r/Antiques

I sell plants and someone traded this lamp for one of my plants. It’s so unique and I can’t seem to find another one like it online. Does anyone know what it’s worth or info about lanshire clock-lamps ?? Posting from Mississippi, USA.

Matching set

Hi all, I recently inherited about 30 netsuke from my grandfather who was an antique collector. I’m doing some research of my own and digging into the myths they depict, can anybody give me further info here into period, artist, design trademarks, value? They seem to be legit ivory, contain the proper himotoshi, and bear what appears to be artist signature. They’re really beautiful.

Any info helps! Thanks!

Found this bottle at a garage sale over 10 years ago just wondering if anyone could give me any info on it/ possible value?

Found this coin in my Store room, Felt it's unusual, Saw the text on it, and Now I'm Wondering...What's its current worth??

Anyone with good coin knowledge got any suggestions??

Hi everyone! This is the second set of ancient items from my personal collection that I wanted to share with you.

I acquired this pair of cast bronze imitation cowrie shells (铜贝) roughly thirty years ago from a US-based dealer. According to the original the dealer, they were recovered from Northwest China—the historical heartland of early Chinese metallurgy.

The Birth of Metal Coinage

These pieces represent the absolute beginning of metallic coin usage in human history. Prior to this era, China relied heavily on natural marine sea-snail shells as commodity currency.

During the late Shang Dynasty, rapid business expansion and the growth of inland trade routes caused a massive commercial boom. Merchants pushed deep into the interior, far away from the coastal regions where natural shells were found. Because the supply of real seashells could no longer keep pace with this sudden economic growth, ancient metallurgists revolutionized commerce by casting bronze replicas. This marked the momentous historical leap from bartering natural objects to minting metallic money.

Visual & Structural Highlights

Images 1 & 3 (Front Profile): Displays the convex outer shell profile with distinct, serrated "tooth-like" central slits modeled directly after natural cowries.

Images 2 & 4 (Hollow Reverse): Shows the hollowed-out backsides, highlighting a striking, crusty combination of green malachite and deep azurite blue crystallization. This mineralization has remained perfectly stable over my three decades of ownership.

Suspension Holes: Note the cleanly cast circular holes at the apex. Early merchants used these to string multiple bronze shells together into standardized currency units called strings (péng 朋).

Fun linguistic fact for history buffs: Because of this specific currency origin, the modern Chinese character radical for wealth, property, and trade is still written today as 貝 (bèi)—a literal drawing of the cowrie shells I am holding here!

I would love to hear from other collectors who collected these types of coins. Please share and display your coins for us to enjoy and appreciate.

glass medicine bottle, it says “bromo-seltzer Emerson drug co. baltimore, MO”

I purchased this slag glass lamp a few days ago on Facebook marketplace in upstate New York for $145. I noticed it has “L&L WMC” embedded into the arm of the lamp, and a quick google search told me they were a lamp business from the 1930s until the 1970s. It also looks like there is a year marked to the left of it - maybe 1972? I cannot tell, nor do I know if this would signify the year it was made. I’m in love with the design and would be even more in love if it were authentic and not a replica of an older lamp. What do you think?

TL;DR - I found this lamp on Facebook marketplace and want to know when it could have been made.

Hello all!
We just got this hutch off FB marketplace for $250. They said they got it appraised for $2200, but they needed the storage unit cleared and… now we have it!
They inherited it after their Aunt died, said she was a collector and loved antiques. It comes from New Orleans, that’s where the aunt lived. It sounds like it’s lived a lot of lives, but google search gives me nothing. The shelves are solid. Two of the side doors are the twist knobs to open them, only a key to open in the middle door. There are what seems to be brass rods with brass hooks for hanging coats and such in the two side doors while the middle door only has brass hooks. 7 ft tall 5’6 wide.
Let me know what you think of this mystery! I’m just happy to have it in a world of pressboard and beige.

Can someone give me more info and translation

I have inherited some antique furniture from home and need to decide whether to keep and restore it, or sell / donate it. it's marked as all Walnut collection from Herman Miller furniture, Zeeland, Michigan. Is this worth keeping and restoring or am I better off just selling it?

A few days ago, I posted a photo showing the absolute dawn of metal currency in China: the Shang Dynasty bronze cowrie shells (铜贝). Today, I want to share the next major evolution in my personal collection: three beautiful Western Han Dynasty Wu Zhu (五铢) coins covered in a gorgeous, crusty green malachite patina.

The King of Chinese Currency

Introduced by the legendary Emperor Wu of Han in 118 BC, the Wu Zhu coin is arguably one of the most successful coin designs in human history. While the earlier Ban Liang coin started the "round coin, square hole" tradition, it was the Wu Zhu that perfected it.This exact denomination was minted continuously across multiple dynasties for nearly 700 years until the Tang Dynasty finally replaced it in 621 AD. Because hundreds of billions were cast over the centuries, standard specimens are highly accessible today, making them the absolute cornerstone of any ancient Chinese coin collection (古泉收藏).

Why They Were Minted: Fighting InflationBefore Emperor Wu stepped in, the Han Dynasty relied on the Ban Liang (半两) system inherited from the Qin Dynasty. However, due to political instability and private minting, the early Han Ban Liangs suffered severe debasement. They grew thinner and lighter, completely losing the public's trust—some weighed under 1 gram.To fix the broken economy, Emperor Wu centralized all minting authority strictly to the capital city. He introduced the Wu Zhu, which literally translates to "Five Zhu" (a unit of weight equal to about 3.25 grams). By strictly enforcing this weight standard and adding a raised rim to prevent people from shaving bronze off the edges, he successfully stabilized the empire's economy.

Features of My Specimens (The Obverse)

If you look closely at the close-up of the front sides:

The Inscription: Read right-to-left, you can see 五 (Wu) on the right side and 铢 (Zhu) on the left.

The Calligraphy: The "五" character shows the classic Western Han stylistic trait where the upper and lower crossbars curve sharply inward toward each other, looking almost like an hourglass.

The Patina: All three have developed a rich, deep uncleaned green malachite and reddish cuprite patina over two millennia in the soil.

The Flip Side: Casting Marks (The Reverse)

I’ve also included a photo of the reverse sides. As you can see, they are completely blank, which is typical for this era. What makes the reverses fascinating is the texture. Because these were cast in molds (usually made of clay, stone, or bronze) rather than struck with a hammer and die, you can see the rough, porous surface left behind by the molten metal cooling down over 2,000 years ago. The slight variations in the inner square holes show how they were broken off from the casting "trees" and filed down by hand by ancient mint workers.

I love these pieces because they physically hold the history of an empire trying to stabilize its economy. What do you think of the contrast between the thick bronze cowries and the flat cash coins? Do you hold any early Chinese cast bronze in your collection?

I believe it to be silver? How can I tell if it’s full silver or plated? No markings on bottom. I can see remnants of an engraving on the top of the case but it doesn’t appear to be a family name. Found this amongst my late grandmothers items - she was a collector, no doubt so the engraving could be someone else?

Wondering what era this is from and any other info?

Thank you!!

I’ve had this for 40 years. It’s about 12” long, 9” tall. Very heavy for its size. Found in Texas circa 1992.

I picked these up randomly at a thrift store in the Bay Area a few years ago, thinking I’d clean them and use them for special occasions. I now realize I am not a special occasion person (and have very little storage space), so wanted to sell them, but in doing so, realized I know nothing about them! I know the pictures aren’t great because they aren’t in wonderful condition and are hard to photograph.

What I can tell you is there are 5, and I’m guessing they’re butter knives? They appear identical and one has the Lamson & Goodnow manufacturing mark, the rest have the A.F. Towles & Son manufacturing mark. I know these are two old American silverware manufacturers. The handles are very shiny and I wonder if they are genuine mother-of-pearl.

Any more insight from the expert crowd here on when these may date from and what they may be worth, if anything? I see some similar items on eBay, but none exactly like this.

I acquired an antique survey Tripod that has a few pieces of (assuming) brass.

I soaked the pieces in vinegar overnight and got to scrubbing today. Im left with a blotchy piece of brass with some red tarnish.

How can I restore the classic brass color?

Hi could anyone date this or give me any advice please