Fridays at Auction Finds is readers’ questions day. I try to guide readers to resources for them to determine the value of the items that they own. I’m not able to appraise their treasures, but I can do some preliminary research to get them started. So, these are market prices, not appraisals for insurance purposes that I suggest for items that have been determined to be of great value.
Also remember that the value of an item can change pretty often, depending on who – or how many people – are looking for it at a given time.
Here are this week’s questions:
Question:
I am looking for a set like this. Can you help? We play music and these would go great around the fire pit.
Answer:
This reader was referring to a blog post I wrote about four cast iron tractor seats that were sold at auction about a year ago. They had been converted into bar stools, and boy, did they look uncomfortable. One website noted that although they were called tractor seats, they were actually made for other types of farm equipment.
I later got an email from a reader in Sweden who told me about an auction house in Stockholm that had just sold some stools like those. “I wonder how they found their way all the way to Sweden,” she said. They were certainly similar to the ones I wrote about but I doubted if they were the same. The ones in Sweden sold for about $945.
The stools are not that hard to find on the internet. I Googled the words “tractor seat bar stools,” and got page after page of listings – some useful, some not. I even found stools selling on amazon.com and craigslist. Restoration Hardware had a replica of an antique stool for $395.
I always suggest eBay, that giant flea market where you can find just about anything you want. There, they were sold for $50 up to $139.
Consider checking out auction houses in your area (you can find them via auctionzip.com). Occasionally preview their sales online to see if the stools come up.
Or you and your band of music players could just buy some tractor seats, paint them and make your own stools. It’d probably be much cheaper and a whole lotta fun.
Question:
I have come across a vintage Coffurette, 60 cycle, 110 volt, 265 bolt hair dryer. I was wanting to see if this was a good antique. And also wanted to see about how much it’s worth. It’s in excellent condition.
Answer:
I could find nothing on the web about a hair dryer with the name Coffurette, and that happens sometimes in your search, especially when you have limited information. So, it’s important to have as much information about your item as possible. I always suggest that folks check their items thoroughly for the name of a product – as this reader did – as well as the maker’s name, address and other identifying info. Every little bit makes your search easier.
I Googled “vintage hair dryers,” and several turned up that looked like a hand-held dryer (in photo above) I had seen at auction a couple years ago. A Kenmore model was selling on a retail site that had dropped the price from $25 to $19. Another retailer was selling a similar Kenmore dryer for $28.
Since I don’t have a photo of yours, I’m not sure if it is like those.
Ebay has pages and pages of vintage hair dryers, many of them the hooded types. Take a look and see if you can find one like your Coffurette.
