Antique Value

So you would like to know the antique value of an item you own?

There are several methods available to arrive at the value of antiques.

• You can research the going price yourself or let an antique appraiser or valuer do the work with his professional resources.
• A paid antique appraisal will normally also include an authentication of your item at the same time.

For a fee
The simplest you can do is to look for an expert valuer or appraiser in your area or online, and have him/her do an appraisal against a fee. The appraiser will then authenticate your item and research its value for you.
If you already know what you have you can use a service like PriceMiner (fee) or Prices4Antiques.com yourself, or use one of the free methods mentioned below.
If this method is chosen, the appraiser should be carefully selected. For the antique china value of oriental ceramics an appraiser with experience in Asian ceramics is required.

Sometimes a paid valuation to establish an item's valueis not the way to go, before you have even a basic idea what you have. Many collectors and other people own items that are vintage or more recently made, which may be beautiful, but which do not have any significant value in themselves. A preliminary idea of the value of antiques can be obtained by one of the following methods, before you decide whether or not to go for a paid antique appraisal.

For free - Researching the value yourself

There is a way to get an approximate idea of an antique's worth yourself, but first you need to identify the antique and determine what exactly you have.
If you already know what you have, skip to step 2.

1. To identify your item online, you can search out one of the online forums which help people with free antique identification of Chinese or Asian antiques. Of course, offline there is a number of other alternatives open, like asking an antique dealer at an antique fair for a verbal opinion of the antique value, or by participating at an antiques roadshow, etc.
2. Once you know what you have, you can check out a number of websites for the price of similar items.
• Check the web sites of auction houses for the reports or catalogs of past auctions. Usually, it will be possible to find past sales prices or estimated prices for upcoming auctions.
• Check Ebay's completed auctions for similar items (enter via "Advanced Search")
• Visit an antique price site like Miller's Antique & Collectibles Guide (free site access). After signing up you can check out a large number of items' prices at no cost.

Go to Antique Appraisals

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