Antiques & Collecting: Cribbage board

Do you like to play games on your phone while you’re on a long trip? Today’s travel games have plenty of predecessors.

Cribbage, a card game where players keep score with pegs on a board, is believed to have been invented in the 17th century.

It became a favorite of sailors and was especially popular on whaling ships. Sailors would make their own boards out of carved whalebone, animal teeth or tusks.

This 19th-century game board, which sold for $531 at an Eldred’s auction, has pierced whalebone panels on an ebony and mahogany board.

Sailors continued playing cribbage after whaling declined. Most ships still have a cribbage board today.

The U.S. Navy has a board that gets handed down to the oldest submarine in the Pacific fleet, a tradition that originated when an officer was dealt a perfect hand in a game played during World War II.

I have a Mexican silver pitcher inlaid with iridescent shells and marked “Alpaca.” Is “Alpaca” the maker? What can you tell me about it?

Alpaca silver is a metal. It isn’t really silver, but an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc that may also be called “nickel silver” or “German silver.”

It was first used in China and exported to Europe. In 1823, German metalsmiths created a version of nickel silver that was trademarked “Alpacca.”

Use of Alpacca spread throughout Europe and the Americas. It can be a base for electroplated nickel silver.

Today, alpaca silver is often used in jewelry, tableware and decorative items. It is usually marked “Alpaca” or “Alpacca.”

It is more durable than silver, sells for lower prices and may have a less shiny finish than silver.

Tip: Team-signed baseballs should have about 26 autographs, including the entire starting lineup, star pitchers and other key members of the team. A star’s signature on the sweet spot is desirable, but that spot is sometimes reserved for the manager.

Current Prices

Steuben glass pitcher, Celeste Blue, barrel shape, rigaree around base, pedestal foot, clear handle, 10 1/4 x 7 inches, $90.

Vase, Kosta Boda, turquoise sea horse and seaweed, light green bubbled ground, signed, Olle Brozen, 10 x 6 x 6 inches, $190.

Poster, concert, The Temptations, photo, black lettering, red ground, The Moments, Candi Staton, July 10, Cow Palace, halftone, Colby Poster Printing Co., 22 1/2 x 14 1/4 inches, $295.

Silver creamer, urn shape, pedestal base, round-stepped foot, beaded rim and handle, monogram, John Letelier touch mark, 18th century, 5 inches, $580.