Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
What’s it worth?
On Antiques & Collectables
Q I have a commemorative porcelain decanter on the marriage of Charles and Diana dated 29th July 1981. It’s 70cl, from Bell’s Scotch whisky and stamped WADE. Is it of any value? James O’Grady, via email A These decanters are produced by the Wade pottery and are quite collectable. They are usually 75cl and come in all sorts of commemorative editions.
Your Charles and Diana wedding decanter is very sought after – it sells for up to £250 if still sealed and £450 together with a mint box. Q I have a collection of vinyl record 78s that belonged to my father. They are classical records purchased before and after WW2. Some are in their original sleeves. They vary from operas to symphonies and ballet music. Where can I try to sell them?
Mike Stocker, via email A Most people think that Bakelite plastic was used to make these older 78rpm records. However, it was actually a product made from beetles called Shellac.
I don’t have great news for you, sadly, as approximately 90 per cent of all old 78rpm records have no real commercial value.
Sought after records tend to be operatic 78s, recorded in a foreign language and single-sided only (i.e. from 1898-1923). There are only perhaps 500-odd collectors around the globe who will buy these examples. Q I own a Whitefriars glass “Banjo” vase made, I think, in the 1960s and purple or lilac in colour. It has a few chips but still looks stylish. What might it be worth? A Sally Robertson, Ealing, West London A Whitefriars, from the 1830s, became one of Britain’s most important creators of glass tableware and stained glass. Geoffrey Baxter was the senior designer in the 1960s and produced the famous “Drunken Bricklayers” vases too. Banjo vases like yours, from the mid 1960s, would possibly make £1,000 in tip-top shape or perhaps
£300 damaged.