Send your answers to the What Is It contest, postmarked by May 20, to the Mountain States Collector, P.O. Box 1003,  Bailey, CO 80421. At least three winners will be drawn. Winners will receive a year’s subscription to the Mountain States Collector.

 These beads are called Roman face beads. There is amazing detail in these tiny beads, shown here much larger than actual size. The eyes, mouth and other features were made by fusing rods of differently colored glass with heat, then slicing the fused rods and embedding the slices in glass beads. Invented by Syrians and Egyptians during Roman time, the […]

 We had no correct answers for our March’s What Is It. It is kind of hard to make out, isn’t it?  The item is a purse! This tiny party bag is of the 1920s era. It is made of silk covered with tinted ostrich feathers. Pretty fancy. The purse could hold little more than a compact.  In 1978, at an […]

 Now we’re cookin’! We had several correct guesses for our February What Is It. We think many people have fond memories of Princess Grace of Monaco.  Bill Evans of Elizabeth, Colorado, tells us “The February What Is It is a 3 franc Air Post stamp issued in 1966 by Monaco to commemorate the birth of Princess Stephanie of Monaco on […]

We had no correct guesses for our January What Is It. This is a handmade horse grooming tool from days of old. Modern day tools look a lot less severe. You can buy a whole tool bucket for the job. There are many manufacturers who would like to supply you.