How to Buy or Sell — Toys

Don’t discard any old toys. Even a tiny Barbie doll’s girdle has value to a collector. The best-selling toys are antique dolls, teddy bears, nineteenth-century iron toys, robot and space toys, pedal cars, and scale model autos and trains. Dollhouses and dollhouse furnishings, dolls front the 1930s to the 1960s, including Barbie and her accessories, […]

How to Buy or Sell — Dolls

Dolls are easy to sell, but hard to price. Rare old French and German dolls from the nineteenth century bring thousands of dollars and should be sold to a top doll dealer or through an auction gallery. Several galleries have sales devoted just to dolls. The major collectors, with the most money and the best […]

How to Buy or Sell — Silver And Silver Plate

An old sterling silver teaspoon is never worth less than its meltdown value, which is the weight of the spoon multiplied by the going price of silver bullion. The number is reported online and in daily newspapers on the stock quotation pages. If a coin is old enough to be made of a silver alloy, […]

How to Buy or Sell — Pottery & Porcelain

An aunt left you her household belongings representing fifty or more years of accumulation, including figurines, lamps, kitchen mixing bowls, pottery crocks that held pickles, flower vases, dresser sets, ashtrays, three sets of dishes, and serving pieces. How would you sell everything for the best total price? Age and quality of ceramics do influence price, […]

How to Buy or Sell — Ivory And Ivory Look-Alikes

Ivory does not only come from elephant tusks. Ivory can also be from other animals, such as walruses, hippopotamuses, or whales. There is also “vegetable ivory.” Some vegetable materials have a similar texture and density and look like ivory, but it is possible to see growth rings on a large piece of an elephant’s tusk. […]

How to Buy or Sell — Phonographs & Records, Radios, Television Sets & Computers

Phonographs, phonograph records, radios, and even television sets are popular collectibles. Early phonographs are stocked in some shops; later models are now important because they are needed to play the music. The item must be in good working condition to be of value. “Crossover” examples, those wanted by collectors of another type of antique, are […]

How to Buy or Sell — Jewelry

Precious jewelry (costume jewelry is discussed at the end of this section) has a special monetary worth known in the trade as “meltdown.” This is the value of the piece if it is totally destroyed and the wholesale price of the scrap gold, silver, and gems is calculated. You must never sell for less than […]

How to Buy or Sell — Paperweights

The media likes reporting the high prices of antique French paperweights. For many years, the value was rising so quickly that paperweights were considered a better investment than stocks or real estate. Unfortunately, few of us will ever discover the rare antique paperweight in fine condition that would sell for over $258,500 (a record price […]

How to Buy or Sell — Glass

Glass is one of the most difficult types of antiques to identify and price. Few pieces are marked, reproductions abound, and quality is not always the reason for a price. A novice will have great difficulty (some experts do, too) in identifying reproductions. It is a major task to learn the names of the many […]

How to Buy or Sell — Hardware

Locks and keys have intrigued collectors since medieval times, and today collectors want everything from wrought-iron door locks to brass-tagged hotel keys and even the keycards that are used in hotels today. Wooden locks were used by the Egyptians about 2000 B.C. By the Middle Ages, huge metal locks were made to keep intruders out […]