Dear Lee,

Did we hear from our fans! Many of you hated the new name we gave this letter last month. So we are listening to the voices of the crowd and going back to “Letter to Lee.” We first used the title when our public television shows were produced. Each show ended with our discussion of what we would write about the show to our son Lee, who was in college. In those days before computers and cell phones, we wrote letters. We could catch up to the times and call this “Texting to Lee,” but the old, familiar title sounds better.

Plastic seems to be attracting more collectors of toys, holiday decorations and even dishes. Save your most unusual plastic Halloween decorations. At a flea market this month, I saw vintage Christmas decorations, some only 20 years old, selling for $5 to $15 each. Plastic black cats, jack-o’-lanterns and Santas were priced $5 to $50, depending on size.

Dealers told me they were very happy with their sales. Refinished furniture with little carving, especially small tables, sold out early in the day. Advertising, vintage clothing, costume jewelry and toys of any age were also popular. Pint fruit jars filled with buttons were $5, book matches were $2 each and newly washed handkerchiefs of all types were $1 each. Many were hemstitched linen.

I saw almost no sterling silver or gold, just silver plate and costume jewelry. And there was very little art pottery. As always, I found something to buy—an addition to my cork-picture collection. It was almost like this flea market five years ago: an eager crowd filling the track, a few hidden treasures, useful vintage buys and lots of mud from an overnight rainstorm.

Finally, we want to give more advice about melting down old gold and silver. If you need money now, meltdown is the quickest way to get it. But before you decide to destroy Grandma’s Victorian necklace or an Arts and Crafts sterling tea set, think about the future. Until very recently, an antique object made of gold has been worth more than its meltdown value. And what goes up must come down. Gold dropped more than $250 a troy ounce at the end of September. Workmanship, rarity, cultural heritage, history and eye appeal all add to value—and all of the melting that has been going on is adding rarity to old jewelry and silverware, which may make their value much higher in years to come.
 

 

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