| Home | Collectibles | Antique Appraisals |

Antique Appraisals

Evaluating Antiques

When dealing with antiques, several factors come into play that can severely effect the price.

The first is:

Is the Collectible Authentic

Even museums, world renowned art auction houses and expert appraisers have declared forgeries to be authentic.

Reputable dealers of high end artwork and antiques will try to establish the provenance of the items they are selling. This is part art and part science.

They will look at old auction catalogs to see if the piece ever exchanged hands before. They will try to locate sales receipts to see who originally bought the piece. They will read letters, dairies, household inventories and more to see if they can link the antique to a specific estate or buyer.

Especially since World War Two, they have to establish the piece is legitimately for sale and was not looted or stolen during the war.

If necessary they will use scientific methods to determine the age of the piece and whether the paints, pigments or varnishes are consistent with the claimed age of the piece.

All of these dealers will guarantee that the collectible is authentic. If it is proven that the artwork had been stolen, they will refund the purchase price.

For lesser pieces, you have to rely on the integrity of the dealer - you can also hire an appraiser depending on the amount of money involved. I think most collectors of lower priced collectibles take the seller at his word.

If you find you have purchased a fake - demand your money back.

If the item was stolen, you cannot claim it as yours and the dealer should make you whole - if not, sue him.

Has the Item Been Repaired or Refinished

This is where a lot of collectibles lose value rapidly. Cleaning when none was called for or an inexpert restoration can cut the value of a collectible substantially, as can cutting the legs of a chair to make it fit your room or removing original knobs or draw pulls.

A problem arises when the destruction is antique itself. Only experts can tell if parts of wooden pieces were repaired with a different type of wood or if a piece was cut down to fit through a doorway over 100 years ago.

Poor cleaning and restoration can affect the value of dolls, baseball cards, toys, coins - just about anything. And while some of the damage might be apparent to a novice buyer, a lot of it will only be discovered by an expert appraiser.

Is the Antique Really What It Appears to Be

An 100 year old vase might be valuable, but not nearly as valuable as the 15th century Ming Dynasty piece it is supposed to be. The same goes for a silver tureen or an antique tiara.

Some dealers will knowingly pass off reproductions as originals or will overstate the age or value of a piece. Of course, this is theft. But the dealer is betting you'll never know the difference.

Antique collecting is popular. There may not be enough of a specific type of antique to meet demand. Or the only available original specimens are so valuable that they can be afforded by only the wealthiest in the world.

Before investing a lot of money in rare antique collectibles, hire an expert appraiser or only deal with sellers who will supply this to you.

Finding an Appraiser

There is an American Society of Appraisers, but the only collectibles category for which they have appraisers is gems and jewelry.

You can do an online search for appraisers, ask about them at local museums and art galleries or ask dealers about them. You'll probably find that most appraisers are dealers themselves - so again trust and intergrity become important.

  | Top | Collectibles | Home |