Internet Detectives Solving the Mysteries of Antique Objects (45 PICS)

Posted in PICTURES       7 Oct 2025       5825       4 GALLERY VIEW
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Found This Small Kettle Years Ago. Tried Searching For A Similar One, But Have Always Come Up With Nothing. Anybody Have An Idea Why This Has This Unique Shape?

Isn’t that a portable men’s urinal for bedbound patients?

 

What Is This? Was Labeled As A Xylophone? Bought For $9 At An Antique Store

Nine dollars for a tongue drum the size of an end table?! I'm an instrument collector, and I've gotten some goooood deals... But wow. I've never gotten a deal that good.

 

I Inherited This From My Grandpa. It Probably Belonged To My Great Grandpa. It Came With A Vintage How To Sketch Book

Precision vintage drafting tools.

 

Spoon Type Thing With A Metal Plate And Hole?

My husband and I went thrift shopping and found this weird sterling silver spoon but we have no idea what it’s used for? Looked up the brand “reed and Barton” and found that it’s an old sterling silver company but couldn’t find a spoon like this anywhere. Anyone know what it is or what it’s used for?

 

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The End Appears To Be Rabbit Hair And The Handle Is Like A Marbled Bakelite Or Maybe Plastic?

It’s a powder puff wand for face powder. This is a very nice example! Also called a “patter wand”. The idea was popping/beating the powder on your face has a more finished look than using your hand.

 

Found At Antique Festival Near Atlanta, Is 17" By 5.5"

It's for rolling newspapers into a "log" for the fireplace.

 

Found This Hidden In The Ceiling Of My Basement With A Bunch Of Others. Made Out Of Glass, Appears To Have Some Sort Of Tape Or Paper Border Around It

Nice find! Magic Lantern glass slide.

 

Old Leather Boot With Long Metal Spikes. Leather Is Old And Stiff, Sole Is Wood, Metal With Nails Or Rivets Around The Sole, 4” Spikes. Seems Like It Might Be A Mountaineering Boot

They're for crushing chestnuts.

 

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Found In A Demolition Along With Old Money. They Appear To Made From Some Sort Of Fabric

These are German emergency bills that were issued in times when there wasn't enough money available at the central bank. I believe the ones you have may be made of silk or linen.

 

Expandable Metal Circle With Chain And Lid. This Top Comes Off But Is Attached With A Hinge. When The Top Is Off It Can Expand

It says it's from Germany. It belonged to an antique shop owner who didn't know what it was.

 

Found This Cast Iron Coffin In A Closed Funeral Home. I Have Ideas On What It Is, But Want To Be Absolutely Sure

I would guess it’s a version of the Fiske coffin. These coffins were designed after the advent of major railway transportation and offered airtight coffins. This helped to naturally preserve the body. When people began traveling far from families and then subsequently dying, people needed a way to transport bodies long distances to get them back for the funeral and last goodbyes from living relatives.

The window was put in place for health reasons. Should a person have died while in quarantine or from a deadly disease, the window allowed relatives to see and confirm the body's identity before burial.

 

I Found This Ring In My Backyard While Doing Gardening. After Cleaning It, It Doesn't Look Like A Normal Ring. Any Ideas?

It's a Georgian/early Victorian mourning ring. The initials belong to the lost loved one.

They were typically made from gold (18k+) and enameled in black. Yours looks like it was made around the 1820s-40s.

 

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Found In The Basement Of German House That Was Built Shortly Before World War II

Mortar and pestle. A very old one, too.

 

Found In The Yard Of My Old House. Agra, India

My father sent a few samples to the Archaeological Survey of India in Agra, as suggested by many, so thank you. Those of you who said they are Terracotta figures, you were correct. They are Portuguese Terracotta figures from the 3rd to 4th century. Though there haven’t been many accounts of such well-preserved Terracottas, they’re not uncommon for the area of Agra, as the Taj Mahal features many Terracotta designs and mouldings. I can’t believe I thought these figurines were nothing of value, and considered throwing them away. Thank you all again for urging me not to throw these away, notifying me about ASI, and warning me about scammers. For now, my family plans on keeping the figures in a safe place.

 

Made Of Wood. Too Shallow To Store Pens. Hangs On Wall

It is for a large box of matches.

 

Open Spoon With Spikes; Trident-Like Fork; Tongs With A Chicken Foot And A Perforated Spoon. All Antique Silver

Olive server, lettuce server, ice tongs. Having a talon on ice tongs is a novelty feature, but there are a lot of them out there!

 

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What Is This Large Vessel I Found In The Basement Of An Old Psychiatric Hospital?

Looks like a great big autoclave used to sterilize mattresses and bedding.

 

Found In My Grandparents Basement. What Is This?

Solitaire Game. It's pretty expensive.

 

Mom Found This In A Box In The Attic

Phurba, a three-sided peg, stake, knife, or nail-like ritual implement deeply rooted in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Bön traditions.

 

A Departed Someone Loved To Garage Sale Shop. Trying To Identify This Old Antique. I Think It May Be Used To Hang Or Display Clothing But I’m Really Not Sure

It's a valet stand. It holds a man's suit and other accessories.

 

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Antique From The 1800’s, Have To Figure Out What It Is For A School Project

Antique Soap Saver. Small scraps of soap were put in the cage, and when people did dishes by hand, the soap saver was swished though the dishwater to made suds.

 

Found In An Antique Store

It's a wild boar tooth.

 

Found This In Grandpas Box Of Old Things. Might Be From Asia Because Of The 3rd Eye? Any Ideas?

Sorry for the letdown... This was part of a set of premiums for malted milk. Very cool, but not very exotic.

 



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4   Comments ?
8
1.
Maggy 1 month ago
Great post Izi thanks!
       
7
2.
Joanna 1 month ago
Love these! Keep 'em coming!
       
10
3.
Patricia 1 month ago
#4 Soup spoon for mustachioed men.

#10 The expandable opening for a missing fabric purse.
       
4
4.
Aquilla 1 month ago
#9 The surreal writing is Sütterlin, old german handwriting and it says: Stadtsparkasse Bielefeld (City Bank of Bielefeld)
It apparantly was valid till the 1st of April 1922.
That sort of Money was issued in lots of communities during the times of Hyperinflation in Germany till 1924-ish.
       
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