ATLANTA – WorthPoint Corporation this week announced the appointment of six new Worthologists — men and women with expertise in and a passion for art, antiques and collectibles.
The new Worthologists are experts in a wide variety of items including coins, currency, antique farm tractors, classical furniture, movie memorabilia, sports memorabilia and scrimshaw. Their backgrounds include auctioneering, appraising, publishing, teaching, consulting and serving in the military and becoming a decorated war veteran. What all Worthologists have in common is their passion and knowledge for collecting in their given area of expertise and a desire to give back to the collecting community.
“We now have 30 Worthologists on board and hope to add as many as 100 more during the coming year,” said Will Seippel, Founder and CEO of WorthPoint. “These Worthologists will be instrumental in building our online community of like-minded collectors and dealers.
“We are receiving an increasing number of inquiries from people who want to become Worthologists. We thoroughly check each applicant’s background and qualifications and require each to abide by a strict conflict of interest code. We are committed to creating a safe online site where collectors can share their passion for collecting and find unbiased expert advice on the items they want to buy or sell.”
The six new Worthologists are:
Glen Burger of Baltimore, Maryland, collects coins and currency, particularly those with errors. For more than 26 years, Glenn has used his deep interest in error coins and currency as a specialist, a dealer and a consultant to many of the official grading services. His insights and experience have also been quoted in many of the industry’s leading reference books. Glen is also an expert in the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
Johnnie Hitt of Wills Point, Texas, grew up on farms and ranches in Texas, where he began driving tractors that we now call antiques when he was 8 years old. He’s been in love with them ever since. Johnnie was drafted into the military and served in Viet Nam, where he won combat medals. When he retired from the military and moved back to Texas, Johnnie was able to start collecting, reconditioning, buying and selling these wonderful pieces of history.
Ed Kushner of Shamokin, Pennsylvania, has been a sports memorabilia collector and dealer for 27 years, with a particular fondness for baseball cards. Ed also collects autographs, yearbooks, pennants, sports equipment such as jerseys, hockey sticks, baseball bats, advertising items and tobacco tins. As a dealer, he regularly participates in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania shows.
David Malbuff of Strasburg, Virginia, collects what he calls “oddball antiques,” eclectic pieces from the American South, Asia and the Middle East. His particular specialty is furniture from the American Federal and English Sheraton periods. David also has a rare collection of letters, telegrams, and photos from the 1940s Chinese Civil War. David and his wife, Anette, are the proprietors of the Great Strasburg Emporium.
Allan Maurer of Cary, North Carolina, collects movie memorabilia. He specializes in posters, lobby cards, stills and toys from science fiction films and a variety of general movie memorabilia. He also collects artistic foreign posters (Polish, Czech, French, Belgian, Mexican) and posters from foreign films by major directors (Bergman, Bunuel, Fellini). Allan is an editor and frequent writer for www.bestfilmfests.com, www.ncflix.com, and several other film-related blogs.
Douglass Moody of Long Beach, California, collects scrimshaw, an original American art form that enjoyed its “Golden Age” from 1835 to 1860. His first love was oceanography and marine biology, so collecting whale teeth and nautical scrimshaw became a natural past time for Douglass. He purchased his first raw whale teeth in 1971 while stationed in Iceland with the U.S. Navy. Douglass is Webmaster of www.ScrimshawCollectors.com and has led scrimshaw collectors discussion groups and authored many articles on scrimshaw.
For more information about WorthPoint’s Worthologists — and to find out how to become a Worthologist — visit the WorthPoint Web site at www.worthpoint.com and click on “Worthologists.”
About WorthPoint
WorthPoint is a Web 2.0-based data and media company that offers a vast database of sales records on art, antiques and collectibles. The site allows members to contact other collectors interested in buying, selling or swapping stories. Members can also share their insights, knowledge and passion and build collecting communities. WorthPoint fills an information void for collectors by helping them understand the history and worth of their items and providing expert advice on how to preserve or sell them.
WorthPoint Corporation
CONTACT: Steve Johnson of WorthPoint Corporation, 1-877-734-7735 x9019,
[email protected]
Web site: http://www.worthpoint.com/
http://www.bestfilmfests.com/
http://www.ncflix.com/
http://www.ScrimshawCollectors.com/