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No doubt about this week’s scavenge of the week, it’s this $0.99 Pope Magazine that I can’t find a lick of information about online besides this Youtube video. I’m doubtful this will end up being my most profitable flip ever, but it’s another cool find as I experiment with different types of items and educate myself about new things, and it is likely that it will be worth more than the $10 or $20 I was estimating when I bid. This is my favorite part of reselling online.
What did you scavenge this week?
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So “figurine” is Italian for trading card… I thought at first they were offering 400 miniature figures.
I bought a pair of small silver-coloured bowls from a charity shop for £8 on the grounds that they weren’t marked EPNS (electro-plated nickel silver) and they had initials engraved on them. They did have moulded marks, which turned out to be for Viennese silver, pre 1866. So this pair of bowls stayed together through wars and empires, and ended up in a thrift shop where the staff priced them separately at £4 each! Nine ounces of silver- might be what the Austrians called 12 loth silver, which is 75% pure, but the mark that indicates the loth is so tiny that it’s difficult to read.
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Picked one of these up for $5 complete in box. It looks like it was used once. Most of the accessories were never even unpacked. 100%+ STR and probably around a $250 sale. NICE! I’ll get it listed tonight. I was in the flow with listing clothing this weekend and didn’t want to switch gears.
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At my neighbor’s house a week ago, we emptied his china cabinet, but he also suggested that I look at the knick knacks on the window sill. I took two flower figurines not thinking much of them. They were so fragile looking but really strong, and I thought they were painted metal. Ends up that they are Boehm figurines that are porcelain fired to extreme high temperatures, so are less prone to chipping than regular pieces. They are much more valuable than I had expected.
Here is an example of one that I have:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/354072971208
The company was located in NJ, but was sold in 2003. Someone resurrected production in NJ, but it appears to have been closed for a few years. The showroom (and the seller of the figurine above) are now in South Carolina.
The listing above lists a You Tube link on how one of these figurines are packed, see below. I don’t like the way that he tapes directly onto the art, but he works with these all the time and seems to know. What do others think?
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I’m guessing that he’s packing that piece for the trade, not a retail customer. [ha! reached the end of the video- definitely for the trade] I don’t know about the tape he’s using- looks like it’s reinforced with glass fibre- but I’ve spent enough time “washing” sellotape off china with lighter fuel not to want to inflict that on a customer.
Also, any above-glaze decoration can be damaged by pulling tape off. There was an episode of Antiques Roadshow years back where someone brought in a gilded pot with a lid; they’d attached the lid with tape which pulled off the gilding and the value with it.
The peanuts. I like to wrap stuff in acid-free tissue paper and then bubble wrap to make sure the peanuts don’t come into contact. They’re water-soluble, and some of them smell of vinegar.
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@antique-frog – I do believe that the video is showing a seller how to ship one of these figurines, so it would be for the trade. But, aren’t I part of that “trade”?
Without seeing one of these figurines, it is hard for me to explain, but I do believe that the finish will not come off after being taped down. According to my research, these are fired at higher temperatures than most figurines, and they go through several firings after glaze is applied.
However, I do agree that tape residue could end up on the item. He is using strapping tape, which, as you mentioned, is reinforced with fiber of some sort.
I am concerned about wrapping up these items using the normal method with bubble wrap. Perhaps I could figure out a method that would be a compromise. I just have to figure that out before I list them.
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@sharyn Sorry, I meant it seems that he’s packing to ship to a retail outlet. Can’t imagine someone at home being pleased about peanuts spilling out all over the floor!
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@antique-frog – Yes, I hear you. I sometimes use peanuts when it is appropriate, but I prefer not to. I get these pink peanuts from the engineering lab where I work part time, and they are special for electro-static discharge. I believe they have requirements for cleanliness and outgassing, but I still use them sparingly.
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What I’ve used recently; wrap the item in tissue paper, put it in a box large enough so that any parts of the item sticking out have got an inch or couple of inches clearance and use shredded brown paper or crumpled tissue paper to stuff the box. Take a larger box and some corrugated cardboard. Make a cylinder out of the cardboard the height of the box, place this cylinder in the middle of the box, part-fill it with peanuts, put the boxed item inside and fill to the top, and then fill the box up with peanuts or bits of foam or whatever.
I think his way of packing maybe wouldn’t prevent damage if the box was transported on its side or upside-down; the tape might not hold.
It sounds like the Boehm figurines are fired using overglaze enamels, so they’re fired at a very high temperature with a white glaze and then painted with enamels and fired again and again to build up the decoration.
The Royal Crown Derby Imari is done like that; the porcelain has an underpainting in cobalt, it’s dipped in a clear glaze and fired. Then the red and gold parts of the design are painted on top and the piece is fired again. I often see cups and plates just with the blue design- I guess these are rejects. I like Japanese Imari, but Derby Imari is a porcelain migraine.
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