Featured When you just "know" you've found something that's a valuable antique!

that'll keep me going all day, haven't laughed like that in a while

 

15" x 19" or 38 x 49cm, a bit hard to put on a necklace lol

 

Wow!

 

I usually know when I stumble on something of value. Occasionally, I will buy something on a hunch that it is good. I would say that, more often than not, it works out well. The most recent example of this is a pair of Steve Vaubel silver earrings I found for $1.00 at the thrift store. There were no silver content marks and the etched signature was not entirely legible. I just had the hunch that they could be good. Here they are as available on their website. They are pictured in gold plated but available in silver at the same price.

Oval Stone Drop On Gold Top - Vaubel Designs

 

LOL, only recently I found out that the stereotypical monk hairstyle is called tonsure. I'd been binge-watching Cadfael episodes, got curious, and looked it up.

 

yah...but... if someone offered £20,000 I'm not sure I would take it because I would be sick if it then sold for £200,000....

the opposite is in play as well..........

if u didn't take the 20 grand......and the item sells for 6 grand......you'd be just as sick.....

Sell your item...make your profit......if the buyer can flip it for much much more.....
good on them !

 

As Steve Miller once said...

"Take the money and run..."

 

All of those figures were just an example but if they were real taking 20k instead of 200k would be too painful, I don't mind a dealer making twice what they paid but 10x is too much, I buy things with 10x less than their worth in a global auction because of being wrongly listed ect but I would never offer 10x less in a private sale. I am now thinking how many items do I have that I don't know the ball park figure and the answer is 1. That has come from researching what I have and what it fetches. Also prices from country to country differ a great deal, I do buy in other countries because of this but the items I buy are very rare and in the world there isn't that many left or there wasn't that many made. Quite a lot of antiques I have I can't see any of them for sale on the internet these days but 15 years ago they were being sold on ebay.

 

I bought a headdress and mask on Ebay for 200 bucks....sold the headdress for 2400..........don't hate me !!

 

Pics!!!!!!

 

https://www.antiquers.com/threads/a...resting-nuu-chah-nulth-plank-headdress.77365/

 

That is an incredible tale!!

 

No hate at all, you bought in a international auction, kudos to you for knowing what it was (I wouldn't have given it a second glance) I think the hours we put in to learning about antiques allows us to spot the treasures that others don't and as such to buy things for a fraction of their real price. I'm sure if someone asked you if you wanted to buy it in a private sale you might have offered them more.

 

Found another, this time with a price
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/44397267_a-fine-ivory-inlaid-ebony-savonarola-chair-italian
A fine ivory inlaid ebony Savonarola chair, Italian
EstimateA$1,800-A$2,400
Apr 03, 2016
Sold forA$1,500
[paste:font size="4"]£773
[/paste:font]

BIDDER
BID
COMPETING BID
A$1,500.00
COMPETING BID
A$1,400.00
STARTING PRICE
A$900.00

 

2016? Too bad prices have fallen since then.

 

Globally and in all antiques? That's not my experience, I have found many items I own to have risen substantially since 2016. The only antiques I own that have fallen are apothecary cabinets (down 30-40%) and fitted Victorian vanity boxes (down 25%) I think art antiques are doing rather well, I've not really collected anything without it having a artistic element to it. I would say plain furniture of all ages has seen a dive in price but the chair in question was bought for many times less than the above auction price and today I can't find that chair (like for like) for anywhere near that auction price, I will admit I can only find 1 chair that's close and it is on the most over priced site it the world (1st Dibs)

 

Exactly!