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Collecting Hawaii

Some collectors don't collect a single thing, but collect from a single place, and one of the most collectible places is Hawaii, reports Collectibles Expert Tony Hyman on The Saturday Early Show.

Tourists and collectors especially love hula girls, whether made from 20th-century china, worth a few dollars, to rare Hakata ceramic dolls, worth a few hundred.

Fine condition '50s hula dolls and nodders wholesale for $30 to $75. Taller chalk Hawaiian figures by a company called Linder bring $350, and a hula lamp-clock combo can bring more than $1,000.

Right now, ceramics by '60s artist Julene are hot, with her folk lore Menehune selling for $75 to $150 and her larger figures of Hawaiian royalty, more than twice that.



Find out about other collectibles described by The Saturday Early Show's Tony Hyman in the Collectibles Archive or visit Tony Hyman's Web site.

If you think you have a collectible worth a lot of cash, send an email to sat@cbsnews.com with "What's It Worth?" in the subject line. Or write to "What's It Worth?" The Saturday Early Show, 514 West 57th St., 6th floor, New York, N.Y. 10019.

Souvenir bowls and other art made from shimmery red and gold koa wood are worth $30 and up.

Calabash shaped bowls from centuries ago have brought $10,000 and up.

Any colorful paper from pre-1950 Hawaii is collectible.

Photos are popular, especially hand-tinted ones.

Travel brochures and maps bring $3 to $20.

Matson Lines menus are $25 and up, as are holiday issues of Paradise of the Pacific magazine.

Hawaiian shirts, books, jewelry, ukuleles, even 50-year-old surfboards, keep Hawaii No. 1 with collectors.


Hawaii collectible information is courtesy of Susan Mast, a historian-collector-dealer in Hula Girls and other Hawaiiana, both historic and tourist. Direct your questions to sme@cruzio.com . Visit her Web site at http://www.hawaiiana-shop.com.

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