Vintage Home Furniture

Antiques question?

We have emptied our dads storage unit and have found some furniture and plates that we believe are antiques and may be worth something. Who do we contact to determine if these items are valuable.

Public Comments

1. you could look on ebay. you could go to your nearest antique store.
2. You can contact an appraiser in your area. For a reputable one, contact your insurance agent. They usually charge a fee and some will be giving you an "insured value" rather than a market value. Also, you can try looking them up on the internet. The antiques almanac and other sites enable you to enter information on your item and determine their value for free. On the plates, look on the botttom to determine the maker. On furniture, pull out the drawers and look either on the sides or bottom to determine the manufacturer. Sometimes there are marks on the back or undersides of furniture as well.
3. There is a good book called "Kovel's Antiques", which has thousands of items with descriptions, some pictures and current values. You can find it at some libraries, and they probably have a web site. You can do this without any cost of an appraiser.