March 3, 2019Say that something has "intrinsic value" and you may get two different reactions. Some people will smile and nod, and some will give you a blank stare. Intrinsic is quite subjective. Something I think has intrinsic value will have no value of any sort to someone else. Of course, the Internet tells me this little Scottie dog is worth at least $24 on Etsy.
I very much doubt my great-grandparents paid even a penny for this. Carnival glass, or "Iridill," was created by the Fenton company sometime around 1910. Tiffany had a similar process and so the Fenton glass didn't sell for top dollar. That being the case, Fenton discontinued Iridill. The older women in my family possessed a great liking for Fenton and many, many pieces have come to me.
These days Fenton glass, while collectible, isn't a consistent high-dollar value. The odd piece may fetch hundreds, but the research into the pieces I own shows an average value of $20.
So I'm down to the intrinsic value of each. How do you put a monetary value on something that your great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother all touched? I can't. I don't even want to try.
The little Scottie dog is a link to my childhood and to a small, stoop-shoulder woman with long white hair that she tucked up into a traditional Brethren prayer covering (a little white bonnet). She died when I was eleven but I do have strong memories of her.
Today the Scottie sits on the same desk it rested upon in her home. Desk and dog are in my writing office, along with other family items. To the south, through the trees, I can still see the old homeplace, so the Scottie hasn't traveled too far. To me, the connections are comforting.
Intrinsic value.
KC Kendricks
www.kckendrics.com
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