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Copyright © Harry Rinker, LLC 2016 Questions
and Answers
QUESTION: I own two cattle brands that have been in my family for several decades. One is a single letter brand. The other has three letters. Although my family no longer is in the cattle raising business, I have continued to pay the registration fees for the brands in order to retain ownership. When I last visited the Registry office, I was told the single letter brand could sell for as high as $1,800.00. Is this possible? If yes, what recommendations do you have for a possible sale of the brands? – D, Big Timber, MT ANSWER: In the secondary market, especially the antiques and collectibles sector, everything has a price. I will refrain from the plethora of “we only are trying to establish a price” jokes. The “right” cattle brand has secondary market value. Cattle brands are registered on a state by state basis. A cattle brand is private property, making it subject to sale. Since you live in Montana, the market for your brands is Montana. It is unlikely an out-of-state rancher would buy the brands unless he/she has stock in Montana. Single brands and double letter brands are among the oldest “letter” brands. Their legacy makes them attractive. The website www.ranchworldads.com has a URL devoted to cattle and horse brands for sale. [See: http://www.ranchworldads.com/?cat_id=30] Asking prices appear to start at $2,500.00 and can exceed $10,000.00. A family that was in the cattle business for more than 100 years in Colorado and New Mexico is asking $25,000.00 for an “established unique single iron Colorado / New Mexico Brand.” Marc Allard, a Colorado cattle rancher, gave up ranching after 50 years. His brand was “Al” with a line beneath the letters. Allard turned down $1,500.00, feeling the brand was worth between $3,000.00 and $4,000.00. [See: http://www.marketplace.org/2010/08/17/colo-cattle-branding-fetches-big-bucks] The key to selling any item is to find the right marketplace. The Montana Cattlemen’s Association is a good starting point. Seek recommendations from it leadership for the best method to sell your brands, especially the single letter brand. Inform the registry office of your desire to sell. It should be in a position to forward the contact information for potential buyers. Although I was not able to locate auction records for the sale of cattle brands, such auction sales must occur. The Montana Cattlemen’s Association or the registry office should be able to put you into contact with two or three major cattle auction firms who have sold brands. Of course, the website mentioned earlier also is a possibility. With the exception of the auction route, you need to determine an asking price before attempting to sell your brands. The single letter brand has the most value potential. $4,000.00 should sell it quickly. $6,000.00 should eventually sell it. Asking $7,500.00 or more may mean you will own the brands until it is your time to go on the last great roundup. The three-letter brand will be much more difficult to sell. You need to find a buyer with the same three initials. Based on my findings, a top price between $1,000.00 and $1,500.00 appears reasonable. The above does not take into consideration the potential historical value of these brands. If they played a significant role in cattle raising in Montana, their potential value increases 15 to 30 percent. QUESTION: I recently found a two-blade (cutting blade and a can opener/screw driver bade) pocket knife. The advertisement on the white handle reads “GORDON TRANSFER / NUTRENA FEEDS. PHONE 297.” The pocket knife measures five-inches from the end of the handle to the tip of the blade. The blade is marked: “Colonial / Prov. / USA.” What is it worth? – MH, Bowie, TX, Email-Question 
ANSWER: When Antonio Paolantonia returned from WWI, he founded the A. Paolantonio Cutlery Company which focused on making knives used by jewelers. In 1926, his brothers Domenic (an employee at Empire Knife Company) and Frederick (an employee at the Imperial Knife Company) joined Antonio to establish Colonial Knife, located in Providence, Rhode Island. The company produced its first pocket knife in 1926. During World War II, Colonial Knife made the Mark I Navy Deck Knife and Navy Pilot Survival Knife. 1950s product lines included Cub Hunter, Rin Tin Tin, and Sure Snap. Master Brand, Old Cutler series, Ranger series, and Swiss Master were introduced in the 1970s. In the 1980s, the company began making “private label” knifes. B-movie and TV cowboy collectors will be familiar with Colonial Knife’s “Riders of the Silver Screen” series. Colonial Knife continues to manufacture a wide variety of knives. [See: https://www.colonialknifecorp.com/pages/about-us] When telephone exchanges were first created, operators utilized subscribers’ names. As the number of subscribers grew, a two- or three-digit number was assigned to each subscriber. In some rural areas, three-digit numbers survived until the mid-1950s. Your pocket knife most likely dates from the late 1920s or early 1930s. Your challenge is to identify who or what Gordon Transfer is. My thought is the name of an individual, but it could be the name of a business. If you acquired the knife locally, start by going through the City Directories at your public library or historical society. The knife’s highest value is regional. If you can pinpoint the exact location, its value doubles or triples. eBay.com has listings for several pre-1970 Colonial Knife advertising pocket knives. To my surprise, the values ranged between $5.00 and $12.00. The secondary collector market for early Colonial Knife products appears to be small, affirming that regional value is the key to maximum value. QUESTION: I have a complete set of Austrian porcelain dinnerware that belonged to my great grandmother’s great aunt. The service has 12 place settings and all the “accessories” from individual butter dishes to three sizes of platters. The pieces are marked with “L S & S / CARLSBAD” inside a donut circle. “AUSTRIA” is centered beneath the circle. Any information would be great. – LB, State College, PA, Email Question 
ANSWER: When seeing a mark on the bottom of ceramics, glass, or metal, the common assumption is that the mark is that of the manufacturer. In 99 percent of the cases, this is correct. Experienced individuals in the antiques and collectibles trade know the trade rule is that there always is an exception(s) to the rule. This is one of those cases. The mark is that of Lewis Straus & Sons, ceramic importers, located in New York City. This marked was used between 1895 and 1917. Carlsbad is to Austrian (now Czech Republic) ceramics as Limoges is to French ceramics. Carlsbad was home to several ceramic manufacturers who specialized in producing special orders for importers such as Lewis Straus & Sons. Lewis Straus & Sons was a wholesaler. The firm also imported ceramics from Limoges. Replacements.com lists more than 480 “Strauss China” patterns. Lack of records makes it impossible to determine if your pattern was exclusive to one department store (sales outlet) or sold to a variety of different retail establishments. As with any dinnerware service, value rests with the serving pieces and “accessories.” The value challenges are twofold. First, young people no longer entertain using full dinnerware services. Second, the porcelain is not dishwasher safe. Young couples no longer take pride in a china cabinet filled with dinnerware, glassware, and accessories they will never use, family heritage be damned. If you desire to sell your dinnerware service, any price above $750.00 for the full service makes you a winner. If a dealer buys the service, he/she will attempt to recover their purchase price and make a profit from the sale of the serving pieces. My advice to you, as it is to anyone who owns an antiques porcelain dinnerware service, is to use it and enjoy it. QUESTION: I own a Simplex Ironer gas mangle that has been in my family for years. I would like to sell it. What is your advice? – MT, Pittsburgh, PA ANSWER: There is bad, badder, and baddest news, and a belly laugh. Before assuming there is no market for your gas mangle made by American Ironing Company of Chicago, I decided to check eBay. I laughed out loud when I found a listing for an Antique 1911 Simplex Ironer with an asking price of $19,999.00, including free shipping. This seller wins my “Unbridled Optimist of the Month” award. This is a “who in their right mind” situation with the focus on the seller rather than the potential buyer. The bad news is that there are no mangle collectors, gas or otherwise. The badder news is that there is no reuse value in the mangle. The baddest news is that there is little to no scrap value in the materials that comprise the mangle. Even though it is in very good condition, its final destination is likely to be the landfill. The only hope for its survival is to find a museum or historical site that might want it. It is an example of women’s drudgery found in the home, laundry, and hotel industry. Do your heirs a favor. Get rid of it now. Do not make it the next generation’s problem. Harry L. Rinker welcomes questions from readers about
collectibles, those mass-produced items from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Selected letters will be answered in this column.
Harry cannot provide personal answers.
Photos and other material submitted cannot be
returned.
Send your questions to: Rinker on Collectibles, 5955 Mill
Point Court SE, Kentwood, MI 49512.
You also can e-mail your questions to
harrylrinker@aol.com.
Only e-mails containing a full name and mailing address
will be considered.
You can listen
and participate in
WHATCHA GOT?, Harry’s
antiques and collectibles radio call-in show, on Sunday mornings between 8:00 AM
and 10:00 AM Eastern Time.
If you
cannot find it on a station in your area,
WHATCHA GOT?
streams live on the Internet at www.gcnlive.com.
SELL, KEEP OR TOSS?: HOW TO DOWNSIZE A HOME,
SETTLE AN ESTATE, AND APPRAISE PERSONAL PROPERTY
(House of Collectibles, an imprint of Random House Information Group, $17.99),
Harry’s latest book, is available at your favorite bookstore and via
www.harryrinker.com.
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