HIDDEN TREASURES: ATTICS, CLOSETS OR BASEMENTS MAY CONCEAL VALUABLE ANTIQUES

True Story: An old trunk was purchased from a homeowner conducting an estate sale.

The small trunk was unceremoniously tucked away by its new owner for more than two years before he took a close look at it. Noticing that the inside bottom of the trunk appeared to be higher than the outside bottom, he investigated. Tucked away inside a false bottom were two old World Series Programs, signed by a half-dozen St. Louis Cardinal baseball players.

Not a great find; but, that $20 throw-a-way trunk netted its new owner a healthy sum of more than $1,000.

Indeed, there may be "Gold in Your Attic."

This is the title of a mid-1950s book authored by Van Allen Bradley, who was literary editor for the Chicago Daily News. The book was devoted to rare and scarce books, and reminded its readers that stuffed away in nooks and crannies of their homes might be a real prize.

Most books, and other items found in many old houses are probably worthless. But, consider the case of a woman in Maine who ran across a copy of Edgar Allen's Poe's "Tamerlane" several years ago.

This was the rare 1827 first edition, paperbound book, of which only 500 copies were printed -- a book which collectors had paid up to $20,000 for at that time.

Literally hundreds of items are buried away across the country in rafters, shelves, trunks, and other half-forgotten hiding places in old homes and barns.

Many of these items may be worthless, but for some of them the law of supply and demand have established worthwhile prices. Rarity, coupled with trends in collecting, can equate to some high prices.

"I remember the attic of one home in which the walls had been lined with blankets and quilts," said Lee Ann Hansen. "We found a number of old quilts which turned out to be expensive items."

Hansen and Jo Duff operate Heritage Estate Sales in Cape Girardeau. They often find valuable items for their clients.

"Those old quilts added a good chunk of money to the final sales total," said Hansen, who also operates Hansen's Collectibles at 210 Independence in downtown Cape Girardeau.

Early quilts were often made from pieces salvaged from cloth items that had outlived their original usefulness and from bits left over from sewing projects. Regardless of shape, these scraps were fitted together, following no organized lines, thus resulting in what was called a "crazy quilt."

Of, course some quilts were pieced into specific patterns, such as wedding rings, pinwheels, log cabin, turkey tracks, and many others. Many of these quilts are valued at hundreds of dollars, and some of them may still be found in old homes, tucked away on some closet shelf, or hanging over a window in an attic.

The Hansens -- Lee Ann and her husband Timothy -- also participate in two to three antiques and collectible shows a month.

"Besides additional income, this permits me to keep up with prices, which are forever changing," she said.

Another item which people often overlook is advertising "tins," she said. "These can be found in garages, attics and basements" said Hansen. "In garages we have found old oil tins in garages brought good prices for their owners."

"Tins" have been around since the early 1800s. The tin packages that are collectible today include those with hinged tops, interesting shapes and decorative stencils or labels used by early companies no longer in existence. Many containers have scenes and buildings on them.

Tin containers were used for a variety of products, including gunpowder, salve, tobacco, tea, coffee and much more. An old Indian Oil tin of the mid-to-late 1930s can be valued at $30 to $50, and many of the tobacco tins range from $50 to $150.

Other items often overlooked, especially in barns and sheds, are locks and keys. Among big names that collectors seek are the old Winchester, Keen Kutter and Yale locks, which can carry collector values from $25 to more than $100.

Old perfume and/or medicine bottles are also good and often overlooked. Hansen said in many cases, owners of homes considering estate sales or auctions have already cleaned out their medicine cabinets and other niches in attics and basements, discarding these sometimes valuable items.

In many cases, waterfowl decoys have been victims of cleaning binges. Early models of ducks, geese and other birds were carved from wood and painted to deceive live birds. Others were made of canvas or papier-mache. Today, decoys are among one of the most collectible types of American folk art.

The most valuable decoys are those carved by such notable artists -- Laing, Crowell, Ward, Wheeler to name a few. A couple of books, "The Collector's Guide to Decoys," by Sharon and Bob Huxford, and "Collecting Antique Bird Decoys," by Carl F. Luckey reveal types and values of old decoys, which can range from a low of $50 to more than $5,000 each.

"There are a number of things people discard, thinking they have no value," said Hansen. "Everything doesn't have to be old to be of value. A lot of 1950s and even 1960s items are highly collectible."

Records, silverware with red and green handles, art deco items and much more fit into the modern collectibles.

Paper items -- mostly old -- are also discarded. Before all too many auctions, loads of "old paper stuff" have been hauled to a nearby gullies and dumped.

Old paper and poster items have also been used as insulation. In one scenario, a person who had purchased an older home and was remodeling it found an old (early turn of the century vintage) Coca Cola poster between the linoleum and the flooring.

The poster, which had only very minor edging flaws, proved to be a $900 Coke item -- a pretty expensive 20" by 24" piece of insulation.