Bells & Auctions | Quiet Late-Night Musings

In this calming episode of The Insomnia Project, hosts Marco Timpano and Amanda Barker welcome back fan favourite Dan Barker for a relaxed conversation about the fascinating world of auctions and collecting. With the show’s signature slow pacing, Dan shares stories from his time working at an auction house and offers gentle insights into what it’s like to navigate the auction floor.
Dan begins by explaining how he first came to work in the auction business and describes the subtle art of reading an auction crowd. The conversation explores how bidders behave, what makes someone a determined auction hunter, and the kinds of strategies people use when competing for an item.
Along the way, Dan talks about his personal collections, including his interest in bells and vintage milk bottles. He shares stories of memorable finds—like the bell he was most excited to discover at an auction—and explains what makes a bell special enough to add to his collection. The hosts also learn about the surprising collectability of old milk bottles and even broken ink wells.
The conversation continues with tales from the auction world, including bidding wars, a surprising hidden treasure discovered in a stovepipe, and a memorable story involving an old rocking chair. Dan also offers helpful tips for anyone interested in auctions, such as how to examine silver objects and how to identify coin silver.
As the discussion winds down, Dan shares what kinds of bells he’s still searching for and how collectors can tell the difference between a hand-cast bell and one that has been pressed or hammered into shape.
With its gentle storytelling and fascinating but low-key topics, this episode offers the kind of quiet conversation perfect for bedtime listening. If you’re looking for a sleep podcast for insomnia or simply want a calm discussion to unwind with, The Insomnia Project provides a soothing escape.
Favourite Quotes:
“I would imagine the Swiss know how to make a bell.” — Marco
“Buy what you like.” — Dan Barker
Connect with us:
Twitter: @listenandsleep
Instagram: @theinsomniaproject
Web: theinsomniaproject.com

​Bells & Auctions:

 Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about the mundane. The person snoring in the background you might hear is a fan favorite. Dan Barker:. That's Amanda's father. I'm in Florida. Amanda's in the pool with her mom and I'm in the kitchen with Dan Barker:. Welcome to the podcast yet again, Dan.

Dan Barker: Thank you.

Marco: : It's always nice to have you here. You're. You're certainly a fan. Uh, you have a lot of fans out there who want more Dan Barker: content, so I'm happy to have you.

Dan Barker: Well, I'm happy to be here. All right.

Marco: : I wanted to talk to you about auctions. Amanda told me that you. One of your jobs, one of your first jobs was at an auction house. Is that correct?

Dan Barker: That is absolutely correct.

Marco: : Tell us more about that.

Dan Barker: Well, when I was in high school, at a very young age, there was an auction gallery that had been in our, uh, town for years. And the owner happened to be friends back in his younger days with my parents. So I kind of got a inside recommendation. Um, and so I was, uh, working in the auction gallery. I was one of the, what we call the holders that would bring items out to be auctioned off, et cetera. And during high school, um, I had other jobs, but if I had free time, I could always get a job there for the night or the weekend or whatever.

Marco: : Was this in Hanover, Mass.

Dan Barker: This was in Hanover, Mass. The name was Cook's Auction Gallery.

Marco: : All right. And what would a holder do?

Dan Barker: Well, our job was to bring items out from, um, the gallery itself and bring them up on stage to be auctioned off. And as simple as that sounds, there is a bit of a science behind it.

Marco: : How so?

Dan Barker: Well, you have to read the crowd. Oftentimes we would get crowds that, uh, were into antiques and old stuff, so they didn't really want to see any modern furniture or anything of that nature. Yet other times, we might get all young couples, and that's all they wanted to see. So you had to know pretty much what the crowd was feeling. And we had some regular customers, so we pretty much knew, you know, uh, what to start with and how to build it up from there.

Marco: : Sure, sure. And what did you learn from that job about auctions and antiques, etcetera?

Dan Barker: Well, it was all basic knowledge, as I call it. Uh, I know enough now, uh, to be dangerous.

Marco: : Okay.

Dan Barker: But I don't consider myself an authority on goods or anything of that nature.

Marco: : Share with us some of the tips or the things that you learn that make you a dangerous auction hunter.

Dan Barker: Uh, well, first of all, at an auction, the first step is if you go to an auction, what you should do is survey the gallery itself, see what they're going to bring up for the auction. So get there a little early. Peruse the, um, uh, surroundings, but, uh, peruse the goods they're going to bring up and which ones interest you. And also take a good close look at it.

Marco: : Okay.

Dan Barker: Because in auctions, you're buying it in Whatever condition it is, unless it's stated otherwise. Um, the other thing is judge your crowd that you're with. Some people go to the auction just for the entertainment value, but others are there. Uh, they're quite serious, what they're looking for. Um, one of the things that I started to collect actually as a young kid was Civil War uh, mementos column. And, uh, I had those right through high school. And if somebody, uh, brought something up, like a union waistcoat or something that I wanted, uh, you know, I would bid on them even if I was working the auction. Um, the other whatever happened to my collection was I went in the army. Uh, my poor mother. What happened is she took all of my stuff, cleaned my room out and got rid of it.

Marco: : I see.

Dan Barker: So I lost all of the, uh, Civil War stuff I collected, as well as my bicycle, my baseball glove, et cetera. Um, fact of the matter is, we're looking at it at 55 years later and I'm still around.

Marco: : Right. Fair enough. And though you no longer have those items, you certainly have acquired a few important pieces in your collection. Of things you've picked up along the way, would you say?

Dan Barker: Well, some.

Marco: : Okay.

Dan Barker: But, uh, I only collect certain things. Sure. And it's, ah, always something that I like.

Marco: : Like bells, for example.

Dan Barker: Like bells? Um, because of my time in the music industry, I'm attuned to, uh, the sound of bells.

Marco: : What makes a good bell for your collection?

Dan Barker: Well, I only collect, um, bronze or metal bells.

Marco: : Okay.

Dan Barker: And, um, because I know about the material and how they're cast, etc. Um, but, uh, one of the things you go for in a collection anyway is for pitch. Some are high pitch, some are lower pitch, some have great clarity, others not so much, so.

Marco: : I see, I see. And does an older bell make a different, uh, sound? Like, are they harder to find? Good pitch, older bells, if that makes any sense.

Dan Barker: Well, one would argue sometimes that older bells are, um, aged in, if you will. Sure. And, um, therefore they, they have a better tone. I honestly can't say that I endorse that, but.

Marco: : Okay.

Dan Barker: You know, that is how some people look at it.

Marco: : Tell us about your greatest bell find.

Dan Barker: Well, my greatest bell find was actually at an auction in Canada. Okay. And what it was, was an estate auction. And the gentleman who, um, was there, who owned it brought it out, uh, for the auctioneer on a table, he carried, uh, like a card table with these bells. And I looked at them and I counted them, and there were 13. I said, wait a minute, that could be an octave. Of tuned bells.

Marco: : Right.

Dan Barker: So nobody really knew what they were, just where the bells were. In fact, the auctioneer made a statement. He said, uh, they are missing the clapper. And that tipped me off to say, oh, they are tuned bells.

Marco: : I see.

Dan Barker: So I picked those up for a song. Um, if you were to try to buy a set like that, it would cost you approximately, um, $1300 plus.

Marco: : And what is the clapper?

Dan Barker: That is a little thing, uh, that in a normal hand bell that when you twist, um, it and turn and shake it about, uh, rings the bell.

Marco: : Oh, so the part that's inside the bell, the little, um, pendulum type thing, right? Oh, I didn't know that.

Dan Barker: Oh, yeah.

Marco: : I guess that that speaks to what you said before. Know the items that you're looking for. Right.

Dan Barker: The other thing about this collection, apparently the gentleman bought this in pieces because there were bells made in America. But, uh, what I was very pride. Prideful of once I got them were these bells made in Switzerland. Oh, uh, I still have a couple, actually.

Marco: : I would imagine that Swiss know how to make a bell because their cows have bells.

Dan Barker: Yeah, these, I. These are all cast and, uh, um, the logos of the Swiss and what have you are writing the casting itself.

Marco: : Fantastic. Okay, so other than bells, what's something else that you have an eagle eye for? Oh, that's in your collection or in your auction days that you've acquired?

Dan Barker: Well, um, looking back on nostalgic items such as milk, uh, bottles. Oh, yes, we don't have milk bottles anymore. And yet, um, they're quite collectible at this point. In fact, we have right down the street we had a dairy, um, here in Florida. No, no, I'm sorry. Up in Massachusetts.

Marco: : Okay.

Dan Barker: And, um, it was called Ritter Farms, and we have a little old cheese box that we found down here in Florida.

Marco: : Oh, here in Florida.

Dan Barker: Yeah. We were at an estate sale and just had to get it because, again, it was home. Um, but I've collected some milk bottles, usually older ones. I started when my wife and I, um, lived in and owned a one, uh, room schoolhouse.

Marco: : Right.

Dan Barker: I went underneath this open, uh, basement area and there were all these broken bottles, inkwells and milk bottles, et cetera. And most of them were broken because what the kids would do is in the opening, they would throw them underneath.

Marco: : So in the opening under the schoolhouse, they would just throw whatever, I guess to see what kind of crash they could make or how far they could throw it.

Dan Barker: So, uh, there was a lot of broken glass, but I found a couple of bottles that were, uh, Intact. I didn't find any inkwells. Intact.

Marco: : But the milk bottles you did. Now, you found a prized milk bottle when we were up near my cottage at a flea market that had a very particular design to it. Remember?

Dan Barker: Yes, actually, I bought a couple.

Marco: : Okay.

Dan Barker: Uh, if you remember. Uh, so let me. One was. Looked like a standard quart bottle.

Marco: : Sure.

Dan Barker: But what intrigued me is the phone number of the dairy was only three digits. So that was way back, you know, when phones were first out.

Marco: : Right.

Dan Barker: But the second one was one I hadn't seen since my grandfather had, um, a milk delivery service at his house. And what that was was a little bulb on top of the main compartment. And what you would do is you would just sit the milk, uh, out, and the top part would turn to cream, would be cream, and the rest would be the milk. So my grandfather would always his morning coffee, make sure there was cream there. And, uh, when I saw it, I said, wow, I haven't seen one of those in a long, long time.

Marco: : So to describe it, it's almost like you have a glass globe on top of the milk bottle, and in that little glass globe, or circle. Circle, however you want to describe it, the size of a golf ball, would

Dan Barker: you say a little bigger?

Marco: : A little bigger than a golf ball? That's where the cream would sit.

Dan Barker: That's right.

Marco: : And the milk would be underneath, and the cream would act, actually act sort of as a seal to the milk.

Dan Barker: Uh, yeah. I mean, the bottle would have a cardboard cap. Right. Like other milk bottles. Sure. But yeah.

Marco: : And then you would. You could pour the top, which would be the cream, in your coffee. What an ingenious, uh, device that we no longer see.

Dan Barker: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

>> Nidhi Khanna: Uh, having the right people in your corner for life's biggest milestones makes all the difference. Like a friend who's there. When you're house hunting or checking out a new ride, State Farm is there too, helping you choose the coverage you need. With a State Farm agent, you know someone is there to help you along the way. And with so many coverage options, it's nice knowing you have help too. Choosing a plan that fits your needs so you can continue celebrating all of life's milestones. Like a good neighbor. State Farm is there. Home is your favorite place. Spring is when you let it feel a little more transportive. Discover vibrant scents inspired by place. Bright citrus, fresh florals, clean air. Energy designed to refresh your space without adding complexity. Just plug it in, choose your scent and. And let the season unfold room by room. Explore the new spring collection now [email protected]

Dan Barker: Another interesting thing, uh, about auctions is many people get into this hypersensitive, I call it area where for some reason they just keep bidding. You know, they go long past what they should have bid and they'll just keep going. And if you get a couple of people that want an item, uh, you'll have a bidding war out there.

Marco: : Right.

Dan Barker: And those are fun.

Marco: : Sure.

Dan Barker: You know, who's going to give in first is the thing. And working there, you're always on the lookout for those things to happen. Um, but I actually, uh, worked there not only through my teenage years, but when I got out of the army, um, I also worked for him. Um, I was only 21, but, um, I started working for him during the week. His name was Louie Cook. And Louie would do different things. Like he would buy. He was very big into, uh, plants, Plants, plants. Okay. So every spring would take the, uh, big truck down and just load it up with all these plants. You know, they were, uh, oh, just all types of things that he liked. And that was always a big hit. You know, it might take a couple of weeks to sell them all, but sure. Uh, nonetheless, uh, you know, there was no, um, um, Lowe's or Home Hardware. Home Depot stores.

Marco: : Hardware stores, sure.

Dan Barker: So he, you know, people knew, oh, wait a minute, let's see if Louie's got his plants in yet. And they come down there even during the week, would stay open a little later. But one interesting day is he purchased the contents of a house.

Marco: : Okay.

Dan Barker: And it was an older house. Um, it was actually called a tri level up in Boston. And I went there with, uh, a crew of two. He bought everything in there, so everything had to come out.

Marco: : Sure.

Dan Barker: And I looked at the stove, and as I'm looking at the stove, I looked at the stovepipe that led outside. I said, that's kind of funny. You don't see those anymore. You know, this guy had a, um, uh, wood burning stove or what, you know, what was this thing? So anyways, I just intuitively I took the stovepipe and I said, well, we'll take the stove. Anyway, so I knocked the stovepipe up. And in back of the stovepipe there was a coffee can. And I said, whoa, that's also very strange. So I grabbed it and it was filled with gold, uh, and silver coins. Oh, wow. Yeah. And being the honest person I was, of course I brought it right back to Louis because guess what? Not only did he have a hobby with plants, but he collected coins.

Marco: : Oh, my goodness.

Dan Barker: So you Know, I was, you know, I was the golden boy there for a long time.

Marco: : Did he ever give you one of the coins as a show of thanks?

Dan Barker: Uh, no, but, uh, again, as a show of thanks. Anyways, he again let me work as much as I wanted. And, you know, um, it worked out well when we first got married because it was a good part time job.

Marco: : Tell me about some of the interesting, unique, unusual items or maybe high valued items that came through that auction house during your time.

Dan Barker: Yeah, you know, um, antiques, especially up around the Boston area, were, you know, highly valued. Um, and so if we had any of those, we knew we're going to sell them. Uh, and Louie was smart enough to be able to appraise him before he went up, so he knew what he had to get for him. But. But, uh, one time we had many outbuildings. These were small sheds around the property.

Marco: : Sure.

Dan Barker: Property was approximately five acres.

Marco: : Oh, wow.

Dan Barker: And so some of these outbuildings people hadn't been in for years. And one night I decided I'm just gonna go to, you know, building E here and go in with a flashlight, see what I can. Fine. So I go in and one of the things I saw was this, uh, the remnants, I called it, of a rocking chair. Okay. It was all in pieces. And I said, oh, what the heck, you know, this is the type of auction you never know because the antiques were selling. Anyways, I brought it out. I couldn't believe it. As I, as I'm holding it, everybody's bidding on him. Okay. And the bidding went up and up, uh, and up. Uh, and I'm looking at Louis, the auctioneer. He's looking at me, you know, and his eyes are getting large.

Marco: : Sure.

Dan Barker: So we sold that for a pretty penny. And he wasn't even aware that he had it out there. Right. So what happens the next week? Yeah, we're out there cleaning all of the buildings, looking for stuff. Sure, sure.

Marco: : What was it about that rocking chair that made it so prized?

Dan Barker: Yeah, I mean, it wasn't, uh, anything I knew and it was in pieces, so it's difficult to distinguish. So he just called it a Boston rocker.

Marco: : I see.

Dan Barker: And there is such a thing as a Boston rocker. But, you know, don't ask me to tell you what it looks like when it's put together.

Marco: : Was there anything that surprised, surprised you that had value that you found, that went up for auction, or was there a painting that you were like, wow, we didn't, I didn't realize we had that in our collection.

Dan Barker: Every once in a While we would get. Get in, um, a lot of the local artists up around Massachusetts. Okay. And so I got to see quite a bit of the old, uh, people doing, uh, the Yankee clipper ships and what have you.

Marco: : Sure.

Dan Barker: And some of those went for good. Good money. Wow. Even though the artist might be unknown or only regionally known. Right.

Marco: : You know, it's interesting. We were watching Antique Roadshow the other day, which is another show that I love to watch because it's a very calm show. Um, and it's interesting. It's fascinating. And it's particularly fascinating watching it with you because of your insight with regards to antiques. And I noticed that a lot of the. I don't know what you call them. I guess the people who appraise the items are based out of Boston. Like, you'll always see their names and then where they're based out of.

Dan Barker: Yeah, there's a few. Yeah. Not only notice where they're based out of, but just hear them talk, you know? Well, you know, I parked my car and, uh.

Marco: : What's funny is you don't have to put on the accent because you.

Dan Barker: No, I know. You still have it. Don't I? You do.

Marco: : Um, what are some tips you would say with regards to when you pick up silver and you're looking at silver, say, at an auction or at a flea market or an estate sale, you

Dan Barker: better know what you're looking at.

Marco: : Okay.

Dan Barker: Um, a lot of people will look for, um, the marks. Right. Now, in England, English silver is easy because there'll be a mark showing you the purity of the silver used, where it was cast or made. And, um, often, um, you. By the mark itself, you can go back and figure out who particularly made it.

Marco: : Right.

Dan Barker: Uh, it's not so much. So with north, uh, American silver, I see, uh, American silver, yes. You do have some trademarks and other things, but, um, we just picked up a, uh, floral pot that was made out of silver, and it looks like it's quite old, and there's only one mark on it. It's Canadian.

Marco: : Okay.

Dan Barker: So you look for those things. But the other thing is, you gotta know what you're looking at. Right. If you, um. Unfortunately, your viewers can't see it, but that middle, um, cup there. Yeah. That was made out of what they call coin silver silver. And it's most probably 2 to 300 years old.

Marco: : Oh, wow.

Dan Barker: Yeah.

Marco: : Where did you get that?

Dan Barker: Uh, we actually inherited it.

Marco: : Okay.

Dan Barker: Yeah. Um, how long has it been in the family? I. I really can't tell you. There's no Nothing on it, you know.

Marco: : So how do you know that's coin silver, for example?

Dan Barker: Ah, well, take a look and you'll see that it was hammered out very similar to the, the piece we just picked up. The floral. Yeah, the floral arrangement pot. Um, if you look a good silversmith, um, back in the day, I'm talking hundreds of years ago or a hundred years ago anyways, when they hammered everything out, um, you're not going to see very much in hammer marks, but if you look closely, you might just see, uh, such as this one, ah, little piece. And you go, wait a minute, look at those bumps. Right. This was hand hammered out.

Marco: : Wow.

Dan Barker: This. There's also other things about silver. I mean, because of the price of silver on the market, uh, it's surprising what you could pick up. I mean, I used to pick up, uh, uh, silver dollars when I was a kid.

Marco: : Right.

Dan Barker: I think my mother got rid of those too. Um, but I didn't get them. But the, uh. About a year ago I went to an estate sale and there was a key ring and somebody had made a key ring out of a silver dollar.

Marco: : Right.

Dan Barker: And I asked the gentleman, I said, well, what do you want for it? He said, oh, yeah, uh, a buck would do it. Oh, okay. Well, I walked out. It was silver alone was worth, you know, $23 US so, you know, I felt pretty good about that. Uh, I wanted to go back and go through all this stuff.

Marco: : Well, it just goes back to what you said, know the value of the items that you have. Clearly he didn't. And you did the other thing about

Dan Barker: auctions and estate sales.

Marco: : Sure.

Dan Barker: And flea markets, et cetera. Buy what you like. Don't think you're making an investment. When it happens, it's fine. But it's something you may have to live with for quite a while. Um, make sure you like it.

Marco: : I like vases. I like to see vases or vases. And I don't really know much, but I know when I turn them over and I see that it says West Germany or Nippon. I know that they're older pieces. Right. Because it's now it's Germany. It's not separated by east or West. And Nippon is now Japan. And so looking or it's marked as Japan. Now on, on, uh, ceramics and whatnot. Do you have any ceramic tips for me or vase tips for me? I know that I always get what I like. So no matter what it's worth, I'm always enjoying.

Dan Barker: Exactly. But, um, in Japan, Japanese, uh, where Noritake is a good Old name. Right. And under that it will say Nippon.

Marco: : Right.

Dan Barker: It won't say Japan. Then, you know, you've got something, um, uh, you're right about Germany, West Germany, etc. But there's also, uh, a lot of people don't recognize porcelain or, uh, dishware, etc. Right. That came out of, say, the German states. They're not going to say Germany or anything like that, but they might say Westphalia.

Marco: : I see. You know, Bavaria or things like that.

Dan Barker: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh, I mean, Hanover is an old area of Germany, of course. And some people look at it and go, oh, Hanover. Oh, that's up in, uh, New Hampshire.

Marco: : Right.

Dan Barker: You know. No, it isn't.

Marco: : There you go. Well, Dan, thank you so much for sharing all this knowledge you have about auctions. Is there a bell you're looking for that maybe one of our listeners might be like, I know that bell.

Dan Barker: Um, any belt made out of bronze, okay. That is cast. They make bells now out of flat metal. Uh, those are newer bells instead of a cast bells. The old ship bell belts are all cast.

Marco: : What do you mean by cast? Do you mean like hand poured?

Dan Barker: That's right.

Marco: : From. In a foundry, in a mold versus. What would be the alternative? Like spun or like shaped with.

Dan Barker: Well, yeah, it could be spun. Okay. But, um, normally it would be hammered out with automatic cameras, etc, or presses and, uh, you know, there's little value there. Right. Unless it's gold or silver.

Marco: : But what tells you that it's cast? Is there something that you look at that you're like, this is cast versus one that's hammered out or one that's.

Dan Barker: Yeah, actually, there's a couple of things you look for. One is look inside the bell.

Marco: : Oh.

Dan Barker: Because after they cast it, they may try to tune them to a note. Uh, and you'll see the lathe marks on the inside going a. Usually they go about halfway up and stop. And the rest is rough. So if you see a rough surface, good chance it's cast.

Marco: : Great.

Dan Barker: Yeah.

Marco: : Uh, well, thank you so much for that, listeners. I hope if you're still awake, you got some value out of those tips that Dan gave us with regards to auctions. And I hope that if you're not with us that you were able to listen and sleep. We'll have more of Dan Barker: in December when our holiday episodes come. Come out. And I'll be back in Florida in December, so maybe you and I will record some more episodes for our listeners. Thank you, Dan.

Dan Barker: Sure. Well, thank you for having me.

Marco: : And thank you once again to all our listeners.