More Letters
Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", April 2007, page 11

Editor's Note: Some of the articles in recent issues of Crown Jewels have been quite lengthy, and did not permit us to publish letters from readers. Therefore we are expanding that section in this month's issue in an effort to catch up.   Howard

Hi Howard or Linda,

I have no regret of subscribing to your magazine. Every issue is colorful and interesting. I have learned a few things from it. It's a great help as to color, model and what has been found in the wild. I like that you have a Canadian forum. The photo of collections and collectors are great, and the swap meets are a delight. The historic content is great, too.

I like stories searching in the wild for insulators. There is nothing like going for a walk along old lines to try to find stuff. I like digging for stuff in old dumps. You find a few good things once in a while. I have dug about 150 insulators, but only a few were not chipped or broken. Haven't had any luck finding threadless up to now. There are old lines up here (eastern Canada). I've found a place with four old post stumps, but scratched around and did not find anything old. Maybe I'm going at it in the wrong way? Any hints or clues would be appreciated.

Most of the places I find stuff in in marshy round. You have to be careful in these places, walk slow, because you don't see all the holes and small brooks. I watch for places where fires have been set to burn off marsh grasses, hoping to spot pole stumps, and hoping to get lucky at such places someday.

Yard sales and antique shops don't have much for sale, because you have to be at the right place and right time to have a chance to get stuff, before other collectors buy them. My best shop at a find this year is a CD 145 T.C.R. in topaz. It has a chip on the rim. I only paid $5 for it. Recently bought a 192/3 Am. Tel & Tel Co (sky blue) and only the top part. I paid $4. Another buy is a CD 145 (030) No Name in yellow. This one I bought from a collector for $30.

Look forward to another year of the magazine.

John Paul Daigle 
New Brunswick

John Paul... Regarding digging: Threadless hunters are known to excavate several feet deep... and in a circumference of 15 to 20 feet around the pole stump. That's a lot of work, but rewarding when, or if, you find something. Some collectors find the use of a metal detector helpful, hoping to find an insulator with wire tied to it, or buried on a side peg with square nails still in the peg. You might trying borrowing someone's metal detector the next time you go hunting.   Howard

Why aren't MY insulators worth anything?

Howard, Enclosed is my subscription renewal for another year of C.J. You seem to focus more on the west coast than on my area, but I still find this interesting because the insulators seem to be worth more in your area than in mine (eastern seaboard). Take for instance the sapphire blue "B" beehive inside the cover of the January issue. I found two of these about six years ago and took one to a show in Maryland. I was surprised when the other dealers told me it was common, even though it was an unlisted color. Out of the 25,000 or so insulators at the show I could not be shown another one to match it.

Anyway I turned down the to offer of $25 and held onto it until I traded it for a purple 121 toll and a National screw top. I still have the other sapphire beehive in my collection. I like it even though it's "worthless".

Another piece I hold onto is a 162.1 Brookfield. It's about 85 to 90% milk with an amber ribbon through it, and is about two shades away from being jade. Around here its worth, apparently, 40-bucks. What would it be worth in California?

I also have a really crude CD 127. It has the "Y" and the dot in the top of the pinhole like a Paisley. But I can make out part of the word "Brookfield" on the dome. Also, it won't fit on a standard pin. I'm a machinist by trade so I made a lucite pin to fit the insulator. It measures 15/16ths in diameter, straight and not tapered, with 4 threads per inch.

How about the Brookfield beehives with the dome flared out bigger than the skirt and base? Found one ten years ago. It was worth nothing then and probably less now since someone else found one, too.

I have quite a few pieces in my collection that are oddballs that no one can show me a match to, but for some reason they aren't worth anything here in the east. I have a piece right now that's been soaking in acid for over a year and its finally revealing itself. It was incased in an iron cover with some sort of cement. It is obviously a glass beehive that's sort of flat on the top. But what's more obvious about it is the color. It is definitely cobalt blue. No doubt about it. It's also threaded inside. I got most of the cement out of it. I don't think I really want to show it off around here. I'd simply be crushed to find out its only worth $20 or so, especially after all the patience I've forced upon myself in cleaning it in a careful and cautious manner. I think I should just keep it stashed away until I have an occasion to visit the West Coast.     Bruce

Well, Bruce, here at Crown Jewels we'd love to see a picture of your cobalt blue beehive. Please send us one when you finish cleaning the insulator. Color is "king" in insulator collecting these days. A cobalt beehive would be worth a lot of money on anybody's coast. Embossing variants and slightly different mold shapes get talked about in insulator circles, but aren't likely to bring much money in and of themselves. However, anything in brilliant color nowadays will attract attention anywhere. The sapphire beehive in the January issue was sold at the Mid-Ohio show for a worthwhile sum.

The secret to receiving what your insulator is worth isn't geography, but audience. The larger the audience the better your chances of selling for a decent price. That's why insulator auctions do so well. Their audience is quite literally intemational in scope. The next time you want to sell something you consider valuable, you could try contacting one of the hobby's auctioneers. Most advertise is Crown Jewels. See if they are interested in taking your insulator on consignment. And if so, see what they estimate you might expect to receive for your insulator.

Another option is to contact someone who buys insulators and collections outright. You will get paid a lot faster than waiting for all auction. Several folks advertise to make outright purchases in Crown Jewels. They know the market, and therefore the value of good insulators. You can expect a fair offer from any of our advertisers.

Still another option is for you is to rent a table at a show and price your insulators for what you think you should get for them. If a collector comes around who wants one of your insulators, he may very well pay your price; or may negotiate with you for a lower price. Either way, you are in charge of how much money your insulator brings.

And yet another option is to advertise the insulator in Crown Jewels yourself. We distribute 1,300 copies of this magazine each month. That's a significant number of potential buyers, and much more than are likely to attend any one show.

Regarding your comment about our focusing more on the West Coast: Ouch. That hurts. Linda and I really try to keep coverage balanced. If we do get out of balance, please... any of you readers... please let us know. It is a fact that it is easier to get readers in the Western US to write or submit articles to us for publishing. I don't know why that is, but it is a true fact. But is it a fact that can, and should, be changed. We do want to change that. So... here is yet another plea for folks on the East Coast to write articles for Crown Jewels. Please, please call or write or email us with your ideas. Literally, we beg you to do so!!!!!!!!!!! I've made this plea over and over again in this magazine over the last four years... and have only received a handful of responses. So, this is your chance to change this situation. Want more articles on Eastern insulators? Get out your pen and paper and start writing. Dust off your camera and starting taking pictures. There's nothing keeping such articles from being published, except a lack of authors. Linda and I have no bias. We only have an unfulfilled need. But any of you are welcome to fill that need at any time.

So what can you readers write about? Well, select all Eastern insulator manufacturer. Photograph the insulators made by the company and write up the company's history. Or pick a specific telephone or telegraph or power line and write about the insulators that were used on it. Or, choose a city and describe and show insulators used in that community. Or, write about a friend and why she collects insulators, and show off her collection. You don't have to be an "expert". What do I know about Paisley insulators? But in January's issue I presented a 25 page article with five dozen photographs... and all on "eastern" insulators. Ok, I'll climb off my soapbox now. Bruce, if you will send me a picture of the cobalt beehive we'll write up your story and make your insulator famous. Thanks for your letter. Linda and I appreciate it.     Howard.