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19th Century Japanese Turtle Kinko Menuki

19th Century Japanese Turtle Kinko Menuki
Photo Credit: matsu-kaze-japan

19th Century Japanese Turtle Kinko Menuki

Buy It Now Price: $275 (price as of 2019; item no longer available)

Pros:

-This pair of 19th century kinko menuki from the Japanese Edo era feature turtles rendered in dark shakudo metal with gilt shell highlights.

-These antique menuki measure 39 mm (1.54 inches) long each, which is a fairly typical size.

-Menuki were made in matching sets of two, which were meant to be affixed to either side of a samurai sword hilt (called a tsuka).  Menuki were primarily decorative in nature, but may have also allowed a samurai warrior to achieve a better grip on his sword.

-According to the seller, these turtle-themed kinko menuki may be unused – an assessment I wholeheartedly agree with.  These menuki are obviously old – almost certainly from the 1860s or earlier – yet are still in pristine condition with fully intact gilding.

-Kinko is the Japanese term for “soft metal” and refers to samurai sword fittings made from non-ferrous metals like copper, silver or gold.  The kinko menuki featured here are made from shakudo, a traditional Japanese alloy made primary of copper with a small percentage of gold (usually from 2% to 7%).

-Japanese antiques in general, and old samurai sword fittings in particular, are extremely undervalued in my opinion.  It is possible to buy some truly fabulous investment grade pieces (like this one) from the days of geisha, daimyō and samurai for only a few hundred dollars (or less)!

-The stylistic similarities of these turtle menuki to the fictional kaiju Gamera is uncanny.  Gamera is a giant turtle monster that first appeared in the 1965 Japanese film by Noriaki Yuasa titled “Gamera, the Giant Monster”.  The Gamera-like qualities of these menuki indicate that the cultural idea behind Japanese kaiju has been around for many hundreds of years.

-These 19th century turtle kinko menuki are an unbelievably good value at only $275.  The level of detail and craftsmanship displayed on these pieces is absolutely superb.  They would make a great addition to your tangible asset portfolio,  Japanese antique collection, or gift to your favorite samurai enthusiast.

 

Cons:

-There are simply no cons to these beautiful and historic menuki, as far as I can tell.  This is meaningful in itself, as it is very rare for me say that an item has no downsides whatsoever.

 

Read more fascinating Antique Sage Japanese antique spotlight posts here.

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Read in-depth Antique Sage Japanese antique investment guides here.

French Art Deco Silver Plaque, Circa 1930

French Art Deco Silver Plaque, Circa 1930
Photo Credit: LeBonheurDuJour

French Art Deco Silver Plaque, Circa 1930

Asking Price: $74.81 (price as of 2019; item no longer available)

Pros:

-This marvelous 1930s French Art Deco silver plaque by Édouard Fraisse depicts the personification of industry pointing a youth towards the future.

-This French art medal is rectangular in form and measures 55 mm (2.17 inches) wide by 49 mm (1.93 inches) tall by 2 mm (0.08 inches) thick.  This is quite large for an antique medal, which boosts its desirability.

-This beautiful Art Deco silver plaque was originally awarded in 1930 to a French engineering graduate from the city of Angers named “Roger Maillard”.

-The obverse of the plaque has the inscription “Ecole Nationale D’Arts et Métiers – D’Angers 1930”, which translates as “National School of Arts and Crafts – Angers 1930”.

-The mid-sized French city of Angers is located on the Maine River about 50 miles upstream from France’s western Atlantic coast.  In the early 20th century, Angers was known for its production of distilled liqueurs (primarily Cointreau), sparkling wines, and other agricultural products, along with slate roofing tiles and steel cables and wires.

-The reverse of the medal is engraved with the phrase “Ministère de L’Instruction Publique et des Beaux-Arts – Enseignement Technique”, which reads in English as “Ministry of Education and Fine Arts – Technical Education”.

-This fine Art Deco silver plaque comes in its original, felt-lined fitted box.  This is fairly unusual as most of these cases have been lost over time.  So it is always a joy to find an antique medal still paired with its original box!

-This vintage French medal is hallmarked “ARGENT” (silver) on its rim, indicating that it is made from solid silver.

-Although the seller does not disclose the plaque’s weight, we can estimate it from the dimensions given.  First we derive the medal’s volume: 5.5 cm x 4.9 cm x 0.2 cm = 5.39 cm3.  Then we multiply this value by the density of a typical silver alloy (we’ll use 90% coin silver at 10.31 g/cm3).  This gives us an inferred weight of 5.39 cm3 x 10.31 g/cm3 = 55.6 grams or 1.78 troy ounces, which is exceptionally heavy for an art medal.

-Vintage art medals are one of the few segments of the antiques market where you can still find legitimate investment grade pieces for less than $100.  This 1930s French Art Deco silver plaque is a great example of this phenomenon at only $75.  With such a low price, you should not hesitate to add it to your collection.

 

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Cons:

-The value of antique art medals varies according to subject matter.  The theme of industry found in this medal runs in the middle of the pack in terms of desirability, below subjects such as planes and cars.  But this is really nitpicking.

 

Read more fascinating Antique Sage numismatic spotlight posts here.

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Natural 4.2 Gram Californian Gold Nugget

Natural 4.2 Gram Californian Gold Nugget
Photo Credit: Estates Consignments

Natural 4.2 Gram Californian Gold Nugget

Buy It Now Price: $375 (price as of 2019; item no longer available)

Pros:

-This compact, 4.2 gram Californian gold nugget conjures up images of grizzled prospectors in the American Old West wading into ice-cold streams in search of treasure.

-This Californian gold nugget measures 12.8 mm (0.50 inches) long by 9.3 mm (0.37 inches) wide.  Although this is a fairly sizable nugget at 4.2 grams (0.1350 troy ounces) in weight, it is actually smaller than a dime due to gold’s incredibly high density!

-California has a longstanding association with gold, with deposits of the glittering yellow metal found scattered throughout the state.  But it is best known for the California Gold Rush, which lasted from 1848 to 1855.  Some men struck gold and made fortunes during this time, although most found little or no precious metal.

-California rivals Australia in producing some of the purest gold nuggets on the planet.  The purity of Californian gold nuggets generally ranges from about 90% fine on the low end all the way up to 99% pure.  So the seller may be low-balling this nugget’s fineness by saying it is only 22 karat (91.67%) gold!

-Almost all gold nuggets found throughout history have been indiscriminately melted down for their metal content.  It is only within the past 30 years or so that collector demand has prompted miners and prospectors to save some of their finer specimens.  As a result, gold nuggets of any size are quite scarce today.

-Because gold has been mined in California for over 160 years, most of the state’s primary mines and placer deposits were worked out long ago.  This makes Californian gold nuggets much rarer (and more expensive) than similarly sized nuggets from Australia or Alaska (which are already rare to begin with).

-This genuine Californian gold nugget would make a great gift for the mineral collector or gold bug in your life at a price of just $375, or $89 a gram.  I find it amazing that for only a few hundred dollars you can buy the very thing that 19th century prospectors struggled so hard to find!

 

Cons:

-Because of their greater rarity, Californian gold nuggets are more expensive than Alaskan, British Columbian or Australian gold nuggets on a per-gram basis.  So if you want the absolute largest nugget possible for your money, this isn’t the one for you.  Instead, this nugget would be a good fit for a Western mining buff or Old West history aficionado.

 

Read more fascinating Antique Sage bullion spotlight posts here.

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Read in-depth Antique Sage bullion & gemstone investment guides here.

Georgian Silver Cased Fusee Pocket Watch From 1832

Georgian Silver Cased Fusee Pocket Watch From 1832
Photo Credit: coins-jewelry-collectibles

Georgian Silver Cased Fusee Pocket Watch From 1832

Buy It Now Price: $995 (price as of 2019; item no longer available)

Pros:

-This ornately decorated antique fusee pocket watch comes from 1832 Georgian England and is housed in a hallmarked, solid sterling silver case.

-This antique pocket watch measures 52 mm (2.05 inches) in diameter by 20 mm (0.79 inches) thick and weighs a robust 128.6 grams (4.13 troy ounces).

-A fusee pocket watch is an antique mechanical watch where a mainspring chain drives a conical cylinder known as a fusee.  The conical fusee compensates for the fact that spring-driven chains gradually apply less force as they wind down, leading to reduced timekeeping accuracy.

-The case of this superb antique pocket watch was crafted by the silversmiths Timothy Ellison & Henry Fishwick, who operated on Tarleton Street in Liverpool between 1826 and 1837.  It also bears hallmarks from the Chester Assay Office for 1832.

-The first fusee pocket watch was developed sometime in the early 16th century.  They were gradually refined for the next couple hundred years until reaching their zenith in England and France during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.  Fusee pocket watches were slowly replaced by more reliable mechanical movements using lever escapements and balance springs over the course of the 19th century.

-This particular fusee pocket watch was made by Joseph Holden of Liverpool and is signed “Jos’h Holden Liverpool No. 1449”.  It is probable that many of the parts in this watch were hand-finished.

-Fusee pocket watches were indispensable luxury items for the upper class during the 18th and early 19th centuries.  And because they indicated social status, fusee watches were often lavishly decorated with gemstones, enamels, and precious metals.

-This pocket watch not only comes in an open-face, solid sterling silver case, but also has a sumptuously decorated silver dial adorned with applied gold roman numerals and an exquisite engine-turned scallop design.

-I love the richly-gilt, floral engraved interior of this piece.  Opulent decoration in the interior of these types of watches was common because they had to be opened in order to wind the mechanism.  And based on its date of manufacture, the gilding on this watch’s interior is undoubtedly fire gilding – the finest form of gilding known to man.

-This fusee pocket watch is one of those hidden treasures that I rarely come across.  It is the sort of item you would expect to find in a museum, yet it could be sitting in your living room for less than $1,000!  I feel that the only reason it is selling for so little is because fusee watches are (unjustly) considered a horological niche within the broader pocket watch collecting community.

 

Cons:

-Even though the seller claims that the watch is in good working order, it would still be advisable to have it serviced.  I don’t know the going rate for servicing an early 19th century fusee pocket watch, but I bet it is substantially more expensive than servicing your average 1950s mechanical wristwatch.  Finding a watch repair technician properly experienced with fusee pocket watches might also prove difficult.

 

Read more fascinating Antique Sage vintage watch spotlight posts here.

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