How identify, date and value antiques.

When it comes to getting dates and valuations for any antiques or collectables you may have i don't see any point in asking antiques dealers as often they are going to tell you a price they are willing to pay and not what they are worth. My advice is to learn to value them yourself or use some of these online valuation sites.

Personally i would recommend doing some of the research yourself.

However do not under estimate the power of getting a reliable appraisal it can help an item reach its full value.

This is a good site which is also very cheap.



When doing some of the research yourself i would suggest you go about it in this way.

Firstly is to get some good quality reference books, my online Astore has many at cheap prices if you are interested. The sort of reference books you will need depends on what antiques you need to look up.

For example the Millers price guide is a general one and in my opinion is a basic essential for any collector,
If you collect porcelain then the encyclopedia of porcelain marks is a must.

Also if you are trying to value specific antiques or makes getting a reference book on them would be a very good idea.

I collect and sell many varieties of antiques and collectables, thus i have many reference books. Just to give you some idea of what you would need..

I have 3 porcelain encyclopedia's all later than 2007, a Miller's for every year for the last 10yrs, 3 English Silver and gold marks books, 1 continental silver marks, Autograph reference book, toys, antique stuffed bears, Book on Doulton and 30 other books. Some are used only to date antiques and some have price guides.

Secondly join any online antiques forums related to your subject matter. Often these are the best places to get up to date advice on your antiques, most of all 90% of these are free to join.

Thirdly search the Internet for specific examples of what you are trying to date and value, often the Internet has a wide range of examples, especially online auction sites like you know who!

Lastly if all else fails look at the period the item is from, the designs often give away clues to the age as with many antiques certain trends were used in certain periods, ie Art deco etc.

Remember value does change very rapidly in some cases so make sure you keep up to date with you collectables and the prices they fetch.

If you are buying antiques to sell try to buy at least 25% lower than the low end estimate so if you had an item valued at £100-£120 you want to buy at £75 at the most. Obviously there are exceptions to this rule but that comes down to common sense and judgement.

Check out my aStore for loads of reference books.