A New Category of Chess Collectable

It's hard to believe, but in the nearly 17 years that I've been writing this blog and the nearly 13 years that I've been posting for the series titled Top eBay Chess Items by Price (March 2010), an important word has never once appeared on the blog. That new word is >>> [new_word] <<<.

The item on the left was titled 'World Chess Championship 1972 - Rare Silver Spoon'. It sold 'Best offer accepted' for...

[BREAKING NEWS: The item page I'm looking at does *not* list a price. In the past, items that sold 'Best offer accepted' showed the asking price with a bar through the price. Then I would go back to the full list of items to determine the selling price, which was somewhere between the prices of the item listed above and the item listed below. See, for example, Cold Painted Cats (December 2022).]

...In the list of top items, the spoon is shown with a price of $274.99, sandwiched between one item that sold for $299.99 and another that sold for $259.99. Is the missing price on the item page an error or is it a new eBay tactic to confuse the buyer? I'll come back to this question later.

First, let's return to the main theme of the post. That new word is >>> spoon <<<. The description said,

Memorabilia from the World Chess Championship in Reykjavik, Iceland 1972 where Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky played for the World Chess Championship title. A silver spoon made by goldsmith Jens Gudjonsson, "The Crowning Spoon", numbered 212. Issued for the Icelandic Chess Federation in 1972. Length: approx 14,5 cm., weight 45 grams of 0.925 sterling silver.

I would have loved to use 'The Crowning Spoon' as the title for this post, but I couldn't spoil the suspense. Written on the spoon, top to bottom, is:-

ROBERT J. FISCHER • CHESS IN ICELAND • F.I.D.E. • WORLD CHAMPION 1972

So much excitement for one post - a new word and a new eBay tactic. My heart is pounding!