| Original Message: Yes, these are phenolic beads |
|---|
|
Welcome to the forum! Your beads are very lovely vintage phenolic resin beads, sometimes also called Bakelite, which is just one of the old trade names for phenolic resin (no one can tell if any particular bead was from the Bakelite line of resins). From what I understand, these beads were fabricated in Africa, in the time period 1930's to 1950's. As far as value, these beads are getting pricey - you can check closed auctions on eBay - but somewhere between $10-25 per bead is not unusual. The larger the bead, the more it will sell for. I saw a recent closed auction for a 36 mm round that went for $44. A nice graduated strand like yours may fetch about $1000. What is the size of the largest bead? Search "african amber" and "copal amber" - the latter term is completely incorrect since the beads are not copal, but this term unfortunately is used in the antique bead world. Good luck with your beads! I would keep them, wear them & love them! All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
|
|