#Middlebury #Kovels #Underdog
Many comic book, movie and TV heroes are so popular they inspire hundreds of different collectibles. Often, interest in the characters dies about 25 years after the last new episode of their shows was shown. Some have continued to be popular because of TV reruns and their rebirth in new movies, comics or even plays.
Underdog is pictured on this metal lunchbox and matching thermos that auctioned for $2,296. The comic character has remained popular since the 1950s because of television reruns.
“Underdog” was one of the characters created in 1959 for television cartoons selling General Mills cereal. He formerly was Shoeshine Boy, who went into a phone booth to take a pill that turned him into the superpowered Underdog. He always damaged the booth and spoke in rhymes. In 1969, the show lost its sponsor, but 62 shows continued in syndication. They can be seen on TV, and other syndicated shows with Underdog as the hero were edited, rewritten and re-bundled to remain on TV until the late 1990s.
Many years on the air have helped “Underdog” collectibles remain popular … and expensive. A 1974 child’s metal “Underdog” lunchbox and thermos sold at a Hakes.com auction in fall 2015 for $2,296. Other undiscovered “Underdog” memorabilia still is waiting in garage sales and flea markets, usually without the history that gives it value.
Q: We’ve just been given a set of silverware that we were told is 100-plus years old. It belonged to a friend of my husband’s grandmother who gave it to his mother about 1910. It’s a service for eight and pieces are marked “Lake Betty Silver Plate” on the backs. All are in excellent condition in a leather, velvet-lined case. We are wondering if the set has any value, other than sentimental.
A: Your silver-plated flatware is not as old as you think it is. The pattern name is Lady Betty and was introduced by International Silver Co. of Meriden, Conn., in 1940. The company was formed when some independent silver makers merged in 1898. Silver plating by electricity began (in the U.S.) in 1847, earlier in England. By the 1880s, more than 40 firms, mostly centered near Meriden, made simple to elaborate silver-plated tableware until the 1980s. Silver-plated items generally have a modest value unless they are either very fancy or very rare. Your flatware is not worth much – under $100 – and places that buy silver to melt are looking for sterling silver, not silver plate.
Recent Prices
Soap dish, Union Porcelain Works, white, green transfer emblem, oval, rolled rim, marked, c. 1905, 3 1/2 x 5 inches, $25.
Watering can, Toleware, cream with brown and green cattails, tapered cylinder, dome base, top handle, 1800s, 10 inches, $150.
Hatpin, Carnival glass, flying bat, purple, turquoise, gold iridescent, black ground, stars, triangular, c. 1910, 1 1/2 inches, $325.
Sewing machine, Singer, black metal, gilt scrolling, leaves and flowers, folding oak tabletop, foot pedal, 1800s, $900.
TIP: Do not wrap or store scrapbooks in furniture made with pressboard. The pressboard emits gases over the years.
For more collecting news, tips and resources, visit www.Kovels.com.
(c) 2018 King Features Synd. Inc.
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