There comes a point in
preparing to list every item when it’s necessary to determine the value. This is not always an easy chore. The first things to consider
are; age, condition, usability, popularity and market availability. Sounds simple right? Let’s consider the case
of:
The
Vintage Dominoes.
In the beginning, the Major staked us with a
few items he had picked up from various sources. For those that aren’t
acquainted with him, the Major is one of those people who makes friends
wherever he goes. Needless to say one of his friends is a gentleman who runs an
auction house and the Major goes to the
auctions weekly. Among the treasures he
gifted to us was a set of dominoes in a leather case. We thought these would be
easy…
First, the Middle One tried
to find them or a set very close them, online. Often this is a good place to
start. If someone else has already done most of the legwork, we use the
information as a starting place to do our own verification. She couldn’t find them. Not. One. Set. Ok, the name
of the company printed on the inside of the leather case. No. Joy.
Hmmmmm….
Coming at the problem from
another angle ~ what are they made of? The more information you can list in
your search, the more likely you are to find them. I thought this would be an easy approach. Nope.
I suggested bakelite but the Middle One wasn’t sure. The next thing I
know she hands me a domino and says…”rub this with your finger then smell
it”
Why?
Seriously would you have done this? She said that if it gets warm from friction it
would smell like formaldehyde. When queried if it did, the Middle One informed
me she does not know what formaldehyde smells like. Ok, next “did we have any 409?” Sorry
409, Mimi is a Mr Clean kind of girl.
How about rubbing alcohol? Yes, that we have, and the result was
positive. But, the Middle One is hard to convince. So on to ~ simichrome ~
seriously, she didn’t expect this one, but I have been around a while. Picking up the phone I called the Major and
verified we should have some in the garage.
After sixty minutes, (yes,
one full hour), and a couple of trips up and down the stairs, and a search
under the cabinets, and a couple of Qtips, and both of us working on internet
searches, we concluded with reasonable certainty that they are bakelite. Still, there was no exact match online, even
with this piece of information. Now, the Middle One is a bit of a perfectionist
and we are both inherently rule followers. The Ladies are not going to post an
item without doing as much work as we can and be as sure as possible. This
sometimes backfires and we spend hours trying to research and value some incredible little treasure. Still, we’ve set a standard.
In the end, given that they are, with reasonable certainty, bakelite, we can date to mid 1950's or earlier. The condition is very good. A set like this is still definitely usable. While there are quite a few sets online, not all are full sets, not all are in the condition these are and not all have such a nice case. So, she took an
average of all that we found online that were close, reduced it a small
percentage, haggled with herself for a good 10 minutes more and finally settled on a value.
All of this for item that
needed very little actual cleaning.
One that we thought would be ‘an easy
listing’.
Who are we kidding?
Testing for Bakelite
1. Friction Test - rub an area of the item with your thumb until it begins to warm up, then smell it. (yes, that's what I said) if it smells like formaldehyde it's most likely bakelite
2. 409 Test - Wet a Qtip or cotton ball with 409, gently rub it on an obscure area of the item, if the Qtip shows a color from pale yellow to nicotine yellow, its bakelite
3. Rubbing Alcohol - Basically the same as the 409 test, but not quite as reliable - test with another method
4. Simichrome Test - Simichrome is a polish used to clean metal and chrome. Put a dab on a small piece of soft cloth and rub a bit on an obscure area of the item, it should turn yellow if the piece is bakelite
** these methods do not necessarily apply if the piece has been lacquered or is black bakelite
Testing for Bakelite
1. Friction Test - rub an area of the item with your thumb until it begins to warm up, then smell it. (yes, that's what I said) if it smells like formaldehyde it's most likely bakelite
2. 409 Test - Wet a Qtip or cotton ball with 409, gently rub it on an obscure area of the item, if the Qtip shows a color from pale yellow to nicotine yellow, its bakelite
3. Rubbing Alcohol - Basically the same as the 409 test, but not quite as reliable - test with another method
4. Simichrome Test - Simichrome is a polish used to clean metal and chrome. Put a dab on a small piece of soft cloth and rub a bit on an obscure area of the item, it should turn yellow if the piece is bakelite
** these methods do not necessarily apply if the piece has been lacquered or is black bakelite
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