Reply to Thread

Message:: [QUOTE="Shangas, post: 10000744, member: 360"]The problem with old mahjong sets is that even a small one (unless it's REALLY small) weighs a lot. The other problem is that just because it's old, everybody assumes they're worth a buttload of money. That set up there is NOT worth $1,000. Very few are. Mahjong sets were made in their MILLIONS in the early 1900s. Another issue is that in a lot of instances, the cases or boxes which the sets were transported and stored in, were often just afterthoughts. In a lot of instances, they were made of literal cardboard - you can imagine how long that lasts when it has to lug around a 10, 20lb mahjong set for the rest of its life. Most of them don't last. Not even the plastic ones - they end up cracking, or splitting on the edges and suddenly BOOM!!....grandma's 70, 80-year-old mahjong set is all over the floor!! Whoops!! I've seen loads of cases held together by electrical tape, sticky tape, string...god knows what else. A lot of them need complete re-casing, because the original box or whatever is completely shot. The cases were never designed to last. Except in instances where the case is REALLY high quality, I don't think I've ever seen one that didn't need repairs. People also love to assume that their sets are made of ivory. Again, VERY few are. 99% of the time, if it's made of a natural product, it's made of bone and bamboo. That's how they were made since the 1850s and 60s, when the game was invented.[/QUOTE]