December 2011 Alerts on Confusing Collectibles

Wooten desks are selling for much less today than they did 10 years ago. Recently an Extra Grade size 3 hinged desk auctioned for $27,750. Standard desks run about $10,000. But the Victorian desks with many drawers and cubby holes are being copied by a company in Indonesia. It makes the copies to order for about $5,000 delivered.

Reproductions of old tin advertising signs are selling all over the country—and all over the Internet. We’re also seeing more reproductions of old enamel signs. Many new signs are priced as reproductions and sell for just a few dollars. But don’t be fooled by someone trying to sell a new one as “old.” Look closely at the signs. If you see large dots in the colors, they are enlargements of small lithographed labels or trade cards. And check the backs of the signs. The backs of our originals are dark green or black. The backs of known reproductions are gray, white or tan-gold.

Want a brand new piece of mahogany furniture that looks like a mint antique? Scully & Scully’s, an upscale New York City store, offers new Chippendale butler chests, George III tea tables and window seats, Sheraton Pembroke tables, Regency library and writing tables, Victorian umbrella stands and much more. But its prices can top those of genuine antiques from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Copies of French midcentury plastic toy cars wanted by collectors have been made since 2000. But the old ones say “Made in France,” and the new ones are made in China.