pinched pennies, cocktail shakers, political memorabilia, etc.

[grasswire]

Here's the latest edition of the newsletter you can get free by e-mail. Lots of good web sites for research info!

Antiques & Collecting Newsletter
Volume 13, Number 1
June 1, 2008
Ron McCoy, editor
http://collectingbuzz.com


HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US! With this issue we celebrate the beginning of our
13th year of publication!

The first day of June usually brings a guarantee that a classic Rodgers
and Hammerstein song will flit through our minds for at least a brief
spell. "June Is Bustin' Out All Over" is a raucous celebration of the
turning of the seasons and a song from "Carousel," one of our favorite
musicals.

http://tinyurl.com/3zlv5m

If you are of, ahem, a certain age and can remember the early television
show called "Your Hit Parade" you'll particularly appreciate Gisele
MacKenzie's 1956 rendition of the song celebrating what some call the
"marriage month."

http://tinyurl.com/4hlsq4

With June underway, it won't be long until the 4th of July. If you need
a flag to celebrate your patriotism, this 3'x5' heavyweight nylon
American-made flag with embroidered stars and solid brass grommets is on
sale for $10.99:

http://www.collectingbuzz.com/store.html


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issue. Update your subscription e-mail address now by sending us an
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(¯`·.¸¸.-> IN THIS ISSUE

WHERE AMERICAN HISTORY BEGINS
POUR IT ON
GANDOLFINI SELLING WARDROBE FOR CHARITY
PENNY PINCHERS
A PUZZLING SITE
COLLECTING POLITICAL MEMORABILIA
JUST GO WITH THE FLOW
STIR UP SOME OLD MEMORIES

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHERE AMERICAN HISTORY BEGINS
http://www.historybuff.com

Produced by the Newspaper Collectors Society of America, this site
includes a searchable library, a primer on collecting newspapers, and a
price guide to historic newspapers. You'll find information on historic
newspapers, sheet music, matchbook covers, nameplates, Civil War
ephemera, political ephemera & literature, Life magazines and more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
POUR IT ON
http://www.talesofthecocktail.com

The first International Symposium of Cocktail Shaker Collectors in
conjunction with Tales of the Cocktail is scheduled for July 16-20 at
Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans. All bar ware collectors, from beginner
to advanced, including swizzle stick collectors, are invited to meet
others and exchange information and knowledge. Moderator Stephen
Visakay, cocktail shaker scholar and author of "Vintage Bar Ware" will
cover the history of the cocktail shaker from the 1800’s to the rise of
cocktail culture today, how to still find vintage bar ware at bargain
prices, the care and cleaning of vintage bar ware, swizzle sticks and
collecting obsessions.

Related:
COCKTAIL SHAKERS ARE MOVIN'
http://collectingbuzz.com/articles/shakers.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GANDOLFINI SELLING WARDROBE FOR CHARITY
http://www.christies.com

Tony Soprano is shedding his wardrobe for charity. James Gandolfini, who
starred on the hit HBO series, is selling off 24 outfits, including the
button-down blue shirt he wore in the opening credits and the bathrobe
he donned to fetch the morning newspaper. Proceeds from the June 25 pop
culture auction at Christie's will go to the Wounded Warrior Project, a
nonprofit group that assists severely wounded soldiers in Iraq and
Afghanistan. Gandolfini's wardrobe, which includes many outfits with the
original production tags attached, is expected to bring up to $36,500.

Related:
http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PENNY PINCHERS
http://pennycollector.com

There's a lot to learn about the hobby of pinched penny collecting.
First, a little tutorial on what the hobby is actually called. We've
heard "penny pinching", "elongated coin collecting", "squashed penny
collecting", "squished penny collecting", and more! Whatever the
nomenclature, the hobby consists of collecting coins that have been put
through a machine that elongates them and embosses a design upon them.
The design is usually of historic or geographic interest. In the U.S.,
it's perfectly legal if done for hobby purposes, and there are a lot of
collectors in every state. There are also a great number of the machines
and thousands of designs around, and a list of them is available at the
above website. The machines usually take two quarters and a penny (the
penny is returned, squashed, and the quarters are kept by the vendor),
and the actual squashing act is done either mechanically or
electronically. Most penny collectors want to do the squashing
themselves, but there is also lively trade/sell activity on eBay and
other hobby sites. It's a great hobby for travelers and elongated
pennies are cheap, easy, and portable!

Related:
The Elongated Collectors
http://tecnews.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A PUZZLING SITE
http://www.oldpuzzles.com

This site is dedicated to vintage puzzles. Their origins date to the
1760s, when Europeans pasted maps onto wood blocks, then cut them up for
educational purposes. Recreational jigsaw puzzles came into popularity
at the turn of the 20th century, but it wasn't until the Great
Depression that they truly became mass entertainment. The reason? They
were a cheap diversion from the travails of everyday life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COLLECTING POLITICAL MEMORABILIA
http://dev.antiquetrader.com/article/The_Art_of_Politics

Political collecting is one of the fastest growing hobbies in the United
States today. The 2008 elections generate even more interest in this
fascinating collecting area. It's a good time to examine a favorite
subset of ephemera, political memorabilia collecting, with expert
Michael J. McQuillen. His full article can be found at the above link.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JUST GO WITH THE FLOW
http://www.lavaworld.com

The original Lava Lites were popular in the 60s & 70s--now they are a
trendy collectible. At their site, the creators of the Lava Lite take
you on a pictorial journey through time and lava offering a history of
the Lava Lite, FAQs and great graphics.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
STIR UP SOME OLD MEMORIES
http://www.oddrods.com

If you can remember back, maybe twenty years or so, past the countless
fads and collectibles which assaulted youthful minds, you might just
remember bizarre trading cards/stickers called "Odd Rods." Similar to
"Wacky Packages," these collectibles offered bug-eyed mutants driving
souped up hot-rods with names like "Mad Shifter" and "Speed Sicle." This
site is the "Official Odd Rod Stickers Page".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WE WANT TO GROW!

The newsletter depends on word of mouth to grow. In each issue, we offer
useful, interesting and amusing articles to help you enjoy your hobby of
collecting. Can you take just a minute to help me out in return?

If you think the Antiques & Collecting Newsletter is a worthwhile read,
point your mouse to that FORWARD button and forward the entire
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visiting: http://collectingbuzz.com


=============================================
Antiques & Collecting Newsletter
U.S. Library of Congress ISSN #1521-1827
Archives on the Web at: http://www.topica.com/lists/antique-collect/read
Subscribe: http://collectingbuzz.com

[Duer 157099]

1. I never knew they were called "pinched pennies"

When i was a kid, we used to put pennies on the train tracks. And I've gotten several of the "rolled" ones at carnivals etc over the years (hmm, have to dig those up some day).

That's a great link, thanks - another good research resource! :thumbsup: