Category Archives: The Least You Should Know

The Least You Should Know is a series of articles on collecting Antiques and Collectable items. A shared knowledge of my wife and I and years of experience in going to flea markets, automotive swap meets, antique malls and everywhere in-between. Anywhere we can buy and sell these, overlooked part of our past history. And this site is where we will share what we learned. Enjoy

Railroad Date Nails Purchased At Automotive Swap Meet

You just never know what you will find at Automotive Swap Meets and Car Shows. The number one rule for a vendor is, only bring automotive related items. That makes sense, but sometimes they sneak in other interesting things for sale.

The story starts Here

Take for example what I picked up  at this vendors table. It was the interesting history that went along with my picked up treasure.

On this one occasion, I met a vendor with a wooden box filled with well, I don’t know what they were. The vendor spotted me looking at these odd nails and came over and said, “do you know what they are?” .. Nope. But they do look like they’re associated with Rail Roads. Continue reading →

Collecting Novelty Spoons in America

COLLECTOR SPOONSWhere did Collecting Spoons start? Well, some say spoons collecting started around the 1800s at popular tourist destinations in Europe. Americans might think it started with a young Massachusetts Jeweler around the 1890s. Commemorating, the Salem Witch Hunt Trials.

Witch, excuse the pun, he sold 7,000 spoons in the first year.

After that, another new idea was born in America, the “Souvenir Novelty Spoon Collecting”

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Kaiser Wilhelm Pig Coin Bank

 

Bismark Pig Coin Bank

The Pig That Almost Started a War

The Kaiser Wilhelm Pig Coin Bank comes with an interesting story and it goes something like this. Around the year 1859 in the strait between Vancouver Island Canada and Washington, DC mainland is the San Juan Islands. A wondering off Canadian pig almost started a war with the United States; the dispute was called the Pig War or Pig and Potato War.

    This is where the KAISER WILHELM PIG BANK comes in

This war was almost started between Canada and the United States, by a trespassing pig. These islands in the strait were disputed to be either Great Britain (Canada) and/or the United States. Both believed it was their territory.

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Curiosity and Oddities

Curiosity and Oddities Collecting

Curiosity and Oddities

The Least You Should Know Series is about collecting anything, but this post is about collecting something entirely different. It’s still a passion for many a collector, but it’s not your run of the mill type Royal Doulton Figurines, or Tiffany Lamps. Some of you would find collecting beautiful China a little on the boring side. That’s why in this post is for you, it’s about Curiosity and Oddities Collecting. Let’s say this subject matter is a little out of the normal realm of, piggy bank collecting.

Curiosity and Oddities Collecting is Odd.

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