18th Century US coins are quite difficult to find. The Mint wasn’t even established until the 1790s, and until that time coins were minted from precious metals by foreign countries or private mints, and valued based on weight. Ephraim Brasher was one of those early minters, and in 1787 he created what we call today [...]

Those oil-filled pens and other objects with moveable images are called “floating action,” “tilt” or “action” items — or just plain old “floaty” collectibles. These simple but fascinating things have been popular souvenir and promotional give-away items since the process was invented in the late 1940s. Pens are the most common floaty items, but pencils, [...]

This past summer, my youngest, age 11, discovered a typewriter at a garage sale. He, like all our children, is fascinated by typewriters and their mechanical means of doing what the younger generation does digitally. His find was a portable blue Royal Sprite from the 1970s, and he negotiated a price of $1 for it. [...]

I’ve been reading about dead technology, things like wind-up watches, letter writing and typewriters. Then I found a link to people who collect typewriter ribbon tins. This got me thinking, it’s not just the technology or industry itself which dies but all the little things that go along with it. I had an old typewriter, [...]

“Life’s more fun if you tilt things now and then. ” - Elizabeth Spatz I had an online friend, Laura (which is also my own name), who loved floaty pens. Like so many people you meet online in chats, forums and various other virtual places, I lost track of her after the group fell apart/ faded [...]

Some of the early postmarks from the feature article on the postal history and stamps of Haiti, by Clarence W. Hennan, found in The American Philatelist, Vol 66 No 8, Whole No 627, May 1953. The scan is from the vintage copy I have listed for sale at eBay.

As an ephemera collector, I find lots of old clippings inside my vintage magazines, retro catalogs, and even in my antique books. While the acidic old paper may be a threat to already fragile old paper, I am delighted by what I find. It’s somehow comforting to know that we humans have always clipped and [...]

When I saw this photograph of Wink, the vintage fashion collector and seller, the first thing I thought was, “Wow, vintage fans really blow her skirts up!” The second thing I thought was, “What a ‘cool’ thing to collect!” And then, nearly out of puns (“She has created her own ‘Fan Club!’”), I realized I [...]

Grin: I decided to clean out some desk drawers and filing cabinets. Trash collection is tomorrow and I can’t seem to close some of my drawers anymore. Pick: You never could keep your drawers closed. Grin: I resemble that remark, and blame you for my condition. But to the point, I have trashed some stuff [...]

I continue to be delighted with vintage magazines, this time another article in that November 1957 issue of Good Housekeeping has me thinking how advice on buying typewriters from 1957 might be of use to the collectors of typewriters today. According to The Latest Word On Buying Typewriters, 1957 was a (at least semi) pivotal [...]

There’s lots to love about this vintage pay phone ceramic bank I spotted at a local thrift store. To add money to the piggy bank, you drop the coins in the slot at the top — just like you did with those pay phones. This particular bank was missing the presumably rubber stopper sealing the [...]