Another month has flown by - I hope everyone is checking Doug's updates as
there have been a lot of developments in the fakes on Ebay - specifically the
corn. Also our buddy Larry is turning out more gold pieces - the most recent
of note is the gold Drummer Boy Cookie jar which shocked both Doug and I by
selling for over $200.
We sometimes wonder if collectors are paying attention to patterns on Ebay.
Some of you may recall a few years ago Mcckoy4U2 came to our attention when
he listed a solid gold Puss n Boots cookie jar that sold for around $4,000 -
this seller has for a long time been known to doctor genuine McCoy pieces with
gold trim and in recent years do the same to genuine Shawnee pottery. Scary
as these pieces end up in collections and get turned by someone unsuspecting
(or maybe knowingly in some cases) to other collectors who have no idea of
the history.
Fifteen to twenty years ago this happened with a guy selling at flea markets
across the west - in his case he applied decals to jars, shakers, etc, so we were able to spot the items more easily. In his case he bought DAMAGED pottery, repaired it and decorated it - he burned a lot of collectors while we worked hard to spread the word - before computer days!!!! He sold a lot in Calif at the The Cow Palace show in San Francisco, Vet's flea market in Long Beach, Vegas and a few times at the Phoenix fairground show where I confronted him - his main residence was in Ohio but he has not been seen nor heard of in many years. One of the pieces that struck me as peculiar was a Lucky elephant with blueberry decals all over front and back - by the time I got around to his booth, another Shawnee collector has purchased it not knowing it was doctored.
BE CAUTIOUS - when something strikes you as possibly not authentic, trust
your instincts!!!! If when you are out and about you discover something
unusual and aren't sure, if the price is right - TAKE A CHANCE! I have an
interesting jar that I would never have guessed existed - it is not gold trim, in
fact looks like a mismatched jar - with a pale blue bib that we don't seen in
plain jars with a shamrock base that is done all in gold - not sure if the
camera will pick up the gold shamrocks clearly - it was worth gambling on as I
picked it up for very little - very striking jar!
Another jar that a local collector brought to me years ago knowing I collect
Shawnee - it is a blue gold bib Smiley jar but this person picked it up thinking someone had painted over the bib post factory - not realizing it is the Shawnee rust - she had found it in a local mall for around fifty dollars - think she sold it to me for $150 which I was thrilled to pay.
Wish I had more to add to this newsletter but not much is happening in
Shawnee but I am overloaded in my personal life caring for my Mom post stroke. Doug and I are still hoping for more participation from readers!!!!!!!
Until next month...... happy collecting.
Here is the plan for December's Newsletter. To take some load off of Lin, I'm going to break out my rerun Shawnee Christmas pictures - WOW right? SO, it's time for you guys to break out your cameras and send us some Shawnee Christmas related pictures. Your 15 seconds of fame! You have three weeks, so get on with it or be bored with mine.
"THIS SHAWNEE DRUMMER BOY JAR IS IN MINT CONDITION...NO CHIPS, CRACKS HAIRLINES OR REPAIRS.. THE GOLD TRIM IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION WITH ONLY MINOR WEAR OR LOSS OF SHINE.. NO MORE THAN WOULD BE EXPECTED BUT MENTIONED FOR ACCURACY.. YOUR SATISFACTION ASSURED"
Newsletter notification email
At the risk of getting grief from my Internet provider I'm going to run a notification email each month when the newsletter is published.