Interesting Thoughts on Collectible American Flags

With Independence Day coming up on Wednesday, I started thinking about putting up Old Glory; strong winds a while ago took down the bracket that held it up in front of our house.  This in turn got me thinking about information that I had written a few years ago for the NOVA-Antiques Newsletter.  The article was titled Collecting Early American Flags and it was more of an excerpt of information from John Bridgman’s article in Country Home Magazine.

In the intervening years, here are some more things I learned about collecting the American Flag.  First and foremost, in Virginia and some of the southern states, Civil War flags are very collectible.  Many of these flags have only 35 stars.  On the more desirable flags, The 35 stars are normally embroidered by hand, but people also collect them if the stars have been machine embroidered.  The 35^th star on a Civil War flag represents West Virginia, which became as state on July 4, 1863.

Although there are many Civil War collectors looking for flags from that era, there are quite a few other collectors that look for any American Flag.  One of the most famous and most recognizable to most of us because of our history lessons in school are the 13 star flag.  The thirteen stars, of course, represent the thirteen original colonies, and we were all taught that Betsy Ross was the designer and maker of this famous American Flag.  What most people don’t know is that Betsy’s granddaughter sold many of those flags from her establishment in Philadelphia.

Other flags, besides the Civil War and Betsy Ross flags, that people collect include flags early 19^th Century and the country’s Centennial and Sesquicentennial celebrations.  But one thing is certain, regardless of what era the flag comes from, the flag collectors all have one thing in common, they are American patriots, who love their country and their flag.  I admire them, the collectors and the flags both, for I too am a patriot and although my flag is neither old nor collectible, it will fly proudly in front of my house on July 4^th.

Collecting Vintage Radios

One of the first things that I ever sold on eBay was a vintage radio that had been sitting around the house for a long time.  I had picked it up at an auction in Buffalo and although I was not a newbie to buying and selling antique and vintage items, it was the first time that I had sold anything to anyone outside of the old neighborhood.  For a few years after that, I went into a frenzy; scouring flea markets, estate sales, yard and garage sales in search of more vintage radios and then rotary phones that I could sell on eBay.

I sold working and non-working antique and vintage radios that were made by all of the top companies including Philco, Westinghouse, Sylvania, Zenith and Emerson.  They were made from molded plastic, Bakelite and in some cases wood.  There were tube radios and transistorized models, cathedral shaped, futuristic and many clean-line modern.  I sold all types of radios to all types of people around the country, but they all had one thing in common, the love for nostalgia and the beauty of the vintage radio.

Alas, as eBay and other collectibles websites grew, the market for vintage radios, like all other vintage and antique items got flooded.  Most collectors were able to get pickier; they wanted only working radios, in good condition for the lowest possible price.  Very few wanted the non-working radios with blemishes, which could be fixed but would take time.  Additionally, the supply dried up as more and more people grew delusional with their prices; and priced themselves right out of the market.

One time I sold a Zenith 514, also known as an owl eye radio alarm clock from the mid-1950s, for $180.  Recent sales of the same radio on eBay range from $15 for a regular Bakelite model to $55 for a “rare” pink colored radio.  A green colored working radio went unsold with a price tag of $55.