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Antiques - The Modern Day Treasure Hunt
By Tom Lange
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
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/9232.html
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