Thursday, December 13, 2007

Future Football Rookie Cards Worth Holding Onto

The Associated Press just released a great article outlining the NCAA All American Team members for the 2007 season, some of which will be moving on to the NFL Draft here in a few months. Their rookie football cards and other autographed sports memorabilia may be worth a fair amount in the future, once they've had an opportunity to perform their talents.
When it comes to being an All-American, Darren McFadden doesn't have to settle for second. The Arkansas running back and two-time Heisman Trophy runner-up was one of four players voted to The Associated Press All-American team for the second consecutive season. Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long, LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey and Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis were the other two-time first-team AP All-Americans on the team released Tuesday. Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow joins McFadden in the backfield along with Central Florida's Kevin Smith, who leads the nation with 2,448 yards and 30 touchdowns. Smith is the first All-American from UCF, which began playing major college football in 1996. Tebow led the Gators in rushing and became the first major college player with at least 20 rushing touchdowns and at least 20 TD passes in the same season. McFadden set school records with 1,725 yards rushing and 2,172 all-purpose yards, breaking the marks he set last year. He scored 16 touchdowns and threw four TD passes, working as a quarterback out of Arkansas' shotgun Wild Hog formation.
Kansas State receiver Jordy Nelson went from walk-on to All-American. He ranked second in the country in both receptions (122) and receiving yards (1,606) behind fellow All-American Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech. Crabtree set NCAA freshman records with 125 receptions for 1,861 yards and 21 touchdowns. Fellow redshirt freshmen Jeremy Maclin from Missouri (all-purpose player) and Arizona State kicker Thomas Weber also
made the first team. Crabtree was also one of four players unanimously selected to the first team by a panel of 12 media members, along with McFadden, Dorsey and Southern California defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis. Missouri's Martin Rucker, who led the nation's tight ends with 81 catches, gave the Tigers two All-Americans. Long was joined on the offensive line by Kansas tackle Anthony Collins, guards Duke Robinson of Oklahoma and Martin O'Donnell of Illinois, and Wake Forest center Steve Justice.
On the defensive line with Dorsey and Ellis were ends Chris Long from Virginia and George Selvie of South Florida. Penn State's Dan Connor, Colorado's Jordan Dizon and Butkus Award winner Laurinaitis were the linebackers.
In the secondary, the cornerbacks were Aqib Talib from Kansas and
Antoine Cason from Arizona. The safeties were Jamie Silva from Boston College and Craig Steltz from LSU, each with six interceptions. Cincinnati's Kevin Huber was the punter. He led the nation with a 46.9-yard average.
The Big 12 had eight players selected to the first team, leading all conferences. The Big Ten and Southeastern Conference were second with four All-Americans each.
Let me know what you think about those who made the team, or those who didn't, and if you do happen to pick up any of their rookie cards, be sure to manage your collection on iTaggit!

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Michael Vick Memorabilia

Michael Vick had one of the most promising careers in the National Football League ahead of him. He was the star quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons and the 2007 Draft brought plenty of young talent onto the team to spark a successful season. Little did they know that shortly before the season kicked-off, Vick would be turning himself in on charges of racketeering and drug use, as well as suspicion of lying about his involvement with the “Bad Newz Kennels” dog fighting operation. A case that has certainly affected the collectible value of his memorabilia. Vick was sentenced on Monday to 23 months in prison, which carries a possibility of being reduced by approximately 4 months if he shows good behavior. The real question on everyones' minds is if he will ever play pro ball again. His $130 million contract, once the richest in NFL history, is now suspended without pay, and all of his endorsement deals have been revoked. When asked about an indefinite suspension before the trial, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell responded “That's a determination we'll make later on... when the legal process is closed.” Now that sentencing has occurred, the professional career of Michael Vick lies in Commissioner Goodell's hands. As for his authentic sports memorabilia, one could argue that the current value might be solely based on the whirlwind of media frenzy surrounding the case and only time will tell how this controversy will affect his overall worth. What are your thoughts?

One Hundred Million Pennies For Your Thoughts

As the old saying goes “A penny saved is a penny earned,” but the children of New York City took their coin collecting to a whole new level. Hundreds of thousands of city students representing more than 800 public schools in the area spent their weeks between October 22 and Thanksgiving collecting pennies door to door. The outcome is being displayed in Rockefeller Center near the famous Christmas tree.”The Penny Harvest Field” was designed by architect James Polshek and is approximately 30 feet by 165 feet, or roughly as long as a city block. The value of their collection is estimated at around $1 million, or 100 million pennies plus a few other coins that might have slipped in. The exhibit is the outcome of the 17th annual Penny Harvest hosted by the nonprofit organization Common Cents. Their national education program is designed to teach children about their contributions to society, and after the first of the year, the money will be donated to charitable organizations of the children's choice.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Help Others While Helping Yourself

During my morning hunt for good antiques news, I stumbled upon a great article about Shopgoodwill.com. If you are in the market to purchase antique furniture, antique bottles, or anything else that you feel has aged better with time, check out their site. It is the first and only nonprofit Internet auction site and it makes searching through the old bins and clothes racks seem obsolete. They have over 75 categories and subcategories consisting of more than 18,000 items from antiques and toys to one-of-a-kind collectible items, which they have pulled from the billions of pounds of donated goods they collect every year. Shopgoodwill.com also has many popular features including Personal Shopper, which will send bidders e-mail alerts when items they are looking for are posted, which sounds perfect for the busy holiday shopper. If you would like to see more details from within the original article, please click here, and remember to add your new finds into your collection on iTaggit!

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Ancient Throne Found In Ruins

iTaggit encourages our users to show off their antique furniture collection in our gallery, but this newly unearthed piece leaves most others in the dust. The remnants of the first known surviving Roman throne have been discovered 82 feet below the surface in the buried city of Herculaneum. Herculaneum was engulfed in lava and ash in the year 79 when Mount Vesuvius erupted, killing thousands. Luckily for our generation, the layers of volcanic ash preserved the sites and are providing historical information on what domestic life was like in the ancient world. Even more remarkable about this piece is that it was found in the Villa dei Papiri, a first century country home believed to have been the residence of Julius Caesar's father-in-law. Archaeologists first dug the two legs and part of the back of the wooden throne that was decorated with ivory bas-reliefs depicting Greek mythological figures absorbed by Rome's culture. It is also decorated with images of pine cones and phalluses, as well as images of the gods Attis and Dionysus. A throne of this sort had only been seen in artistic depictions before now. The fragile antique remains will undergo a lengthy restoration while the dig in the Villa dei Papiri continues. The Villa dei Papiri was named as such due to the hundreds of ancient papyruses found in a library, and the site has only been partially excavated.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Classic Rolls Royce Sets Records

iTaggit has several impressive vehicle collections in our gallery, and this classic beauty would fit right in. According to British reports, the world's oldest surviving Rolls-Royce set two new records this past Monday when a private collector paid 3.5 million pounds ($7.22 million) for it in an auction at Bonhams. The winning bid makes the classic not only the most expensive pre-1905 car purchase, but also the most paid for a Rolls-Royce. This shattered the previous record for a veteran car purchase, which was 1.76 million pounds for an 1884 De Dion Bouton, and also the previous record of 1.48 million pounds for a 1912 Silver Ghost Double Pullman Limousine.
The newly purchased RR was built in 1904 and is only the fourth vehicle produced by the landmark cooperation between Charles Rolls and Henry Royce, which is still one of the oldest lines running. It is an open-topped two-seater with a small ten horsepower engine. It is in perfect condition after being restored in the 1950s, but was first exhibited at The Paris Salon in the Fall of 1904. This particular car carries with it a pedigree of sorts, as it was the only Rolls-Royce qualifying on the basis of its pre-1905 date to take part in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. It first ran the prestigious rally in 1954.
If you are curious about managing collections of old car parts, or cars in general, post your queries to our blog board. We can also help manage collectibles from this classic car era by providing knowledge about your items.

A Real National Treasure Mystery

The National Treasure sequel is coming to theaters in a couple weeks and it has entertainment collectors abuzz, but what they might not know is that we have our own national treasure mystery going on display this month at the Library of Congress. A Wadseemuller map from 1507 has puzzled researchers from the moment it was discovered. It is the only known surviving copy of the 500-year-old map that first named this land “America”. The 12 sheets that complete the map were purchased from German Prince Johannes Waldburg-Wolfegg for $10 million in 2003 from his valuable collection of historical documents.
The German monk Martin Waldseemuller drew them after he was approached by the Duke of Lorraine, 13 years following the first landing of Christopher Columbus in the Western Hemisphere. The result he and a group of scholars produced two years later was remarkably dead on. The shape of South America is mostly correct, to the point that key areas are drawn proportionally to each other within 70 miles of accuracy. Also, the map gives a mostly correct depiction of the west coast of South America, but according to our history books, Vasco Nunez de Balboa did not reach the Pacific by land until 1513, and Ferdinand Magellan did not round the southern tip of the landmass until 1520. So, from what we currently hold to be true, it technically should not have been possible to construct this map so precisely with the knowledge that we believe they were limited to, but this is only part one of the mystery.
Waldseemuller was very clear in his naming of this new land “America” after Vespucci, a famous Florentine navigator who wrote letters describing his journeys to this new world. But for some unknown reason, Waldseemuller began to have regrets about the name, and in an atlas he produced six years later, he refers to it as “Terra Incognita” or “Unknown Land.” A few years after that, he digressed even further by reconnecting North America to Asia, and renaming this land mass “Terra de Cuba” (Land of Cuba) in the north, and “Terra Nova” (New World) in the south. Some speculate that political influences of Spain and Portugal played a part in the differentiation between the maps. One thing is for certain though. This map is the modern standard by which all further maps were developed, making it a keystone map, and an important piece in the developing understanding of the history of western civilization.