Auction Finds - Souvenir Teaspoons, Out Of Fashion?
I've been dealing in second hand goods, antiques and collectibles for over 20 years, and there are definite trends in the value and popularity of collectibles. 10 to 20 years ago almost everyone had a souvenir teaspoon cabinet at home and we used to sell these spoons for around R20 ($1,50) each in the shop. At the moment, we can't give them away.
Of course there are always exceptions and if the souvenir teaspoon overlaps with another collectible category then I can still sell it. I (and my husband) can be found before an auction sifting through large bags of spoons to see if we can find anything that falls into the sellable category.
I have a dedicated group of collectors who snap up anything related to the South African Police Services (SAPS). This is actually a tricky category as many SAPS related items are illegal to sell, for instance badges and uniform related items. (Basically anything that can be used to impersonate a police officer, because South Africa's high crime rate.) One of my best customers is an ex-policeman, and he has created a private museum. I will often send him the pieces I can't sell.
There is a small section of the South Africa population who are a bit obsessed with our old flag. There are literally hundreds of these souvenir teaspoons with the little hanging flag. Though over the last couple of years, even their popularity as waned significantly.
South African and other African game parks are world renowned. Game park memorabilia is very popular, especially anything related to the Kruger Park. This teaspoon is a souvenir of a game park in Namibia.
Basically anything train related sells.
And being the ever adventurous soul that I am, I still try and sell items I find interesting. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. The For Home and Country spoon originated from a WWI propaganda campaign to buy items that would support the war effort. This spoon clearly does not date from this era and is replica. The 3 Hobhouse spoons most likely came from the Anglo-Boer War Museum and commemorated Emily Hobhouse for her efforts to improve conditions in the concentration camps, where Boers where imprisoned. None of these spoons have sold, so I will be removing those listings soon.