Dear Lee,

Do you remember as a child wishing that you received as many letters as your parents did? We think we overdid the wishing, because the mail arrives here in huge bundles. We would like to send a personal response to everyone who sends us a letter, but then there would be no time to write the newsletter. We read every letter we get, but hope you understand that our newsletter is written to bring you news¯not appraisals of individual items.

Some of the most interesting or provoking letters appear in Collector’s Gallery on the last page of every issue. Each answer takes hours of research. Some questions we simply can’t answer because the description of the collectible is incomplete and the picture is blurry. If a self-addressed, stamped envelope is included, we return photographs with a form letter explaining why we did not answer. A few letters, about 10 a week, ask about something so rare or valuable we send a personal answer.

Here’s some of the most noteworthy mail we received this week. A reader with an old cash register missing the 3-cent key asked where to find a replacement. The answer is in our book, Kovels’ Yellow Pages, and is also available on our Web site. Another letter asked about a large red silk banner embroidered with an eagle, swastika, and the words in German, “Second in Command of the Great German Government.” It is a World War II trophy probably referring to Hermann Goering. Similar banners have sold for $250. Another reader sent photos of several different large voting ballots from Abraham Lincoln’s 1864 election. Every city and state printed its own paper ballots in those days, and large ones from 1864 are worth about $300 to $700 each. We also received a picture of a Rookwood vase worth about $3,000 and a Teplitz Amphora vase worth $850. Both had marks that are difficult to decipher, but they’re in Kovels’ New Dictionary of Marks. Keep the letters coming, but forgive us if we can’t answer all of your questions.