Asked on Nov 05, 2013
Does anyone have any information (value) about this postal table?
by
CC
+63
I bough this table at an antique fair about 10 years ago. It has a stamp on the bottom that says 1941 Property of Pennsylvania Post Office, Item #9. I've tried looking online and can't find anything similar. I think it's time for me to let this go but I have no idea what it may be worth? Thanks :)
It's very heavy
The front 2 corners have this hole.
There are faded markings lines with numbers at one end on the inside.
56 answers
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Oh wow is all I can say about this table @Carol. So many uses for this piece that you should sell on line to get as many buyers as you can. I would not paint it at this time as the next owner might want it just like it is. Hope it finds a happy home!
Ebbytwin2572
on Nov 05, 2013
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call the post office which is stamped on the bottom or call ANTIQUES ROADSHOW
Grace W
on Nov 05, 2013
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maybe it is a sorting table.
Mary
on Nov 05, 2013
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no end to what you could do--
PAT B
on Nov 05, 2013
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I love it....it is probably for sorting mail. I can imagine that if there are similar pieces out there, a lot of ppl might remove the sides in order to use it as a regular table. it is lovely, and is probably worth quite a bit.
Liz H
on Nov 05, 2013
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check ebay or esty
Suzzie Vanheusen
on Nov 05, 2013
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Try asking someone that deals with antiques.
Kelly Cook Barnes
on Nov 05, 2013
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This looks like an old dry sink to me. Here is a link that may be of help http://www.newyankee.com/index.php?id=53#!/~/product/id=7916677
MaryEllen Poulin
on Nov 05, 2013
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I would take a few pictures, print them out and take them to a local antique dealer.
Kathy
on Nov 05, 2013
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The markings are probably measurements for mail volume. We have to measure everything, lol
Kara Lynn Small
on Nov 05, 2013
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yes looks like a sorting table to me as well
Diane Sherow-Pross
on Nov 05, 2013
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Found one similar on ebay here: http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/antique-1909-post-office-usps-mail-sorting-table though it's curved
Lindsay Jackson
on Nov 05, 2013
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It would make a great shadow box table with a glass top, treasured memories to change out for each Holiday!!
Cheryl P
on Nov 05, 2013
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and this Parisian one for $3600 at 1st dibs: http://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/tables/center-tables/parisian-mail-sorting-table/id-f_375826/
Lindsay Jackson
on Nov 05, 2013
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do you remember what you paid - that should give you an idea of its value shouldn't it?
Jocelyne marchand
on Nov 05, 2013
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ITS A SORTING TABLE.
Jennie Brinker
on Nov 05, 2013
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Mail bags were dumped out on the table and then sorted by address. My father-in-law retired from the USPS and sorted his mail on something similar. No idea behind the holes in the corners.
Euni Moore
on Nov 05, 2013
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It is a dump table. The holes are for trash, such as paper clips, rubber bands, or scraps of paper to go thru so the table will free of debris
Csc251243
on Nov 05, 2013
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I can remember this from our old PO in town,I think they dumped the whole bag of mail in to be sorted to the proper mail box! wish I had one now it reminds me of my Dad,he worked there for many years
Sandra McRuer
on Nov 05, 2013
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I am amazed that so many of you found the answer! I love that table and it wouldn't be going anywhere if it were in my house. ;o)
Alma Williams
on Nov 05, 2013
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didn't they use something like that in the movie :Miracle on 34th Street" ?!?!?! :)
Barbara Gibbs
on Nov 05, 2013
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You could check out WhatsItWorthToYou.com, for a small fee they will do an online appraisal. If your a Handyman Club of America member you get a discount. I had an appraisal done & paid under $10.
Pamela Schultz
on Nov 05, 2013
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Antiques Road Show, they should know!
Carol Love
on Nov 05, 2013
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It looks like a fish cleaning table that you find on a pier. Hence , the holes on each side for the water to run back into the ocean.
Sharon Healy
on Nov 05, 2013
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I worked for the post office many years and I don't recall ever seeing one before!
Marilyn
on Nov 05, 2013
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I don't have an answer, but I'd like to buy it!
Evelyn Pehnke Frankovich
on Nov 05, 2013
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shoot just the wood alone is beautiful. I would fill it with momentos or treasure (indian stones? ) and attach a tempered glass table top onto it. lol
Alice Gerber
on Nov 05, 2013
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looks like a vintage lobster or crab sorting/measuring table.. the holes for water drainage.
Terri Brodfuehrer
on Nov 05, 2013
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Remember these, at the post offices, growing up.
Mary Peters
on Nov 05, 2013
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Great piece with a glass top would make a killer table!
Cathie F
on Nov 05, 2013
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It's a sorting table like they said, it's beautiful. I would be handing this down through my family. I would not get rid of it.
Eli249086
on Nov 05, 2013
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It's giving me ideas on what to do with the old foosball table in my garage!
Anjie Lucas
on Nov 05, 2013
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This would be beautiful to use as a display box/kitchen island. Anything you love to collect inside with a piece of glass cut and allowed to overhang equally on all sides a couple of inches. @CC
Ginger H
on Nov 05, 2013
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My husband worked for the US Postal Service for 35 yrs. He said never seen a table like that . I know that doesn't help
Dorene H
on Nov 05, 2013
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It is only worth what someone is willing to pay you for it.
Constance Giacobbi
on Nov 05, 2013
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It is definitely NOT a table for fish since it has "property of PA PO" There was one of these in our little town post office where I grew up in the 40's and 50's. I would not let it go until you do really thorough investigating. I would guess it's value to be no less than $500 and possibly much higher than that.
Virginia R
on Nov 05, 2013
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Great table... bet it would be good for a laundry room for folding clothes.
Hddebber59
on Nov 05, 2013
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I think I recall tables like this in the early 50's (they were already old then) used to sort the mail. They dumped bags of mail into them as it arrived in trucks and then sorted, I think. My dad was a postal worker and my mom would send me in to tell him we were there to pick him up at the end of his shift.
Karyl Conard
on Nov 05, 2013
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it's a sorting table, see them in smaller P.O. You could look it up as that. http://www.urbanremainschicago.com/c-1920-s-antique-american-industrial-reinforced-timeworn-ohio-post-office-mail-sorting-cart-with-double-wheel-casters-and-iron-pipe-stretchers.html
Michael Moore
on Nov 05, 2013
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I would love to own this table, it's beautiful!
Lynn Owens
on Nov 05, 2013
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I've seen similar tables over the years and those were called wash stands or wash tables. I stand up were supposed to keep the water from getting all over. But this one has holes (drain?) What ever kind of table it is, it sure is pretty!
Christine
on Nov 05, 2013
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Looks like an old sorting table at the post office.
Linda Helm Hildebrant
on Nov 05, 2013
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It is a Post OFFICE table. The holes are to enable cleaning debris from the table, the markings are to enable volume estimates.
Mary Bias Woodall
on Nov 05, 2013
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This is the closest I could find online. Your table appears to be an old sorting table and comes, I guess, with the type of pigeon-hole rack like the one in this photo I found.
Laurie K
on Nov 06, 2013
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This it the closest I have found online so far. Your table ppears to be an old postal sorting table that, perhaps, used to have one of these pigeon-hole racks with it.
Laurie K
on Nov 06, 2013
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I would go to the antique road show and find out!!!
Sally Soltis
on Nov 06, 2013
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not worth a penny more than someone is willing to pay for it :/ I Love it though :)
Cheryl Pegram
on Nov 06, 2013
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Mary Bias Woodall is correct! It is a sorting table. The holes are to push dirt through that accumulates. All mail is measured. The lines help measure the mail quickly.
Irlene Petersen Mears
on Nov 06, 2013
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Cheryl is right. it's worth what you can get someone to pay. set the price a little higher than you would be thrilled with and don't second guess yourself. if it doesn't sell lower the price until you say to yourself, "if I can't get that amount, I don't want to sell." EZ stress free system.
Linda J
on Nov 06, 2013
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I saw one of these in a museum, It was in a train mail car.
Julie Moses
on Nov 06, 2013
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Wow thanks for all the responses and suggestions. I paid $500 when I bought it and have used it as a decorative potting table it was great to sweep dirt out the holes into a bucket. I hate to part with it but we are downsizing and my children don't share my love of old pieces. I'm going to try a few of the suggestions above and try to find a value for it as I'm not in a hurry to sell. If anyone wants to buy it I'm in MI so send me a message and an offer...I love Hometalk!
CC
on Nov 06, 2013
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You can send a photo to Country Living Magazine. They have a regular feature called "What is it, what is it worth?" Their antiques experts can give you a history and value of it.
Amy Woods
on Nov 06, 2013
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Some fine sanding, a piece of glass on top and you would have a beautiful coffee table. How nice it would look with mementos under glass.
Dee
on Nov 06, 2013
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Love this old sorting table! I'd contact an antique dealer for an appraisal if you can't keep it. 1941 should bring at least your $500 but I think way more.
Barbara Thomas
on Nov 06, 2013
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No idea about the value or history of this piece but what a find! Really amazing! You could use it as a workbench in a garage - just needs a top over it. Or use it is a dining table with glass over it - think of all the display potential beneath that glass? Or it could be turned into a kitchen island. There are probably a myriad more possibilities. What a shame you don't have a use for it yourself? With the holes at the corners it might make a neat pool/snooker table?? Just add a green top - you already have two corner pockets if you add some netting! You could turn it into a games table - what about foosball table with the soccer figures on sticks that you move by using the stick handles - a net for goal at either end? You could add a top and remove one side and add drawers to the table for storage? Kids play table for trains on a track (the sides will stop the locomotives falling over the edge of the table? So many uses for this item.
Carole
on Nov 06, 2013
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Well, I think I'm going to be taking this piece to my booth that I have in a furniture store...it will be fun to decorate it for the holidays. I'm going to put a ridiculous price on it ($1200) and if someone is willing to pay it, I'll sell it. After some research (I still have yet to see an exact replica) there are a lot of old factory tables selling for $1200 to $1500. Thanks for all the comments and suggestions :)
CC
on Nov 08, 2013
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