It's not necessary to eat sushi from a sushi set when you have granny's best porcelain and sterling. My sister uses her individual salt cellars (with stainless or ceramic spoons) for sauces that are so potent you only drip a couple of drops, such as wasabi, and for balsamic vinegars of the syrupy kind. If you ignore the name and just look at things as an object that holds things you can use them more often. A marrow spoon would be perfect for filling chiles rellenos, and maybe for eating them too.

I would like to thank everyone for their comments on this topic because it is helping me make the decision as to whether or not to take a leap into this market space. For the past 35 years I have bought, sold and traded sports memorabilia at all levels of the market, private collector, brick and mortar retail, private investment advisor, and now online, and while the industry and buyers have evolved and changed, one thing has remained, demand! The older vintage cards and memorabilia is always in demand regardless of the economy so it holds it value. We see the same trend with comic books, toys, dolls, and Disney memorabilia. Can anyone see what all these things have in common? Children! Today's collectibles market is driven by the demand for the things we had as children, and I say we because it is my generation (born in 1966) that is now the buyers and my parents generation (1941) and my children's generation (1990) that is selling. Over the past few years I have noticed that fine china that was once a staple in antique shops is now piled on bottom shelves and overflow boxes in place like the DAV thrift shop or the Habitat for Humanity resell store with $20 price tags. Not for each piece, for the whole set. As an example, the set of china my wife and I have was purchased at the DAV for $20. It is a service for 12 and included all of the service pieces, including a teapot, sugar bowl, and creamer dish. It has a oriental bamboo design from 1952. When we got it home we were amazed to find every piece in pristine condition and only the sugar bowl lid, soup ladle, and oversized serving platter were missing. It was when I went on line to find the pieces that I realize that I had just purchased a $5,000 set of china for twenty bucks. This was my wife's favorite story to tell friends and family while eating off the dishes. She has since passed on but I still have the china which will like be sold rather than passed down since we bought all of our children large beautiful china sets for christmas a few years ago. Only one still has her's. The other three children either gave theirs away or abandoned it during a move. My last sentence brings to question, is it the change in attitude of the upcoming generations that has resulted in the casting aside of once cherished and loved heirlooms? Or, could it be, with the generation of the Depression Era gone and the generation of 20-somethings coming of age, with no interest in history or the past struggles of their great grandparents, has the importance of respecting the things we take for granted been lost. Yes we are talking about dishes, but at some point, very likely in the near future, having a plate for your food may be a gift rather than a convenience. I am not sure what has happened to the interest in fine china and crystal. Who knows why the things we desire and place importance upon change from generation to generation. Whatever the reason, I am grateful that I have the opportunity to preserve and pass on pieces for the past, pieces of history that have a story to tell. Just like us. Pieces of the past with a story to tell! In closing, today i stopped at one of our local thrift stores and as I always do, I found a few things that I could have lived without, a pink glass Jesters Cup, a commemorative frosted crystal Rocks Glass, a cut crystal shot glass from the Sochi Olympics (BobSled), and two miniature porcelain bells. I paid $2.50 total, for all five items. And, tonight while I was writing this, I sold the Sochi shot glass and the pink glass Jesters Cup for a total of $95.00. To answer the question posed, yes, I do believe there is still a market for these once treasured items, and like some have said, it is up to the individual as to how to pass them on. One way that was not mentioned , how about gifting the to a friend or family that has never had the opportunity to own fine china or crystal stemware? Someone who will love and cherish them just as you have. For me, to see someone I care about smile is worth far more than a dollar bill.

I wonder if the definition (antique vs. vintage) is different for furniture as opposed to other things like the glasses? Not that it mattersÂas IÂm not selling any of it! I was carefully washing MomÂs crystal last night after everyone went to bed. DH had offered to help me after dinner. But yesterday morning I had gone to check itÂs value online and found those glasses were pretty pricey at Replacements! Fortunately I remembered the name of both the china and the crystalÂa miracle, really. I figured if I broke one myself I could only be mad at me. I plan to print out what I have found on these and the china and keep it in a folder in the cabinet. IÂm glad Mom had the forethought to give these to me about 2 years before she died in 1996. She and my Dad just showed up at my house one day with boxes, minimally labeled. I had no china cabinet then and toddlers running around. (Two toddlers who threw furniture, I might add in my defense. Not like docile little me at that age.) I cleared off a shelf in the basement and thatÂs where they stayed for 12 years. Now I wish I hadnÂt waited so long to display them. I was keeping them "safe" I guess: then time got away from me. Casualty of being self employed (overwork) and raising kids. Meanwhile my kids have no memory of these lovely things the way I do: Mom and Dad always used their china and crystal whenever they had guests. They both had large families so that was often. I remember washing these same glasses many times for family parties. Now they are all gone. My cousins are all disbursed in many states and few even have children. Gosh, IÂm getting maudlin. Warning to meÂuse it, appreciate it. Enjoy what you have. DonÂt keep beauty in the basement.

I don't have my own wedding crystal, though I have inherited some lovely stuff that was gifted to my grandmother for her first wedding. I keep a set of 4 on the shelf, and keep the odd couple extra boxed up in case I need a replacement. The set was originally bigger, but stuff gets broken sometimes. Champagne bowl, footed pilsner, and a couple wines in two sizes. Small water glasses and dessert plates too. And 5 cordial glasses that are very different with dark glass top and milk glass bottoms that I think were from great-gmas? wedding. I do sometimes use all these glasses. Two matching heavy crystal pitchers- one mom got for her wedding, the other she found at a resale. I never use those. What my love and I used for our wedding was part of a wedding gift from his folks. They are huge wine folks and host wine parties- they supplied a case each of a white and a red, a few bottles of bubbly, and the use of several racks of wine glasses for everyone to use. And the use of a big ole coffee maker.