An American silver bowl (est., $400,000-$800,000) set a record of $5,906,500 at a Sotheby's auction last Friday. The punch bowl was made about 1700-1710 by Cornelius Kierstede and descended from the original Royalist owner to his present-day English relatives, who revealed its existence in 2009.
I'm just back from The Original Miami Beach Antique Show, one of the largest and oldest in the country. There were many, many booths filled with expensive jewelry--diamonds, precious stones, Victorian, Edwardian, Mexican silver jewelry by Spratling, Los Costillo and Margot de Taxco, pieces by David-Andersen and Georg Jensen of Denmark, and jewelry by top modernist designers like Sam Kramer and Art Smith. Dealers told me the show was "on track" (not as bad as last year, not as good as 2007). The show is known for oversized pieces decorators need for huge houses. There was a sectional mirrored centerpiece with eight attached candelabra and 16 figures of angels, each about 8 inches high, that was longer than my dining room table. It was marked "sold." Also an 8-foot-high concrete fountain, vases over 4 feet high, monstrous double beds with carved headboards too high to fit in my house, and a lace tablecloth with 24 matching napkins (about $50,000). One dealer was selling $30-$50 leather baby shoes, and another was offering Victorian skirt lifters (an accessory to lift long skirts up stairs and over puddles) and boxes of sterling silver spoons marked $10-$15, your choice. I saw plenty of glass and china of all sizes, from a 1-inch cameo vase to a 5-foot Asian vase. No toys, no advertising, very little Arts and Crafts. I'll write more about my own great buy and what I learned that relates to the average buyer in our newsletter and here in the weeks to come.
Also of concern to many of you: How to open a collectible Pepsi can if you plan to save it. Open it from the bottom, doing as little damage as possible, or let it stay full. The carbonated content will eventually escape and the can will be empty.
Q: I have a Coca-Cola tray with the picture of the Autumn Girl that is 19 x 8 1/2 inches. I can't find anything about this large Autumn Girl tray. Can you tell me when it was made and how much it is worth? A: The Coca-Cola Autumn Girl serving tray was made in 1921 in the standard size, 13 1/4 by 10 1/2 inches. The girl on the tray is pictured from the waist up. Your tray was first issued in 1973 by Coca-Cola. The picture is a reproduction of the 1921 Autumn Girl calendar. Autumn Girl is sometimes called "Navy Girl." The old, original tray sells for about $850. Your tray is worth less than $30.
Q: My mother received this tea or luncheon set as a wedding gift in the late 1920s. It was never used but was always in our cupboard. We would appreciate any information about the dishes.A: This crown and wreath mark was used by the Noritake factory on Chikaramachi Street in Nagoya, Japan. In 1876 Baron Ichizaemon Morimura and his brother founded Morimura Bros., a trading company, in Tokyo. In 1904 Morimura established a porcelain manufacturing company, Nippon Toki Gomei Kaisha, in Noritake, Japan. The company began exporting porcelain dinnerware in 1914. "Made in Japan" was used as part of the mark about 1908. The Chikaramachi crown mark was registered in 1928 and was used for several years. The company name became Noritake Co., Limited in 1981 and is still in business.
Q: This is the creamer from a set of dishes my mother bought in Missouri sometime around the 1940s or 1950s. Any information about this charming dinnerware pattern?
Q: I inherited a set of copper pots about 1950 from a friend of my mother's who had a restaurant in New York City. I estimate them to be at least 100 years old. The large kettle and fry pan have this DH & M mark on the bottom. Can you tell me who made them and how old they are?
R.B., a reader, emailed to ask if removing the cereal from the Rice Krispies box we mentioned last week affects the value. It is important to remove any edible food stuff from any package you want to save. Insect eggs in grain products will eventually hatch, and tiny worms, then moths, will eat through the package. Outside insects and rodents will try to eat into the box, too. Carefully pry open the bottom of the box, remove the contents, then use a dab of paste to reseal the bottom. An undamaged box is worth just as much full or empty.
Two future collectibles are at your store now. The Kelloggs cereal boxes with a banner saying Immunity on the front of the box have been recalled. The government thought it did not support immunity so new boxes were made. Look for Cocoa Krispies and Rice Krispies. A few are still on grocery shelves. Also look for the Pepsi Throwback bottles with the yellow throwback banner. They are new, and being sold in limited markets. The content is made with real sugar, not the high fructose corn syrup used in the regular Pepsi now being sold. It was first tested in April, 2009 in a bottle with a blue label or a red, white and blue label with a circle as the center design. Dr Pepper is also trying a new formula using real sugar but so far we haven’t seen any of the new cans in our store. They are marked, “Made with Real Sugar”. 
Q: I would appreciate any information about these two blue pitchers with the picture of Shirley Temple. We think they came in a box of oatmeal.
Q: I purchased a pot by the Indian artist, Margaret Tafoya, in 1991. It is 4 1/4 inches tall by 5 3/4 inches wide. At the time I was told the value was $7,200. Since then Margaret has passed away and I would like to know if the value of this piece has increased.
