The final hammer prices of recent auctions offer a realistic sense of an antique's worth.
The process of valuing an antique can be broken down into three stages: identifying exactly what the antique is, assessing its condition and researching its current price. However, bear in mind that no valuation is ever final, because worth may be effected, for better or worse, by trends in the market or in the wider economy and what any one individual may be willing to pay for a certain item.
Instructions
1. Identify your antique. Look for a brand name or maker's mark. Try to narrow down the item's function - if it's a piece of china, is it a plate, bowl, cup, or something else. Make a note of any other unusual features or any themes that emerge from the decoration, such as fairies or flowers. Some items are clearly labeled and can therefore be identified with ease and certainty. Items which are unmarked can be much less easy to identify satisfactorily. However, by going through this process, you can assemble a list of descriptive terms which you can enter into the search engines of online catalogs.
2. Assess the item's condition. The value of your antique will be negatively affected by any damage it has incurred, so go over it with a critical eye, looking for cracks, chips and stains. If the antique has moving parts, check that these still work. Be alert for anything that seems inconsistent or out of place, as this might indicate restoration or missing or replaced parts. As a rule of thumb, even the slightest damage can knock a third off the value of an antique, but there are exceptions. Some mechanical toys are so rare, or so hard to find in perfect condition, that collectors are prepared to overlook significant blemishes.
3. Research your antique's current price by entering the descriptive terms you gathered during Step 1 into the search engines of online resources such as Internet auction sites and the online catalogs of traditional floor auction houses. Browse through the resulting hits, looking for items similar to yours. Winnow these down further by checking the illustrations and descriptions until you find ones that are similar in condition to your own. On Internet auction sites, use tracking tools to follow these items through to their final auction price. While they are still live or ongoing, the online catalogs of floor auction houses will show only a rough auctioneer's estimate of value. Once the auction is completed, the final hammer prices will be entered. Final values from recent auctions, whether online or of the traditional kind, are realistic, up-to-date indicators of the worth of your antique.
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