How to Collect Christmas Tree Pins Fun Jewelry

Collecting vintage and newer Christmas tree pins is fun and affordable, and there are some that are more valuable than others. You can learn the qualities that make these pins more valuable, and search for them on the internet or in collectibles and antiques malls.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• an interest in collecting jewelry like Christmas tree pins

1. 
    
   Christmas jewelry is sometimes enamel with rhinestones

   Decide what you want to collect. You may choose rhinestone Christmas tree pins or all enamel tree pins. You may want to collect Christmas tree jewelry over two inches tall, or under two inches tall. You can also limit a collection to an era--either old or new. Christmas tree pins were popular in the 1950s and some of those are still available on the secondary market.

2. 
    
   Christmas pins with openwork are fun.

   Look for name brands. Most of the older collectible Christmas tree pins are marked with a name on the back. Hollycraft and ART are good names. Made in Austria and Weiss are collectible marks as are Beatrix and B.J. Most of these companies were out of business by the early 1980s.
   
   Newer collectible Christmas tree pins are made by Liz Claiborne and Gerrys, Cristobal and Wendy Gell. Of course there are many more designers and makers, but these are some you could find in your travels.

3. 
    
   Christmas tree pin with rhinestones

   Check the condition. Many Christmas tree pins are enamel and the enamel may be cracked or damaged. Others are pot metal with metallic gold or silver coating, and the coating is worn at the corners. Missing rhinestones also devalue costume jewelry.

4. 
    
   There are some sterling tree pins, too.

   Try to find the unique and unusual pins. If you see certain Christmas tree pins over and over in your travels or online, those are the common ones. There are some small Avon Christmas trees that there are hundreds of, and these are not very valuable.
   
   Usually, the more elaborate and larger the pin, the more likely it is to be valuable, and increase in value.

Tips & Warnings

• Collecting jewelry is easy and it does not take much room. Finding quality Christmas tree pins that are in good condition will create a collection that will retain its value.
• copyright 2009 Linda Richard
• Feel free to link to this article or send it to a friend.

Resources

• Recognize Juliana Jewelry
• Costume Jewelry for Investment Fun
• Identify Gold Jewelry by Marks
• Identify Silver by Marks
• Use a Loupe for Jewelry
• Use an Electronic Gold Tester for Jewelry
• Contact Us

[DiscountTickets]

on 10/28/2009 Yeah, I also collect Christmas Tree pins.

[joycetmann]

on 10/3/2009 I treasure the Christmas tree pins I inherited from my mother. A few of her pins have religious medals attached, a style popular with Catholic women. Great article. 5*

[alltrails]

on 9/19/2009 Terrific article on collecting pins. 5 stars - thanks!

[esatchel]

on 8/28/2009 I was actually thinking of Christmas tree pins not too long ago, regretting the ones that I had as a child but didn't take care of. Gone forever. Funny the things you miss. I may have to start collecting them now that I am old enough to appreciate them. Thanks! :^}

[godfather25]

on 8/20/2009 Great article on collecting christmas tree pins.