An original, slightly damaged U.S. Coin glass ruby-stained toothpick holder showing a silver dollar sold this past fall at Green Valley Auctions in Mount Crawford, Va., for 60.

Government regulations for sales of antiques have always been confusing. Today it is illegal to sell anything made with eagle feathers, even if the item was made years before the Endangered Species Act passed. In 1892, the Central Glass Co. of Wheeling, W.Va., made a pattern of glass called Coin or U.S. Coin. Real coins were used to make molds for the glassware. Dimes, quarters, half-dollars and silver dollars were copied to decorate pieces of pattern glass. Full sets were made, including compotes, butter dishes, cake stands, bowls, celery dishes, goblets, sauce dishes, bread trays, syrup pitchers, pickle dishes, spooners, jugs and even lamps. Most pieces were made in clear glass, but a few were flashed with amber or red glass. The popular glass pattern was made for only eight months. Then the U.S. Treasury Department ruled that using the coins was a form of counterfeiting money, and the pattern was discontinued. But the idea was so saleable that a similar pattern using Spanish coins was soon made. Today another version of coin glass is being made by Fostoria Glass Co., but the coins are not accurate copies of real coins. Pieces of the new glass sell for as little as $10.

Q: My family heirloom is an etched pane of glass 28 inches by 23 inches. My great-great-grandparents moved to North Dakota from Ontario in 1880, and four generations of our family have lived in the house they built here. The glass pane, which has a blue tint, was in the house’s original front door. The etching shows a woman on horseback next to her hunting dog. Can you tell us anything about this type of glass?

A: We have received other questions about these glass panes, which are called “door lights” because they were mounted as windows in pressed-wood doors. This type of door was mass-produced in the early 20th century and sells today for about $100 to $200. The design on the glass was applied by a process called acid-etching. A wax coating was applied to the glass pane using a stencil, then hydrofluoric acid was spread on the surface to permanently “etch” the stenciled image. Another design we have seen on these door lights shows a woman feeding a horse.

Q: My great-aunt never threw away anything. I inherited her old appliances, along with various unopened packages of detergent that came with them when they were new. Any suggestions on where to go to sell these items?

A: You would probably have better luck selling the detergent separately from the appliances. There are many collectors of old advertising, especially original packaging. You can find buyers online or through classified ads. If the appliances are odd enough, old enough and still working, you can probably find buyers in your area who want to use them in their vintage kitchens or laundry rooms.

Q: I have a 1920 calendar tile marked “Wedgwood Etruria” with a scene of the Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor. The calendar is on the other side, above the name and address of a Boston retail store, “Jones, McDuffee & Stratton Co., Crockery, China & Glass Merchants, 33 Franklin St., Boston, U.S.A.” The tile is cream-colored with a brown design and printing. What can you tell me about it?

A: Your calendar tile was made by the famous English pottery founded by Josiah Wedgwood in 1759. Throughout the years, Wedgwood operated factories in several Staffordshire towns, including Etruria. Jones, McDuffee & Stratton (JMS) – a Boston retailer in business from 1810 until about 1955 – sold an extensive line of Wedgwood tiles and plates decorated with historic American scenes. Calendar tiles with JMS advertising and a calendar on one side and a historic scene on the other were made from 1879 to 1929. Early ones were decorated in various colors, but by the early 1900s only brown was used. Today these tiles sell for $50 to $150 each, depending on condition.

Q: My grandparents left me an 1895 Koken hydraulic barber chair with an oak claw pedestal. It has all its parts except the headrest. The hydraulic system still works. My father restored the chair, refinishing the wood and replacing the leather upholstery. He’s thinking about selling the chair. What is it worth?

A: Ernest Edward Koken started his barber-supply business in St. Louis in 1874. At first he sold hand-painted shaving mugs to local barber shops. By the end of the next decade, he had invented the first hydraulic-lift barber chair. His Koken Barbers’ Supply Co. manufactured the chairs in St. Louis from 1892 to 1926. They sell for prices ranging from about $1,000 to nearly $10,000, depending on condition, quality and age. Koken Manufacturing Co. still operates in St. Louis, where it manufactures chairs for barber and beauty shops. But now the company is owned by a large Japanese conglomerate.

Tip: Put a dryer sheet inside a stored book to keep it from becoming musty.