Though mothers have been revered for centuries, the greeting card industry didn't have an official holiday to promote until 1914. The holiday's original purpose was to honor mothers whose sons were lost in the first World War—a carryover from the holiday's first promoter Julia Ward Howe, who wanted to unite mothers in protest against war.

Mother's Day had become a general celebration of motherhood by the time Wallace Nutting created this hand-colored photograph card in the 1930s. Sentimental greetings, often in the form of short poems, were print on unfolded panels meant ot be framed and displayed all year.

This print sold for $27 in a recent Michael Ivankovich auction. You can find more motherly mementos on Kovels.com and in Kovels' Antiques & Collectibles Price List.

Ran on May 9, 2008

From clutter to coveted collectibles—a collector cleaned his basement and found out that one's man trash is truly another's treasure. Auctioneer Jim Cyr researched the cans, and by auction time the estimate was $20,000 to $40,000. Phone and audience bidding resulted in a price of $126,000.

Two burlap sacks full of old cans that were taking up space in a New Jersey man’s attic went to Cyr Auction Company in Maine with the hope they would bring a few thousand dollars.

The rare cans were from 1935 to the 1970s. They were stacked and soldered together because they were used to decorate a basement bar. Condition was very good because they were found “inside” rather than “outside,” an important differentiation for beer can collectors.

So spring cleaners, take a close look at what you find. Kovels.com and Kovels' Antiques and Collectibles 2008 Price List will help you learn the prices.

Ran on April 30, 2008

The Kovels' Top Twenty list is based on the results of hundreds of thousands of searches that took place on its website during the month of March 2008. Visitors to Kovels.com are are always interested in jewelry prices, and in March it was the most searched-for category. Stove, Occupied Japan, World War II, Coca-Cola, Furniture and Capo-di-Monte are other categories that have been making consistent appearances on our top 20 list.

Pictured here are examples of 10 categories that are either new to our list or haven't appeared in a while: Silverplate (napkin ring, sold for $110, Alderfer Auctions), Knife (pocket knife, sold for $33, Desert West Auction Service), Lighter (by Cartier, sold for $633, Brunk Auctions), Lladro (Little Leaguer figurine, sold for $125, JK Galleries), Milk Glass (squirrel on acorn box, sold for $81, Phoebus Auction Gallery), Silver Chinese (tea set, 4 piece, sold for $2,875, John Moran Auctioneers), Clock (Gustav Stickley, sold for $39,000, Craftsman Auctions of Rago Arts & Auction Center), Phonograph (Victor IV, sold for $2,875, MV Auctions), Rosenthal (figurine, pair of lions, sold for $585, DuMouchelles), and Doll (Bébé Jumeau, sold for $5,700, O'Gallerie Auctioneers).

The complete Top Twenty for March 2008 are:

1. Jewelry
2. Stove
3. Occupied Japan
4. Silverplate
5. World War II
6. Coca-Cola
7. Furniture
8. Capo-Di-Monte
9. Knife
10. Lighter
11. Lladro
12. Milk Glass
13. Silver Chinese
14. Clock
15. Hutschenreuther
16. Phonograph
17. Bavaria
18. Copeland Spode
19. Rosenthal
20. Doll

People use Kovels' website and price guides for a number of reasons, the most common that they are just trying to determine the value of an item that they own. If an item is not listed on the Top Twenty list, it does not mean that it's unpopular or that there isn't a demand for it. It only means that in March there was less interest.

Ran on April 15, 2008