Buying Antiques Collectibles Scrutinise Condition.

It really should go without saying that when buying any antiques or collectible then the condition needs be carefully scrutinise. Very recently I foolishly bought a silver 1908 hip flask with a leather top. I did look at it quickly prior to the sale, but was not really interested, as this was a Fine arts auction so I always expect to pay a premium at such venues.
Anyway it came up and it was struggling to get to £80.00 so I put a bid in and won at £85.00 add 17.5% and my final bill was a touch under £100.00, I thought that was ok as I should be able to resell at about £200.00.

I got it home and decided to inspect it, first I could not get the cup of, so I filled it with water and it leaked like a seive, the glass was shattered, and they cost a fortune to replace, in the end I got rid of it for £30.00, nice loss of £70.00.
I’ve been going to auctions for years and still fall into the trap of not carefully inspecting lots before the auction, here some of the things to look out for:

1 – Cracks and repairs on ceramics and porcelain, I’m willing to bet most items you see have some fault however minor.
2 – Filler is a killer, look out for it on wood, odd looking grain, inspect the underside of furniture, look for authenticity, things that just cannot be faked.
3 – Silver items should have no splits or heavy dents, if things like mustard pots or salts then they need to have the blue insert as these cost a lot to replace. Look out for weld joints, especially on more fragile items like sugar tongs or ornate bowls.
4 – Watches whether wrist or pocket, they should be in working order unless you can repair, check pocket watch cases match the movement. The expensive watch market is riddled with fakes and you really need to do your homeowork before buying such brands as Rolex, longines, breitling etc.
5 – Anything that is expensive and has a rarity value needs to be authenticated, it should be covered by the auction house.

Even though an antique or collectible might be damage does not mean it’s instantly worthless, as antiques dealers and restorers will buy pieces that they can repair. Even antiques that seem to be very badly damaged can still be worth something, it will on the whole depend on the rarity, if their’s only a few examples then even broken it can have a high rarity value. If not sure then seek the advice of an antiques expert before deciding the value, as you could be pleasantly surprised!

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