January 2008 Alerts on Confusing Collectibles

New glass dishes in clear, pink and green imitate the look of 19th-century pressed glass, but the patterns are new and the colors do not match originals. We spotted the dishes in the THT Designs wholesale catalog, then found them online at PrimitiveAccents.com and AmemiHome.com. The dishes shouldn’t fool a knowledgeable collector, but if you’re new to collecting old glass, watch out for the new pieces, which include cake stands, graduated bowls, salt and pepper shakers, dessert plates and tumblers. The cake stand edge is too big, the green is too light and pink wasn’t a 19th-century color.

New padlocks from India are fooling unsuspecting online buyers, and the fakes are selling for high prices. The Journal of Lock Collecting (May-June 2007) pictures four of the fakes: a Winchester Repeating Arms Co. lock marked “CSG,” a Colt lock, a U.S. Mail lock with fake rivets and a plain lock with poor finish. These new locks are worth under $10 each, but some have sold on eBay for more than $200. Know what you’re buying.

Any Little Red Riding Hood head vase is new, not an old piece made by Hull. The new vases are marked “McCoy.”