United States nickels, dimes, quarters, half dollars and dollar coins dated 1964 and earlier are 90 percent silver. There is an ultra rare and valuable 1965 silver US dime that is in part identified by it's completely silver edge. The normal non-silver 1965 dimes have a visually noticeable brown/copper colored layer on the edge.

As with today, in the late 1800s and early 1900s plastics were used to make a plethora of products, from jewelry and toys to electrical fixtures and plumbing parts. With many of today's antique collectors, certain  early plastics are in vogue and sought after, in particular when in the form of eye-appealing items like art … Continue reading Celluloid: Identifying the collectable antique plastic

From time to time, one sees offered for sale or auction this Freeman Cigar Co. card depicting the legendary early 20th century baseball short stop Honus (Hans) Wagner. If offered as vintage (as it nearly always is), it is a fake. The card was made in the 1990s. It has a computer printed image on … Continue reading The story behind a fake tobacco card of Honus Wagner

Encaustic painting is a ancient wax-based painting technique that has been revived in recent years. Using hot bees wax as the material to hold the color pigments, an encaustic painting is easy to identify at a museum or gallery because it has a distinct waxy appearance. It was used by the ancient Greeks and Egyptians … Continue reading Ancient wax paintings

In order to protect its national cultural heritage, it is illegal in China since 2009 to export any Pre-1900 Chinese antiques. Assume any vase, work of art or other artifact sold directly from China is from after 1900. It is, however, legal to export from China Chinese items from 1900 and after and these items … Continue reading Chinese antiques export laws

To the Ancient Chinese, jade was more valuable than gold and called the stone of heaven. They considered jade to have special powers and symbolic meaning. Though commonly thought of as green, jade can be found in different colors including white and red, and can be transparent to opaque. Jade is be one of two … Continue reading Identifying jade

Jet is a black fossilized material prized for its gem-like use in jewelry, including necklaces, brooches, pins and earrings. The term jet black, meaning as black as black can get, comes from jet. When Prince Albert died in 1861, his wife Queen Victoria famously wore jet mourning jewelry and jet was popularly used in general … Continue reading Jet black jet

A microscope is often used by an authentication expert to date the kind of printing used to make both photographs and ink-and-printing-press prints. Modern reprints and counterfeits are often identified because the microscope shows the printing is too modern. An 1870 print couldn't have been made with a printing technology invented in 1985. For an … Continue reading Miscroscopy in prints authentication

Some prints, photographs and other types of art and collectibles are limited edition numbered: say, 1/50 (1 of 50 made), 2/50, 3/50 .... 50/50. Some collectors feel that the first print or photograph or figurine 'off the presses,' is the most valuable, and, as one might expect, pick one that is numbered 1/50. The thing … Continue reading A common misperception about limited edition prints