More July 2006 Hotlines

The most expensive musical instrument in the world, a Stradivarius violin known as The Hammer, sold in May at Christie’s New York for $3,544,000. An anonymous bidder bought the 1707 violin, one of 620 Strads still in existence.

Corgi toys are 50 years old and collectors can look for special anniversary gold-plated cars and other new cars in special anniversary packaging. Die-cast cars are the most popular of the collectible Corgis, but don’t ignore past playsets, like the Magic Roundabout playground set that’s already selling for over $750.

Black Forest wooden furniture carved with bears and beasts is selling quickly at shows. Prices are high-over $5,000 for a good bench held by bears. But there are many new pieces, so beware. The old carvings were made after 1850 by the Trauffer family of Brienz, Switzerland. New pieces are from Europe, the Philippines, and China.

Superman Returns, the new movie due out this summer, will have its own memorabilia. But there should be renewed interest and higher prices for old Superman collectibles. The 1954 Universal Superman lunchbox sells for over $4,500.

Think we have trouble with fakes in the antiques market? The World Customs Organization estimates that about 7% of the world’s trade is in fakes. There were more fake Swiss watches than real ones made last year.

Those rubber bracelets that have been popular as kids’ collectibles are going upscale. New expensive pieces have shaped slides made of diamonds, silver, or gold. The bracelet looks like a little belt. Fans of costume jewelry will look for old pieces that can be worn on the rubber bracelets.