Tag Archives: collectibles

Missing

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Phone

It’s funny how you get when you’re missing something, especially when it’s something very specific. If you’re a collector, you know the feeling well; in fact, hunting down those hard-to-find parts of the collection is a huge part of the fun. If nothing else, the internet has taught us that whatever strange or unusual collection you might be working on, there are others with the same yen.

Did you ever consider using the airwaves to find that item? You could reach a rather wide audience on Paper Shop Live!, and – best of all – it costs nothing. We welcome you to give us a call on Saturday, tell us a little about what you’re working on and let us help you hunt down what, exactly, you’d like to find.

We don’t care if it’s a part for an antique car, a serving piece to complete that antique china collection or even something you’d just like to have for sentimentality’s sake, such as an old toy. Call us. Tell our audience. Get collecting! 9-10 am Saturday, 1-888-303-0630

License to Collect

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PAplate

On April 25, 1903, New York became the first state to issue automobile license plates. Don’t let that little bit of trivia mislead you, though: while the first plates were issued 110 years ago today, they weren’t the first required ones. Starting in 1901, Massachusetts required that all vehicles carry identification plates; the difference, however, is that Massachusetts car owners created their own plates, generally with their initials.

The first license plates weren’t the metal ones we’re all familiar with: they were originally porcelain, and weren’t a standard width – the plates grew larger as the numbers on them increased from single digits to triple digits and beyond. In an effort to conserve metal during World War II, Illinois issued plates made of a paper composite. Unfortunately, plates that weren’t eaten by the elements were chewed up by goats (seriously!).

Whether it’s antique license plates or vintage dinner plates, check out Collectibles and Antiques & Rare Items. We’ve got a full plate of Antique Autos & Parts, too, if you’re in the market for a home for that old plate.

Ad of the Week: Jumbo Jet

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spotlight

Because we sell anything and everything, we often get ads for the interesting, the unusual and the extremely specialized. One of the best parts of working here is that we learn so much about so many different things. Here’s where we feature an ad that made us sit up and take notice.

We’ll let this ad stand on its own:

LUFTHANSA JUMBO JET tan, 56″L.x 60″W., travel agent display, removable wings, some small chips, $150. +(LAKE HARMONY) 570-401-7569 Jimmy (See Picture Online)

If you’re like us, your first thought is to consider whether or not Aircraft might be a more suitable category for this (it’s in Collectibles). And your second thought would be something like: what a steal! $150! Wow! … oh, wait.

Here’s the jet in question:

Jet

We’ll be frank here: we kind of want to own this. It’s just so very unusual and would look really cool if we suspended it from the ceiling of our office; we do, after all, have a Travel & Vacation category, right? Right.

Ad of the Week: Cigar Box Guitar

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spotlight

Because we sell anything and everything, we often get ads for the interesting, the unusual and the extremely specialized. One of the best parts of working here is that we learn so much about so many different things. Here’s where we feature an ad that made us sit up and take notice.

Sure, the ad said “no frets”, but fret we did when we got two ads for cigar box guitars. We had no idea that such a thing existed, and – lo! – here were two of them up for sale:

1-STRING CIGAR BOX GUITAR  Didley Bow, $60. +(HAWLEY) 570-226-0587

3-STRING CIGAR BOX GUITAR  no frets, $110. +(HAWLEY) 570-226-0587

Unsure if there were simply a collectible oddity or a legitimate instrument, we did a little research and our curiosity became rather, well, high-strung by what we found. We were impressed by the craftsmanship involved in many of these guitars and were floored to discover that cigar box guitars have been played by the likes of Paul McCartney, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and even Charlie Brown (in some early 1950′s comic strips).

Guitars

With a history that predates the Civil War, cigar box guitars have played a pretty heavy role in the development of jug band music and blues. And there are, apparently, cigar box fiddles & cigar box banjos as well; we’re hoping that one or two of those might show up in our pages. With this gig? You never know!

Games People Play

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iron

Can we get a moment of silence in remembrance of the iron Monopoly token?

(insert moment of silence here)

As you may have read, Hasbro is retiring the iron after a heated online election, and it’s being replaced with a cat token. We’re all for cats, but we can’t help but mourn the noble iron – a classic token and part of the game since the 1930′s.

We all play games of one sort of another, whether they’re of the board or video kind. Mankind’s been gaming in one form or another since time immemorial; several different board games were found in the tombs of Egypt’s pharaohs and the Chinese game of Wei-qi has been around (with minimal rule changes) since 2300 BC.

You already know that we sell anything (including the kitchen sink), so it won’t surprise you to know that we list board games, too: look in Toys (or Collectibles for old or rare ones). And video games? Got ‘em too: everything from 8-bit to Wii. When it comes to selling, we don’t play around!

For the Record

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record

He might have been nothin’ but a hound dog, but he’d have been a 78-year-old hound dog today: January 8th was the birthday of The King, Elvis Presley. Aside from changing the face of rock & roll forever, Elvis’ career spawned a huge number of music collectibles.

Elvis is a frequent flyer in our Collectible category. At this very moment, we’ve got ads for an Elvis clock, Elvis memorabilia magazines and even an Elvis lamp. Elvis not your thing? That’s fine. We’ve got other rock & roll must haves: signed memorabilia, autographs, photos, vinyl records. Rolling Stones fan? We’ve got the jacket for you!

Aside from artifacts from the recording industry, check out our Collectible category for movie memorabilia, sports collectibles and classic TV keepsakes.

Making Tracks: Model Trains

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traintracks

Thinking of building a model train collection? Well, all aboard! We’ve got Lionel trains, Bachmann trains, tracks, platforms, accessories and more – all to fit any budget. You’ll generally find the more rare and valuable trains and cars in our Collectibles category, but check out both Toys and Under $25 for models whose price tags are a little less steep.

If you’re new to model trains, it can seem like both an exciting and a daunting prospect. Scale. Gauge. Turn radius. Yikes! Never fear though: it’s been our experience that seasoned collectors are more than happy to talk trains, especially with a newly-minted hobbyist.

Scale is probably the most important thing to consider when beginning a train collection. Scale indicates the size of the models as compared to the real thing. The most common scale is HO; trains at this scale are about 1/87th the size of real locomotives. There is, however a variety of scales, ranging from G (about 1/22 size and commonly used in outdoor layouts) all the way down to tiny Z scale (1/220 the size of real trains).

If you’re thinking of doing a little, well, training, check out any issue of Paper Shop or thepapershop.com to see what we’ve got. We just might be able to help your collection go full steam ahead!

Buy sports collectibles. Or sell them. We’ve got you covered!

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football

Steadfast Steelers fan? Committed Cowboy devotee? Then you’re probably either the owner of some pretty interesting sports memorabilia or you’d really like to be!

We had the opportunity to talk to A.J. Hiller, owner of MMA Signatures, on Paper Shop Live! this past Saturday (check out the podcast).  Collectibles – especially sports ones – are pretty hot commodities, and we love it when we get to talk to collectors and sellers.

Our Collectibles category is one of our most interesting ones, and the  items that show up in that section tend to lend themselves particularly well to selling over the air. Whether it’s hockey memorabilia or autographed jerseys, it’s interesting to hear details about the items and great to have a chance to ask questions.

We’ll be lining up more experts for our 2013 Paper Shop Live! broadcasts, and we’d love to hear your questions, either on the air or on Twitter. Sound off, sports fans!