"that's a real antique"

My sister and niece were here this week. They came to stake claim on the antiques that my Mom is sorting through in preparation for her move.
I should have taken a picture of the dining room table, but I put my camera down and lost it among the pink and green "depression glass", cake plates, and other charished dishes that Mom had taken out of the "china closet".
These are beautiful old pieces, some given to her and Dad as wedding gifts, others she collected at auction sales or recieved as gifts. Before we arrived she had already sorted them into piles for each of my siblings, assuming that what she liked, we would also be thrilled about.
Mom sometimes seemed a little offended that we were not as enthusiastic by a pink cream and sugar dish (the pink ones are her favorite), but were more intrigued by a silly old electric hair dryer, or my Dad's collection of dirty old baseballs, or the old hat box full of potential costumes.
Mom must have said a hundred times, "now this is a real antique"!
My sister did take several boxes of treasures when she left, and I had my own box full too. I told her to just slap me, if I even thought of taking another dish.
How many cake plates does one woman need???? Can you take a store bought cake out of the box and serve it on an antique cake plate?????