Antique scale collectors to speak at March 9 meeting

The DeKalb County Historical-Genealogical Society will present its first program of 2016 at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 9, at the Oak Crest Retirement Center Little Theater, 2944 Greenwood Acres Drive, DeKalb. "Weighing In On Scales" will be presented by authors Bill and Jan Berning of Sycamore.

Bill Berning has been a scale collector since 1983 and a member of the International Society of Antique Scale Collectors since 1991. He initially specializes in antique coin operated scales and has been self-employed in the scale industry full-time since 1995.

Jan Berning has been a scale collector since 1977 and a member of the International Society of Antique Scale Collectors since 1981. She has a general collection consisting of over 1,400 antique scales. She is the editor of Equilibrium, the journal of the International Society of Antique Scale Collectors, having served in that capacity for over 10 years.

Bill and Jan are the authors of "Scales: A Collector's Guide," and the revised and expanded second edition of "Scales: A Collector's Guide." Their combined collections of antique scales consist of approximately 2,300 scales. In the past they were employed as experts in their field by Eppraisal.com. In addition, articles by or about the Bernings have appeared in issues of Reminisce, Southeastern Antiquing and Collecting Magazine, This Old House, Equilibrium, and Country Living. Recently, the Bernings have consulted for the television shows "Auction Kings," "Garage Gold," and "Sold."

Attendees are invited to bring their own scales for Bill and Jan to identify and value, as time permits. The program is free and open to the public.

The presentation will follow a short business meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. Visit www.facebook.com/DeKCoHistGenSoc/.