Browsing Category

Spotlight

Edward Winter Mid-Century Modern Enamel Panel

Edward Winter Mid-Century Modern Enamel Panel
Photo Credit: Fred Silberman

Edward Winter Mid-Century Modern Enamel Panel

Buy It Now Price: $1,000 (price as of 2019; item no longer available)

Pros:

-The artist Edward Winter crafted this beautifully abstract Mid-Century Modern artwork from opaque gold and white enamel layered over a steel base.

-This vintage 1950s enamel panel measures 14 inches (35.6 cm) wide by 14 inches (35.6 cm) tall, an impressive size for a piece of enamel wall art.

-American artist Edward Winter was active from 1932 to until his death in 1976.  He graduated from the Cleveland School of Art in 1931 before traveling to Vienna for a year to study European enamel, ceramic and metalworking techniques.

-Edward Winter’s primary medium was enamel, where he made groundbreaking enamel artwork that was sometimes on the scale of conventional paintings and prints.

-Enamel is glass that has been melted onto metal, forming a permanent bond.  Enamelwork is a very demanding artistic endeavor because of the high firing temperatures needed (usually between 750 and 850 °C or 1,380 and 1,560 °F) and the process’ sensitivity to any mistakes.

-Industrial enameling for signs, appliances, sinks and other manufactured items was fairly common during the middle of the 20th century, but eventually died out as cheaper materials (like plastics) were adopted.  Although enamel-centric artists like Edward Winter were often associated with the enameling industry, the works these virtuosos created were pure art.

-I love the contrasting use of disparate textures, shapes and colors on this enamel panel.  The vertical white enamel stripes boldly set the orientation of the work while the gold enamelwork really pops against the exposed steel substrate.

-Edward Winter, along with his contemporary enamellist Kay Whitcomb, is a forgotten artistic master of the 20th century.  It is dumbfounding to me that one of his important works is available for so little money!

-Given that this abstract masterpiece perfectly encapsulates the zeitgeist of Mid-Century Modern style, I find the asking price of $1,000 to be fair.  I also firmly believe this gorgeous piece would be a smart investment for the aspiring tangible asset investor.

 

Cons:

-It is possible to find other works by Edward Winter for substantially less money, but these will often be enameled bowls, boxes or other smaller pieces.  This abstract Mid-Century Modern enamel panel stands above them all in terms of scale.  It is also important to remember that good art – especially good one-of-a-kind art – is always expensive.

 

Read more fascinating Antique Sage prints & wall art spotlight posts here.

-or-

Read in-depth Antique Sage investment guides here.

Hand-Poured 7.50 Troy Oz. Yeagermeister Silver Bar

Hand-Poured 7.50 Troy Oz. Yeagermeister Silver Bar
Photo Credit: Yeager’s Poured Silver

Hand-Poured 7.50 Troy Oz. Yeagermeister Silver Bar

Buy It Now Price: $183 (price as of 2019; item no longer available)

Pros:

-This 3-D, hand-poured Yeagermeister silver bar in the shape of a liquor bottle contains an impressive 7.50 troy ounces of .999 fine silver.

-Yeager’s Poured Silver, or YPS for short, is a company based in Hartford, Ohio that makes small batches of artisan hand-poured silver bars.  Founded in 2012 by its namesake, David Yeager, the firm designs and machines all of its bar molds in-house.

-The 7.50 troy ounce YPS silver bar is limited to a mintage of only 750 specimens.

-The name of this unique silver bar is a pun on Jägermeister, the iconic German alcoholic beverage.  First concocted in 1934, Jägermeister is a 70-proof, darkly-colored liquor made with 56 herbs and spices, including licorice, anise, saffron, ginger and citrus peel.

-At the current silver spot price of $15.70, this silver bar has a bullion value of about $118.  This gives it a premium of $65, or 55%, over spot.

–YPS is the Rolls Royce of modern hand-poured silver bars.  Their products consistently sell at healthy premiums over the spot price of silver in the secondary market.  And limited-edition YPS products – like this Yeagermeister silver bar – frequently sell for very high premiums compared to other silver bullion.

-This Yeagermeister silver bar is one of a set of three different Yeagermeister bars.  The other two are a one troy ounce bar (mintage limited to 1,000) and a 20 troy ounce bar (mintage limited to 100).  The 7.50 troy ounce version is the only one of the set that is a 3-D art bar.

-Every 7.50 troy ounce Yeagermeister silver bar is individually serialized (numbered).  In addition, each bar comes with an attractive antiqued finish, which highlights the design beautifully.  They are even engineered to be able to stand upright!  It is the superb execution of these small details that has led silver stackers and collector’s alike to fall in love with YPS silver bars.

-Given YPS’ incredibly strong brand and unparalleled eye for design, I believe this limited-edition Yeagermeister silver bar would make a great investment at an asking price of only $183.

 

Cons:

-If you are only looking for raw silver bullion, there are certainly cheaper ways to get it.  For example, it is possible to purchase a generic 10 troy ounce struck silver bar on APMEX right now for only 13% over spot – a far lower premium than the 55% on this YPS bar.  But to be fair, the generic silver bar will never have any collectible value, unlike this unique Yeagermeister silver bar.

 

Read more fascinating Antique Sage bullion spotlight posts here.

-or-

Read in-depth Antique Sage investment guides here.

1970s Pilot Custom Kaede Maple Fountain Pen

1970s Pilot Custom Kaede Maple Fountain Pen
Photo Credit: kensindo

1970s Pilot Custom Kaede Maple Fountain Pen

Buy It Now Price: $145.82 (price as of 2018; item no longer available)

Pros:

-This Japanese Pilot Custom maple fountain pen from the 1970s sports a solid 18 karat gold medium nib and a hand-finished, solid Kaede wood body.

-Pilot is one of Japan’s premiere pen companies.  The origins of the firm can be traced back to 1918, when it was founded as the Namiki Manufacturing Company.  It later changed its name to the Pilot Pen Company in 1938.

-The wood used in this pen is from the Painted Maple tree (scientific name: Acer Pictum, sub-species Acer Mono), which is known as the Itaya Kaede in Japan.  This particular variety of maple tree is native to the temperate climates of East Asia and grows in Japan, Korea and China.  Kaede maple wood is renowned for its hardness and toughness, which makes it perfect for high-end fountain pens.

-The medium-sized nib on this Pilot Custom maple fountain pen is made from solid 18 karat (.750 fine) gold.  High-purity gold nibs, like this 18 karat Pilot nib, are considered an important mark of quality for vintage fountain pens.

-With its original Japanese ¥7,000 price tag still attached, this Pilot maple fountain pen is undoubtedly new-old-stock.  That is great news for pen enthusiasts because it means that the pen is more or less pristine.  In fact, it may not have even been inked, leaving the decision of whether to do so up to its new owner.

-Although it is difficult to tell from the photos, I believe the serial number on the pen’s nib indicates that it was manufactured in Pilot’s Hiratsuka factory in Kanagawa prefecture, just southwest of Tokyo.

-At mid 1970s yen-dollar exchange rates, the ¥7,000 original retail price for this pen was equivalent to a U.S. dollar price tag of around $25.  This was a not insubstantial amount for the time.  For example, $25 would have been enough to buy either a good pair of binoculars or a beginner’s acoustic guitar from the 1975 Sears Wishbook.

-As an added bonus, this vintage Pilot pen comes with its original leather-lined carrying case!

-Vintage Japanese pens from Pilot, Sailor and Platinum are substantially undervalued in today’s antique market.  For those who are interested, I recently featured a stunning Platinum Amazonas PAM-8000 from 1973 in another spotlight post.

-Like most high-end Japanese pens, the fit and finish of this Pilot maple fountain pen is absolutely outstanding.  No wonder pen lovers adore their Pilot pens.

-This fabulous 1970s masterpiece of the Japanese pen-maker’s art would make a great investment at a buy-it-now price of only $146.

 

Cons:

-Unfortunately, the seller does not include a photo that clearly shows the complete serial number on the pen’s nib.  This serial number is an invaluable tool for the Pilot pen collector because it discloses the location, month and year of the nib’s manufacture.  Despite this minor drawback, I feel quite certain that we are dealing with a genuine 1970s era Pilot Custom maple fountain pen.

 

Read more fascinating Antique Sage vintage pen spotlight posts here.

-or-

Read in-depth Antique Sage investment guides here.

17th Century Silver Gilt Snuff Box

17th Century Silver Gilt Snuff Box
Photo Credit: CJ Antiques Ltd

17th Century Silver Gilt Snuff Box

Buy It Now Price: $865 (price as of 2018; item no longer available)

Pros:

-This 17th century silver gilt snuff box has been made from two large silver coins: an Austrian Taler of Ferdinand II and an English Crown of James I.

-This unusual round antique box measures 45 mm (1.77 inches) wide by 17 mm (0.67 inches) deep and contains 85.3 grams (2.74 troy ounces) of solid silver alloy.

-Inhaling very fine tobacco dust was popular among European nobility from the early 17th century to the mid 19th century.  As a result, lavish snuff boxes were the iPhones of their day – a must for any well-to-do gentleman or lady of high class.  These small silver boxes were typically gold-gilt in order to resist the corrosive effects of tobacco.  Antique snuff boxes are often similar in construction to vinaigrettes, which were intended to carry perfume soaked sponges instead of tobacco.

-A modern buyer could use this extravagant antique snuff box to as a pill box, jewelry box or trinket box today.

-The top of this silver gilt snuff box features a silver Taler coin of Ferdinand II, Archduke of Further Austria and the Tyrol.  Ferdinand II, a scion of the Hapsburgs, ruled from 1564 to 1595.  He was also the younger brother of the sitting Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian II.

-The bottom of this 17th century silver box is made from a silver Crown of James I, the King of England from 1603 to 1625.  James was originally the king of Scotland and it was during his reign that the monarchies of England and Scotland were first combined in what would later become the United Kingdom.

-Crowns and Talers were massive silver coins that weighed in at a hefty 30 grams (0.96 troy ounces) each.  These large silver coins had considerable buying power during the 16th and 17th centuries.

-This snuff box would have contained about 14 shillings worth of silver when measured in 17th century English currency.  To put this substantial sum of money in context, it would have been enough to buy 175 stout oak boards or 168 pounds (76 kilos) of prime grade beef, or rent a room at an inn for 42 days straight.

-17th century antique silver is very rare today.  There were never very large amounts of it made and nearly all of that has been melted down over the intervening centuries.  The buyer of this fine silver gilt snuff box will be in very exclusive company.

-This beautiful old silver box was fire gilt both inside and out.  Fire gilding, also known as mercury gilding, was the original and best way to gold-plate metal.  Unfortunately, fire gilding died out in the mid 19th century with the rise of cheaper, but inferior electroplating methods.

-At only $865, this 17th century silver gilt snuff box is an investment-grade piece of early antique silver available to the connoisseur at a modest price.

 

Cons:

-While this antique silver box is in exceptional condition for being over 300 years old, there is one old, inconspicuous file mark on the side.  This was undoubtedly done centuries ago by someone who wanted to test whether the box was solid silver (which it is).

-Although the form is unmistakably old, I am unable to determine where this interesting silver gilt snuff box was made.  Because it has a coin from both England and Austria, it is natural to conclude that it was made in one of those two locations (although Southern Germany, which was also part of the Hapsburg domain, is another logical choice).  In any case, I feel confident that it was fabricated in Europe sometime between about 1660 and 1720.

-This 17th century silver gilt snuff box is not hallmarked.  It wasn’t unusual for small, personal items made from precious metals to lack hallmarks during this period.  However, hallmarks would have helped us determine its country of origin and age more precisely.

 

Read more fascinating Antique Sage spotlight posts here.

-or-

Read in-depth Antique Sage investment guides here.