After a hard day of yardsaling and a twenty dollar investment... I came home with about 80 lbs of brass items. 200+ pieces. Does anyone know what to look for when looking AT brass to tell if its worthy of anything? Some items say made in india and have pinhole stamps that almost look like ascii lol Others have no stamps at all...
There is a great site for silver items www.925-1000.com When it comes to brass it is more specific to what it is... like is it gun shells, tools, statues, pipes, coins... that makes more of a difference when dealing with markings...
I can tell you what little I know from having an antique shop for a few years,, When it comes to brass most of your older pieces are much heavier than modern pieces. And if it is very large it will screw together. Depending on what it is !! Pieces made in the orient, if its an older piece, will not be laquered and sometimes will have a mark, but that is not a sure-fire thing!! If it does chances are you will not know it !! They were frequently marked with a chop mark. (a small instrument that has the individuals personal mark within a square). But they are more frequently found on art pieces !! Look within the pattern as well as around the edges for these type marks. They are sometimes hard to find !!! Look for the finish of brass pieces, the finer the work, usually, the older the piece !! But watch out for those machine stamped pieces,,, They are everywhere !!!!
I never knew the thing about the weight... cool... Cause I have an elephant my dad bought back in 1972 or something... and he found one very much like it in the 90s and the older one weighed less then the one in the he found in the 90s... the elephant looks funny too... both of them... very small head and trunk, big ears and big body.... one opens in half and smells like something... cool... I should look into them I think... Good Luck Iggy with finding out more about your items...
First set of pics the swans maybe... seen some before go over 75$ each for one.. The small thingy to the right in the first pic... maybe... not sure what it is by the looks of it... could be something for spices or jewelry... Second set of pics the plates to the left... Any marks on the keys? Here's a site about some brass markings I found... http://www.oldcopper.org/birmingham_brass.htm
OOO! Thank you, Help. The keys are actually in awesome condition. My husband believes that several were actual wardrobe keys. I'm not so sure though lol I am the skeptic The swans are a set of four... two adult and two babies I think Im just going to post the entire thing as a lot. Im waiting for hubbies boss to come over and take a gander before I make a decision. Hubby came in and looked at the table and floor ... I thought I was gonna be murdered with that look lol I said "But Babeee! I cooked a roast for dinner, and I mopped the floor, and the kids will be asleep in no time....." He just gave me the raised eyebrow and walked away lol
Iggy, The skeleton keys are collectable in their own right !! There are many people who collect locks & keys. The larger ones look like door keys . Some could be wardrobe or amoire keys. The little water pitcher for watering plants, many gardeners like for decorating. If I am seeing right,, is that a pulley in front by the keys? I am curious about the large thing at the back,, is it a light of some sort? If it is .. do some research on it !! Most all of the plaques on the floor look like contemporary pieces as do the candlesticks, (need more? I have a bunch !!) Cant tell about the swans but if you list them on ebay let me know by private email, I am doing a house for a lady who has them as fawcets in the master bath. She would love to bid on them !! And to clarify something I said,, the older pieces of brass are usually heavier than newer pieces, contemporary brass was frequently a mixed metal, could have tin or other metals mixed in. Much was also brass plated over tin/nickel comb. Just like the sheffield plate in silver was silver over copper !! Does it smell like incense? How big is it? There were some brass elephants from the 60`s (ok so this dates me !!) that were incense burners !! You lit a small triangular shaped cone of it !! These were only about 3 in tall though !!
Ya the elephants kind of smell like insense but more like a spice... I never burned anything nor did my parents I think... My dad drew alot and he liked elephants for some reason... so I have alot of figurines... I'm taking it to the antique area of the city here this week... you sparked some interest in me... When I referenced the dates that my dad bought them... I meant thats when he either bought that from an antique store or a garage sale... Nothing I am sure was more then 5$ he always bartered for everything... heck he talked some lady down about a Hummel once she wanted 100$ he got it for 20$ for me... its the one with a kid and a duck and a bucket... hehehe...
I'm about to upload a few (labeled A-T) photos. To be honest I don't really have the time to piece everything out and check each individual item. I've been tryin to get to Florida to see my parents and inlaws so if I get 30 bucks out of the lot, I've made profit and half a train ticket lol As far as weight goes, some of the items are extremely heavy and some aren't. The platters weigh quite a bit and some of the decoration vases... The swans definetly weigh about 5 lbs a piece if not more. Darnit I wish I had a scale
