How do you find out about antiques?

How do you find out how much antiques are worth?

• Answer:

  Antiques are usually priced by the age and history of the object. For example, if there are two similar old, intact objects, and one belonged to a middle-ranking person, while the other was the property of the king's palace. Chances are, the object that was in the palace would be worth more than the one owned by the middle-ranking person. I would ask the Community at "I Antique Online" (see Related Links). They have more than 1300 members who buy, sell or collect antiques and art. You will get more specialized feedback this way. Antique values can also vary greatly based on geography - what's hot in California (say Mission furniture) and what's hot in New York (say American Empire furniture), make the value of each completely different based on location - in other words, Mission furniture is likely to be cheaper in New York. Learning, and educating yourself about antiques is probably one of the best ways to understand overall values - there are even some school's out there such as the Asheford Institute of Antiques or the ISA that teach and offer courses to people about history and valuation of items - these are probably good starting points if you really want to learn the in's & out's of antique values.. I would first like to add to this that condition is extremely important in valuing antiques. If you see something in mint condition getting $1000 and your item has repairs, paint loss, etc., yours could be worth less than half. This often depends on the demand and rarity factor for the specific item. Generally antiques are valued by what they historically and recently obtain when auctioned off at reputable auction houses. In other words, they are worth what people are willing to pay for them. Anyone dealing in antiques will tell you that there are noticeable periods where some antiques will rise in value because their particular style has become popular. This would apply to things like furniture, home decor, art to some extent. Collectibles are also subject to this, with people wanting to buy old toys and things that they remember as a child.