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Antiques
- The Modern Day Treasure Hunt
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by:
Tom Lange
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In
today's world, everything that’s old can be described as antiques and
generally speaking that’s quite true. A product is considered to be an
antique if it is over a hundred years old or is rare enough to have
some value. In other words, these are old items that are in limited
supply.
An antique is something collectible. It may be a piece of antique
furniture that you want to collect to enhance the look of a room, or a
piece of antique pottery to decorate a corner cupboard, or some antique
books, antique camera and photographs, antique jewelry, antique money,
antique car, antique clocks, or antique watches that you want to hand
down to your grandchildren but the items must be rare enough to be
considered an antique. The others are just secondhand goods junk. Most
people have a common misconception about an antique: the older they
look, the more antique they must be. Appearance has nothing to do with
it, just because a piece looks like it came out of grandma's attic does
not necessarily mean that it’s an antique. The value of an antique is
based on demand due to suitability and limited supply.
Most people become fascinated in an antique for two reasons; either
they have an interest in collecting antique purely for personal
enjoyment and are willing to shell out money for antique restoration or
they inherited it from a family member. The most common are antique
pottery, antique car, antique furniture, antique books, antique camera
and photographs, antique clocks, antique money, antique jewelry and
antique watches. However they came about it, everyone wants to be sure
of one thing that what they buy or inherit will escalate in value as
time goes by. That is what antique collection is all about.
There are two main principles that apply when collecting an antique:
The first is to know everything that you can about the antique that
interests you and second is to obtain them at the lowest possible
price. Doing so will not only give you satisfaction and enjoyment, but
at the same time you will also be assured that your investment will
appreciate in value.
Some people only developed an interest in antique because they
inherited an item or a whole house full of antique from a relative. The
dollar signs started to appear and they began their hunt for some
antique appraisals and antique auction. But what most failed to
consider is that much of what Great Grandmother had is probably just
junk, unless she was a seasoned collector who’s into antique
restoration or an expert in antique appraisals.
It’s true that people could have bought a piece of furniture to
decorate their home a long time ago and that furniture, if it were of
fine quality, would now be worth something. But only a professional
appraiser can guarantee that, and appraising costs about $100-150 an
hour. So if you are keen on bringing you item in an antique auction and
contemplating about asking someone how much an item is worth, be
prepared to shell out a few bucks for the information. Appraisers
charge so much because they shoulder the lion’s share for insurance
companies and lawyers settling estates. Although appraising is not an
exact science, it still requires an appraiser to do lots of research
and then prepare a detailed report that’s acceptable in a court of law.
About the author:
Thinking about exploring the exciting world of antiques? Join us and
utilize our resources in the treasure hunt for the exquisite. There is
no membership required:
http://www.asianartantique.com
http://www.dynasty-antiques.com
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