Q: We have been cleaning out my deceased uncle’s house and found a jar full of coins. While going through the coins I found this strange token. Can you help me with information and possible value?

A: What a terrific find. You have one of the most sought after, collectible “Hard Times” tokens on the planet, at this point in time.

Hard times tokens are American large-cent- or half-cent–sized copper or brass tokens, struck from about 1833 through 1843, serving as unofficial currency. These privately made pieces, comprising merchant, political, and satirical pieces, were used during a time of political and financial crisis in the United States.

Your hard times token is from Beck’s Public Baths, Richmond, VA. The token advertises Charles Beck’s Public Baths, which operated in Richmond, VA, until at least 1844. Two things contribute to this token’s appeal with the female bather depiction (unusual for a hard times tokens) and the scarcity. Most research suggests that only about 100 of these pieces are known to exist.

Your token looks to be in mint to near-mint condition and would fetch $6,000+ in the resale market. The auction value at one of the large reputable auction houses might be more. What a fabulous find.

Thank you very much. Get out and see the foliage turning, maybe visit a couple of antique shops while you are out.

October is here. The leaves are turning beautiful shades of orange, red, and yellow. New perennial plants and bulbs are in the ground. The temperature may or may not begin dropping as the month progresses.

I don’t have any good horror or ghost stories to tell this October, but I can offer up a funny scary story. At times it seems like everyone knows where I live, and that knowledge brings interesting items to my door, or sometimes people just leave things on the porch or sidewalk.

One day several years ago I was dusting in the living room. There was a knock on the door. When I opened the door, a lady was standing there, arms outstretched and holding a large antique doll. The poor woman had a look of horror on her face. The moment I opened the screen door she shoved the doll at me, then proceeded to tell me, “The doll is haunted! I can’t keep her in my house.”

“Why do you think she is haunted?” I asked. She told me she bought the doll at an antique show several months prior, she got her home, undressed her to wash her clothes, she then set her in a chair. Then she began to hear a moaning noise, she looked at the doll and her eyes were moving from side to side and her tongue was moving, too.

At this point I had cold chills running up my spine, so I stared at the sweet bisque porcelain face, and nothing. Whew. The lady told me to burn her, run over her, anything, she just didn’t want her anymore. We said our goodbyes, I set the doll in a chair, and I’ll be darned if I didn’t begin to hear a sound, and the eyes and tongue began moving from side to side. Mystery solved, she is an automaton, doll with movement. I undressed the precious doll, and taped to her back was the key to wind her up. On the left side of her tummy is a metal rod, you attach the key and wind her up. Yes, even all these years later if you move her around you can hear the movements inside her moaning while her blue glass eyes and tongue move from side to side. She is in excellent condition. Her body is composition and her face is a beautiful bisque porcelain. There are no manufacturer marks on her. She is 27” tall, and with her height she can catch you off guard if you see her sitting on the sofa. 

Automaton Features:

Moving Eyes: Some automatons are designed with mechanisms that allow their eyes to move, creating a lifelike appearance. This is typically achieved through a series of gears and levers inside the head of the doll.

Moving Tongue: Automatons with moving tongues are less common but can be found in more complex designs. This feature would also involve intricate mechanical parts to simulate the movement. She has a rounded composition “plate” in which there are mechanical parts.

 Historical Context:

Antique Automatons: These were popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, often created by skilled craftsmen. They were used for entertainment and as toys for the wealthy.

 Her resale value is $800-$1,200.

Q: This beautiful glass vase has always been in my family. My grandfather brought it home after his service in WWII. It is signed Sabino France. It is 8” tall and there are no chips or cracks on it. My grandmother kept it behind lock and key in a cabinet. I am having a hard time finding the value of it so that we can insure it.

A: Sabino is a French glass company founded by Marius-Ernest Sabino (1878-1961) in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s, known for its Art Deco-style glass pieces, particularly those with an opalescent quality. They did make beautiful items in clear and colored glass. The company produced a range of items, including lamps, vases, and figurines, often featuring nude figures and stylized designs. Production initially ceased during World War II but resumed in the 1960s.

Sabino himself was known for creating lights ranging from small lamps to large chandeliers, and also architectural lighting for hotels and restaurants. These are usually not marked you need to become familiar with the Sabrino style and time periods.
The Art Deco movement is known for its geometric patterns, stylized forms, and elegant designs. Opalescent glass has a milky, translucent quality and exhibits a range of colors, especially when held up to a light source.

Sabino glass is marked with the Sabino name and is generally hidden in the design. You are lucky to have found the mark.
The Art Deco period pieces are very desirable, and you can expect to get $800-$1,000 if you were to sell it. For insurance purposes, I suggest that you insure it for $2,500. You cannot recover the family history of the vase, but you can replace the vase.

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Q: We are cleaning out my grandmother’s house and have come across several items that we think might be old and possibly worth some money. 1} The decorative spoon with a handle that looks like a long fish or sea serpent, you can see scales on it. It measures 5 1/8” long.

2} The gnome sitting inside of an apple has an extra piece on the back, possibly for putting ivy or flowers in. The back has lettering that reads, “Gilner Calif.” It doesn’t have any chips, cracks, or breaks on it.

3} Two framed wooden pictures. The label on the back of one says, “This picture was designed & manufactured by Richard Graefe Ltd, Estd 1837 at their studio and works: Priory Rd. High Wycombe. Bucks.” They each measure 9” x 11.”

4} A very strange metal contraption with four funnels on the underside. There are no labels, tags or names on this thing. It is very heavy and made of metal. Thank you so much for your help. I am very curious about the last item.

A: OK, let’s jump into this. Your spoon is absolutely stunning. The body of your spoon appears to be brass, most of this type of spoon are either brass or sterling silver. The enameling style is referred to as Champlevé. The enameling is done by hand, placing the different colors of powder paste in the cells according a pattern created by the designer or enamel artist. The bowl of your spoon is most commonly called a nut spoon; yes, in the Victorian era there was a spoon or fork for every food. I agree with you on the handle design looking like a sea serpent, but my reference books indicate it is a dolphin. To sum all of these bits of information, you have a circa 1890s Champlevé enamel nut spoon. This style was usually made in France; since it is unmarked, I am going to stick with my assessment of the item being of unknown origin. When I enlarged the photograph you sent me, I could see a couple of small places where the enamel has popped out. This lowers the value to $75-$80 USD.

I adore your 1950s vintage Gilner pixie in an apple shaped wall pocket. Several decades ago, I owned almost 300 pixies and elves. Now I am down to about 20 of my favorites. The Gilner Pottery Co. was a family affair, owned and operated by Beryl Gilner. They produced various ceramic goods out of their Culver City, CA, plant from 1934 to 1958. Gilner Pottery did not meet its end due to a factory fire, like many potteries did. The Free Trade Act of 1956, signed by the U.S. with Japan, flooded the market with cheaper knockoffs, making it challenging for Gilner to compete.

Best known for their pixie figurines, they were also responsible for a large line of TV lamps, and a wide catalog of animals and other collectibles. Your precious 1950 Gilner Pottery pixie wall pocket would easily sell for $75.

Your two wood marquetry art pieces are beautiful. They look to be in very good condition with all pieces intact. Richard Graefe was a British artist who worked predominately with wood designs. There isn’t much information on Mr. Graefe. We know that he was a 20th-century artist. The majority of his pieces are in known collections, which makes me wonder if your grandmother was one of the “known collectors.” His plant was in Wycombe, Britain, and many of his pieces are in the Wycombe Museum. I was able to find a couple of old auction prices, and going back 15 years his marquetry art was selling for $200-$250 each.

Q: I have this painting by Augustus G. Heaton of Sophie Brice dated 1871. The painting measures 23.5” high x 19.5” wide; the frame is 31.5” high x 27.5” wide. There is a metal tag below the picture with the artist’s name, Sophie Brice, and 1871. I bought it at an auction and no one else was bidding on it. Any information you can give me will be gratefully appreciated.

A: Augustus Goodyear Heaton (April 28, 1844-Oct. 11, 1930) was an American artist, author, and leading numismatist. He is best known for his painting “The Recall of Columbus” and among coin collectors for writing “A Treatise on Coinage of the United States Branch Mints,” which introduced numismatists to mint marks.

Heaton worked as a teacher in Philadelphia at the Art Students’ League of Philadelphia and was one of the founding members of the New Rochelle Art Association, organized in 1912, and part of the well-known art colony that had developed in New Rochelle in the early 1900s.
Most of Heaton’s paintings are portraits. His most fam-ous painting, and the one of which he was most proud, was “The Recall of Columbus,” painted in 1882 and copyrighted in 1891 as the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ landing approached. It was begun in his Paris studio and finished in Rome in the studio of American sculptor Chauncey Ives. The painting was sent to the U.S. Capitol in 1884 to be reviewed by the Joint Committee on the Library, purchased later that year for $3,000, and remains part of the United States Senate Art and History Collection. In 1892, the painting was exhibited at the Colombian Historical Exposition in Madrid in 1892 and again in 1893 at the World’s Colombian Exposition in Chicago. Also in 1893, to mark the Chicago Exposition, was the release of the Colombian Issue, a set of 16 commemorative stamps issued by the United States. The 50-cent stamp featured “The Recall of Columbus,” bringing the painting to the attention of the general public.

Heaton painted a large number of portraits during his travels. Those travels included New York City in the late 1870s; Paris, France, in the early 1880s; Philadelphia (1884); Washington, D.C. (1885); and then West Palm Beach, FL. In 1890, 1892, and 1930, he was in New Orleans, where he gave art lectures and painted portraits of numerous prominent citizens.