initially paid friends opened the Howe Mercantile at 107 East Haning Store hours are Thursday through Saturday noon until 8 p m She has written five Denton history books Her latest, North Texas State Fair and Rodeo, is available at Howe Mercantile She hopes her next book will be the history of Howe If anyone has photos that she can copy, please bring them to Howe Mercantile antique shops Howe Mercantile, Texas Home Emporium, and Stark Farms Gifts SHOP LOCAL We can show you Howe!
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Last week’s cautionary column was written to warn collectors about categories that are not popular any longer It was not meant to discourage collectors from buying pieces they like, but rather a precaution that they should buy for that reason and not because they expect values to increase. Here are more collecting fields that for some reason have lost their appeal
Franklin Mint sells a wide selection of “limited edition” coins, plates, medals and other collectibles, but there’s little resale market for any of it Anyone who wants a Franklin Mint product usually buys it from the company when it is being heavily advertised Franklin Mint coins and medals typically can fetch their meltdown value when resold, which usually is a fraction of the amount that the company originally charged (though today’s high precious metals prices have lifted those resale values somewhat)
Other companies that make and heavily market collectible coins and plates include the
Danbury Mint and Royal Copenhagen Their products fare no better on the resale market
Limited-edition Barbie dolls have been declining significantly in value. As with most other “limited edition” toys, these were toys in name only most were never played with, just set aside as investments, so they never became
Thomas Kinkade paintings and prints were produced in such huge quantities that they now have very limited resale value If you paid retail prices for these paintings at a Thomas Kinkade Signature Gallery there were more than 300 such galleries in the 1990s you almost certainly will never recover most of the hundreds or thousands of dollars you paid Scores of Kinkades are available on eBay, and most receive no bids
Autographed sports memorabilia have declined sharply in value in the past decade Collectors are disenchanted as it has become clear that many autographs are forgeries Signed sports memorabilia now have value only if they come with proof of authenticity, such as verification from an authentication company such as PSA/DNA (www.psaCard.com) or James Spence Authentication (wwwSpenceloa com) Helpful Hint: If you ask an athlete to sign something for you, have a picture taken of you with the athlete as he/ she is doing the signing to verify authenticity
Cookie jars became a hot collecting category after Andy Warhol’s cookie jar collection was auctioned for steep prices following his 1987 death. For a while, collectors were paying hundreds or occasionally thousands of dollars for cookie jars that weren’t even very old Eventually people figured out that Warhol’s cookie jars were valuable only because Warhol owned them, not because cookie jars have any great collectible value Today, most formerly “collectible” cookie jars sell for less than $50, depending on design and condition Very few sell for more
Dr Georgia Caraway, former director of the Denton County Museums for 14 years, and her
Downtown Howe has three gift and
April 8 is the date for the Annual BBQ and Auction for the Save the Church restoration project If you wish to donate to the auction, please bring your item(s) to Howe Mercantile or to 101 East Haning (Howe Chamber office)
Top Dogs
4th-Noah Wood-Fowler
4th-Allie Armstrong
4th-Hannah Thompkins
4th-Maddison Wade
3rd-Gracie Bell
3rd-Hayden Brunner
3rd-Nowlin Langford
3rd-Michael Clark
2nd-Kaiden Thomas
2nd-Chris Torres
2nd-Jaleigh Murphy
1st-Gavin Snapp
1st-Emilee Nelson
1st-Deacon Bender
1st-Alexis Horner
K-Ethan Lewis
K-Colin Clopton
K-Lane Hance
Dr. Bridges is a Texas native, writer, and history professor. He can be reached at drkenbridges@gmail com
History knows Stephen F Austin as one of the great heroes of Texas History So often in life, a twist of fate or one simple decision can push a man in a completely different direction As it turns out, the “Father of Texas,” as Austin has been called, almost became one of the great figures of Arkansas History instead
Stephen Fuller Austin was born in Austinville, Virginia, in 1793 He was one of five children, two of whom died in childhood His father, Moses Austin, established the community as he sought to develop a lead mine in the area However, after a few years, the mine played out and the family moved west Eventually, they settled in Missouri, where Moses Austin established a new lead mining community west of the Mississippi River However, it was still Spanish territory for six more years until the Louisiana Purchase in 1803
His father sent him to a private boarding school in 1804 A few years later, Austin attended Transylvania University in eastern Kentucky, where he graduated in 1810 He rejoined his family shortly afterward. In 1814, he ran for a seat in the Missouri Territorial Legislature, winning decisively At the age of 21, he was barely old enough to vote, much less to hold a seat in the legislature
In 1819, the economic panic of that year destroyed the Austin family businesses The elder Austin went to Mexico and received a massive land grant from the Spanish government to bring settlers into
