Terry will hawk antiques and collectibles donated to the WVIZ-PBS Ideastream benefit auction in Cleveland. The auction airs April 23-26, 2009. Her segments will start around 7 p.m. (EDT) each evening. Check back that week—there will be a link to streaming video of the auction on Kovels.com.

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Whether you're wearin' the green or not, you can spread a little Irish cheer with our vintage St. Patrick's day greeting. Send one to your favorite lads and lassies.

Millions of collectors visited Kovels.com in 2008 looking for prices for their favorite antiques and collectibles. Here are the top 50 favorites out of the 700,000+ listings in the Kovels.com Online Price Guide.

Did you save your newspaper from Wednesday, November 5, 2008? That's the issue announcing Obama's win. The very next day, sellers were offering hundreds of newspapers on eBay for prices ranging from $180 for the New York Times to 75 cents for extra copies of the Cleveland Plain Dealer printed because of high demand. Prices on eBay fell quickly, though. The Times is now selling for as low as 99 cents. Many regional papers are being sold for under $10.

Historic papers are often saved, but because newsprint is so acidic it often deteriorates. To preserve old newspapers, store them in archival albums or boxes (available at art supply stores) or frame them with acid-free matting. Use acrylic, not glass, in the frames and keep them away from direct sunlight. You can also deacidify newspapers so they won't crumble or discolor. Treat them with Bookkeeper or Wei T'o solution. Both of these products are sold at art supply stores or online. But be careful. Soaking the paper in a solution may cause wrinkles.

THE INS AND OUTS OF NEGOTIATING AT AN ANTIQUES AUCTION

Collectors have to understand the ins and outs of negotiating and finance. So when this was sent to me last week, I did the puzzle.

You bought a lot of stuff at the antiques auction and want to pay the bill. As fast as you can, add this in your head (no pencils or calculators):

1. Take $1,000 and add $40 to it. Add another $1,000.
2. Add $30. Now add another $1,000. Then add $20.
3. Add another $1,000. Add $10. What is the total?
   

Did you get $5,000? You overpaid. (See below)


Fast number calculations can be confusing. Ever hear an auctioneer say: "This ring is set with 20 diamonds that total 5 carats, and you know how valuable a 5-carat diamond is." Why the comparison? Small diamonds are worth much less than one big one. Or: "This is over 100 years old. It belonged to my grandmother and she died at 102." Yes, but did she buy it at birth? Or on her 90th birthday? Always listen carefully when money is involved and don't pay $5,000 for something that should cost you $4,100. Oh, did I mention that I gave a version of this puzzle to my 6th-grade math classes long ago when I was a math teacher?

Any other auctioneer sayings with numbers that you have heard?

• *How he schemed with a dealer to make me think he was buying a 10-foot-tall airplane propeller for our living room, then told me about it in front of the camera during a TV taping.
  

*How he sat for hours in an auction to buy a special antique for me for our anniversary. He got it with the best ploy I have ever seen at an auction. He noticed only two other bidders wanted the antique, so he tapped the one nearest to us on the shoulder and said, "Pardon me, I have waited all day for the next piece--don't you have to go to the bathroom?" The dealer laughed, left for a short time, and Ralph's bid won.

*How he often gave a tie or cufflinks to someone who admired them.

*How he gave information and advice to anyone who asked, including one bottle collector from Alaska who called at 2 in the morning.

Ralph+Kovel+hit+upon+a+new+way+to+make+money+from+a+hobby+when+he+began+publishing+Kovels%27+Antiques+and+Collectibles+Price+Guide.+It+became+the+pricing+bible+for+buyers+and+sellers+across+the+U.S.

IN MEMORIAM: RALPH KOVEL

Ralph Kovel, Terry's husband and business partner, died last Thursday after a short illness. He will be deeply missed by our readers and fans, by everyone in the world of antiques, and by all of us at Kovels. If you would like to send condolences, you are welcome to use our blog. We very much appreciate all of the kind notes already sent by so many of you.

Our website, all of our publications, and our love of antiques will carry on--with the help of Terry Kovel, Kim Kovel, Lee Kovel and the rest of the Kovel staff.

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Delegates at this week's Democratic National Convention will no doubt go home with handfuls of future political collectibles. An alternate delegate saved this ribbon badge from the 1896 Chicago Democratic convention, where William Jennings Bryan was nominated. The 9-inch-long badge sold this summer for $358 at auction.

There are several similarities between the 1896 and 2008 conventions—mainly the youthfulness of candidates William Jennings Bryan and Barack Obama. Bryan, who was 36 years old in 1896, is the youngest nominee in presidential history. At 47, Obama is younger than most presidential candidates (the average age is 54.8 years). And like the 2000s, the 1890s were troubled financial times in the United States. Bryan's famous "Cross of Gold" convention address called for reforms in the American monetary system to offer relief from the effects of the Panic of 1893.

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Kovels.com Item of the Week: 1932 Olympics Poster

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