Buffalo Nickels, Lincoln Cents, and the Coin Boards Meant to Hold Them

In this interview, David Lange—coin collector, author, and director of research for Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC)—talks about the history of the Buffalo nickel, including its use as a canvas for creating caricatures in the folk art form known as hobo nickels. He also discusses Lincoln head cents and coin-collecting boards. Lange can be contacted via his website, coincollectingboards.net.

I … (continue reading)

Chronograph Collector Jeff Stein: An Interview with Collectors Weekly

The operator of a leading online guide to Heuer chronographs and timepieces, Jeff Stein discusses the history of the chronograph and its popularity among drivers and crew members during the golden age of auto racing in the 1960s and ’70s. Stein can be reached via his website, onthedash.com, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.

I got into watches because of my interest in vintage racing and vintage rally cars. I … (continue reading)

For the Love of Danish Modern Furniture

Andrew Hollingsworth, a Chicago dealer of fine Scandinavian furniture and the author of “Danish Modern,” talks about the roots of Danish Modern design, its evolution, some of its best-known practitioners, and the reason why the chair is such of symbol of the aesthetic.

I grew up with … (continue reading)

Janine Skerry Shows Off the Silver Collection at Colonial Williamsburg

As the metals curator at Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia, Janine Skerry takes care of one of the top collections of English 18th-century silver in America. In this interview, she discusses Paul Revere and other American Colonial-era silversmiths, early owners such as Henry Wetherburn, and the various processes and technologies used to make silver pliable enough to form objects.

My interest in silver started when I was a child. One of my earliest memories … (continue reading)

Tiffany Lamp Appraiser Arlie Sulka: An Interview with Collectors Weekly

An expert on Tiffany Studios, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and Art Nouveau decorative arts, Arlie Sulka joined the staff of Lillian Nassau in New York in 1980 and is now its owner and managing director. She has also appeared for 12 seasons as a regular appraiser on “Antiques Roadshow.” In November, 2010 Lillian Nassau LLC will publish its second book on Tiffany written by Tiffany scholar Martin Eidelberg. Sulka can be contacted via lilliannassau.com…. (continue reading)

Early Ladies Wristwatches: When Beauty Came Before Function

Nationally recognized appraiser Reyne Haines is known as a specialist in Art Nouveau glass and Tiffany, but she has also just written “Vintage Wristwatches,” a book that focuses on one of her many other passions. In this interview Haines explains how the predominance of men’s timepieces makes it relatively easy and inexpensive to put together a good collection of watches designed for ladies. Haines can be contacted via www.reynehaines.com…. (continue reading)

A House for 1,000 Vintage Hats, and the People Who Love to Wear Them

Alyce Cornyn-Selby runs The Hat Museum out of a historic, 100-year-old house in Portland, Oregon. In this interview, she talks about collecting men’s hats and clears up some popular misconceptions about cowboy hats and other headwear. She can be reached via the museum’s website, www.thehatmuseum.com.

We have more than a thousand hats here at The Hat Museum. It’s the largest hat museum in the United States, and has twice as … (continue reading)

Foreign Coins of the U.S. Founding Fathers

In this interview, Colonial Coin Collectors Club president Ray Williams talks about early American coins. Along the way he looks at the differences between type and die-variety collecting and explains how the first mints were designed to be moneymaking ventures in more ways than one. Williams can be contacted via www.colonialcoins.org.

I started collecting coins at age 11 when I earned a Boy Scout Coin Collecting Merit Badge. I collected cents, nickels, and dimes, … (continue reading)

Prewar Lionel Toy Trains, from Gondolas to Blue Comets

In this interview, David Dansky talks about Lionel electric trains, as well as model trains made by other manufacturers that didn’t survive the Depression. Along the way, he also offers a rundown of common train gauges and looks at some rare items, such as Lionel’s ill-fated, but highly collectible, pink-and-pastel train set for girls. Dansky can be contacted via David’s Toys.

The first train I ever played with was during World War II in New … (continue reading)

Who’s That Kodak Girl? Early Camera Ads Depict Women as Adventurous Shutterbugs

In this interview, Kodak Girl and vintage-photograph collector Martha Cooper talks about early Kodak advertising and how women have been portrayed in Kodak ads over the years. Cooper also discusses other Kodak related ephemera and her broader interest in snapshots featuring women with cameras. Cooper can be reached at her website, www.kodakgirl.com…. (continue reading)

Antique Mahjong Sets: An Antidote to Our Antisocial Internet Society

In this interview, mahjong (also known as mah jong) set collector Carol Ann Harper looks at the variety of materials used to make the game’s tiles, boxes, and accessories. Harper debunks some of the myths about mahjong’s origins and explains the extraordinary difficulty of determining who made many of the fine antique Chinese sets. Harper is working on a book for mahjong collectors, which can be viewed at www.charli.org, her website for all things … (continue reading)

U.S. Studio Art Glass, Before and After Chihuly

In 2010, we spoke with Seattle-based artist Benjamin Moore (1952-2021) about the origins of the American Studio Art Glass Movement and how it benefited from the combination of traditional European techniques and an American attitude of collaboration and experimentation.

Benjamin Moore: Marvin Lipofsky introduced me to glass while I was getting a bachelor’s degree in ceramics at the California College of Arts in Oakland, California. One day I saw a poster there for the Pilchuck … (continue reading)

Controversial Coin: The Peace Dollar

In this interview, author Roger Burdette discusses the rich history of Peace dollars and explains how these overlooked and affordable coins have much to tell us about the years following World War I. Burdette, who wrote “A Guide Book of Peace Dollars,” also offers insights into the work of such coin designers as Anthony de Francisci and introduces some of the intricacies of the minting process.

When I was about 7, I began to notice … (continue reading)

Firefighting Memorabilia, From Crown Coaches to Cairns Helmets

In this interview, former fireman Don Croucher talks about firefighting collectibles, from department badges to actual fire trucks. Croucher, who retired in 2001 after 35 years in the fire service, also discusses such major fire apparatus manufacturers as Crown and Seagrave and a project to establish the California Fire Museum.

I started collecting firefighting memorabilia in the 1960s around the time I became a volunteer fireman here in Orange County. My great grandfather was … (continue reading)

When Slot Cars Were Kings of the Arcades

In this interview, Philippe de Lespinay charts the history of slot cars, from the prototypes that ran on model train tracks up to the slot car crash of 1968. Along the way, he discusses such models as the Cox Chaparral 2E and the Tamiya Dodge Charger, as well as “thingies.” De Lespinay is the curator of the Los Angeles Slot Car Museum and wrote the widely read “Vintage Slot Cars”…. (continue reading)