The Heirloom Dilemma
Almost every family has at least one heirloom, “something of special value handed down from one generation to another.” But what does “special value” mean anyway? To whom is it valuable? Is it valuable in [...]
The Case of the Ugly Teapot
Sometimes an object comes your way that’s a real headscratcher. When that happens, the basic problem is to figure out what it is. You can’t move on without that. And when the only clue you [...]
When Sears Sold Hope
One really neat bonus of being an antiques appraiser is the everyday “show and tell” I stumble into. When people learn that I am an appraiser, they often share with me the story of some [...]
Seller Prepare: A Cautionary Tale
The IRS defines Fair Market Value (FMV) as the “the price that property would sell for on the open market.” That seems simple enough. In the case of antiques, for instance, any old thing is [...]
I Live in a Thermostat Museum
The other evening (a very cold one) my furnace malfunctioned. It wasn’t a catastrophic breakdown, but it did require an emergency call to the HVAC guy. When he arrived and asked, “Where’s your thermostat,” I [...]
Things and the Genealogist
Genealogy is the story of families, but sometimes a family story is attached to a family thing, and alas, a lot of the time the story (to put it diplomatically) is not supported by the [...]
House Museums Bring It Home
Almost every city and town in the world has at least one house museum. They come in all shapes and sizes, from palatial mansion to the most humble cabin. It might be a property of [...]
Into the Woods
A few months ago, I posted a piece on this blog about my “appraiser’s toolbox,” in which I laid out the essential equipment of my trade. Today’s post is a sort of supplement to that, [...]
The Potter’s Thumb
Many years ago, I bought a large mug at a pottery shop for local artisans in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was on the discount rack, priced about $5, I think, well within my graduate-student budget [...]
The Mark of Good Silver
Silver for domestic use is always an alloy, never pure. What we casually call "silver" is never really silver in the pure sense, and there are different levels of silver content found in many different [...]