Valentine's Day loot!

Can you tell from this blog that holidays are mostly just an excuse for the hubs & I to go antique shopping?

And shop we did. And I think I got some killer bargains.First up, this vintage ivory Fiesta ice-lip pitcher might not be a bargain to anyone but me because of its numerous cosmetic issues - the biggest of which is a chip on the spout. Also two chips around the base & scuffing both inside and out. But I fell in love with it. I washed it up with TLC and told it that it was home now, where it could retire with some equally chippy brethren.

Now this brings me to a question: Are you willing to buy chipped pieces? And pay more than just a yard sale or thrift store price?

My personal philosophy is this: I will buy damaged pieces if this price seems fair (takes all the damage into account) - especially and particularly on a piece I otherwise couldn't afford. It's important to me that the price is fair, because I may replace the piece in the future, so I'd like the damaged one to be inexpensive enough I could just give it to someone who might enjoy it and not feel like I wasted too much money.

Also, a replacement piece in my price range may not come along. Soon or ever. I'd much rather have a reasonably priced but damaged piece than have no piece at all. I just wonder how much my philosophy agrees or disagrees with fellow collectors?
Now, I don't understand the dealer I bought these from. They had them marked "New Fiesta" and priced at 10 dollars a piece.

I'm 99.99% sure these are the real deal vintage. There's confusion with turquoise, since it has been around almost the entire lifespan of Fiesta, only to change shades in the P86 era (the new turquoise is greener). But what got me was that this particular dealer had other vintage Tom & Jerry mugs as well as cream soup bowls right there is their own booth to compare these to, and all the others were correctly labeled vintage and were 4 times the price!

These were obviously just for me, then, because turquoise is my favorite vintage Fiesta color (Scarlet in the new Fiesta), and Tom & Jerry mugs are one of my most favorite pieces. So hooray!
A complete set! Outstanding!! I've had the smaller brown-on-white pieces for well over a year now and was just missing the biggest white-on-brown piece (the 503 for those of you who speak Pyrex-ese). Now my Early American refrigerator dish set is finally complete. I also have the 3 non-handled mixing bowls, which are all the pieces I'm collecting for this pattern. I'd love to find the largest bowl (the 404) some day, but it's fairly uncommon, so I consider my bowl set complete without it.

Gosh, I'm long-winded. But I'm almost done. And my final piece is a jaw-dropper!
Ta-Dah!

This is a piece I seriously didn't even think I would even SEE in real life, much less own. It is the coveted and expensive Fire King "Kitchen Aids" pattern!

This baby here is a salt shaker. And I paid...........drumroll please.......

9.99!

I am thrilled to the gills!

My first thought when I saw it was "this has got to be a repro". But it had every characteristic of being real. From rusty lid to brown, nasty salt still inside it! (Come on, dealers!!! Can't you even WASH your wares before putting them out to sell?!)

And here's my insane good luck with shakers. I've got a total of 12 dollars invested in these. No joke.

But, if it makes you feel better, I have wholly and disgracefully overpaid for every single mixing bowl I've bought to match the tulips, so my great bargains are kind of a wash in bigger picture.

It was a great Valentine's day, a great adventure with the hubs (who also found some neat treasures which I refuse to blog about, because he's got his own blog that he never updates! LOL).

Have a great day & great treasure hunting!