Antique Appraisal Guide
Getting an antique appraised can feel intimidating if you have never done it before. Whether you need a valuation for insurance, want to know what an inherited collection is worth, or are simply curious about a piece you found at a market, this guide walks you through the entire appraisal process — from the initial inspection you can do yourself to finding and working with a professional appraiser.
What Is an Antique Appraisal?
An antique appraisal is a professional assessment of an item's monetary value. It involves examining the piece, identifying its maker, age, materials, and condition, researching comparable sales, and arriving at a stated value for a specific purpose.
That last part — "for a specific purpose" — is critical. An antique does not have a single fixed value. It has different values depending on the context:
- Fair market value: What a willing buyer would pay a willing seller, neither under pressure. This is the most common appraisal standard and is used for estate settlement, tax purposes, and general knowledge.
- Retail replacement value: What it would cost to buy a comparable item from a retail source. This is typically higher than fair market value and is the standard for insurance appraisals.
- Liquidation value: What the item would fetch if sold quickly, often at auction or through a dealer. This is typically the lowest value and reflects a forced or time-pressured sale.
Understanding which type of value you need determines the kind of appraisal you should seek and how to interpret the result.
When Do You Need a Professional Appraisal?
Not every antique needs a formal appraisal. For many everyday situations — pricing for resale, deciding whether to buy at a market, sorting through a house clearance — an informal estimate is sufficient. You can use a tool like Trove to get a quick identification and value range, or consult sold price records yourself.
But certain situations require the legal weight and professional rigour of a formal appraisal:
Insurance
Insuring valuable antiques, art, or jewellery typically requires a written appraisal from a qualified professional. The insurer needs a retail replacement value — what it would cost to replace the item if it were lost, stolen, or damaged. Without an appraisal, you may be under-insured (and unable to recover full value) or over-insured (and paying unnecessary premiums).
Insurance appraisals should be updated every three to five years, as market values change over time.
Estate Settlement and Probate
When someone passes away, their estate — including antiques and personal property — needs to be valued for probate and distribution among beneficiaries. This is both a legal requirement and a practical necessity for dividing assets fairly. A qualified appraiser provides documentation that stands up to legal scrutiny.
Charitable Donation
If you donate an antique to a museum, charity, or non-profit and wish to claim a tax deduction, you will need a qualified independent appraisal. Tax authorities require documentation that the claimed value is fair and reasonable.
Divorce and Legal Proceedings
Dividing marital assets in a divorce, or resolving disputes over ownership or value, often requires formal appraisals. The appraisal must be defensible and prepared by someone without a conflict of interest.
Selling High-Value Items
For items potentially worth thousands of pounds, spending a hundred or two on a professional appraisal is a sensible investment. It ensures you do not sell below true value and provides documentation that can build buyer confidence.
DIY Appraisal: What You Can Do Yourself
Before engaging a professional, you can do a great deal of preliminary appraisal work on your own. This saves money, helps you decide which items warrant professional attention, and makes the professional process more efficient when you do use it.
Physical Examination
Start by examining the piece carefully. You are looking for three categories of information:
- Identification clues: Maker's marks, backstamps, hallmarks, labels, signatures, registration numbers, patent marks, and any text or symbols. These are usually found on the base, back, or underside of the piece.
- Construction evidence: How is the piece made? Hand-crafted items show tool marks, slight irregularities, and period-appropriate construction techniques. Machine-made items show uniformity, mould lines, and modern fasteners.
- Condition details: Document every chip, crack, repair, replacement, stain, wear spot, and missing component. Photograph each issue clearly. Condition is one of the biggest value variables, and accurate documentation is essential.
Research the Maker and Period
Once you have gathered physical evidence, research what you have found. Use mark reference books, online databases, and identification apps like Trove to narrow down the maker, factory, and date. Many ceramic backstamps changed over the decades, allowing precise dating. Silver hallmarks in the UK can date a piece to the exact year.
Do not rely on a single source. Cross-reference multiple references to confirm your identification. If different sources give conflicting identifications, note the discrepancy and investigate further before drawing conclusions.
Research Comparable Sales
With identification confirmed, search for comparable items that have actually sold. The key sources are:
- eBay completed listings: Filter by "Sold" to see real sale prices with photos for comparison.
- Auction house results: Check major and regional auction houses for hammer prices.
- Price databases: Worthpoint and similar services aggregate historical sales data.
Look for at least five recent comparables in similar condition. Note the sale venue, date, and any condition details mentioned. This gives you a defensible basis for your own value estimate.
Document Everything
Even for an informal self-appraisal, document your findings. Photograph the item thoroughly, record your identification reasoning, list your comparable sales with prices and sources, and note the condition. This documentation is valuable if you later decide to sell, insure, or seek a professional appraisal — it saves the professional time and therefore saves you money.
How to Find a Qualified Appraiser
When you need a professional appraisal, choosing the right appraiser matters. Here is what to look for:
Qualifications and Credentials
Look for appraisers who hold recognised professional qualifications. In the UK, look for membership in professional bodies such as the Society of Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers (SOFAA) or the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). In the US, the American Society of Appraisers (ASA), the Appraisers Association of America (AAA), and the International Society of Appraisers (ISA) are the leading credentialling organisations.
These organisations require their members to follow ethical standards, maintain professional development, and adhere to recognised appraisal methodologies.
Specialisation
Antiques span an enormous range of categories. A furniture specialist may not be the best person to appraise your jewellery collection, and a ceramics expert may not know much about militaria. Look for an appraiser whose specialisation matches your items. For mixed collections — a typical estate, for example — you may need more than one appraiser, or a generalist who can identify which items need specialist attention.
Independence
The appraiser should have no financial interest in the outcome. Avoid appraisers who offer to buy your items or who work on commission based on the appraised value. A truly independent appraiser charges a flat fee or hourly rate regardless of what the items turn out to be worth.
Fee Structure
Most professional appraisers charge by the hour (typically fifty to three hundred pounds per hour depending on expertise and location) or by the item for simple valuations. Some charge a flat fee for a defined scope of work, such as "appraise the contents of this room." Get the fee structure in writing before the appointment.
Be cautious of appraisers who charge a percentage of the appraised value. This creates an obvious conflict of interest — the higher they value your items, the more they earn.
What to Expect During a Professional Appraisal
If you are having items appraised for the first time, here is what the process typically looks like:
- Initial discussion: The appraiser will ask about the purpose of the appraisal (insurance, estate, sale), the scope (which items, how many), and any known history or provenance.
- Physical examination: The appraiser will inspect each item, examining marks, construction, materials, and condition. For large collections, they may prioritise the most significant pieces.
- Research: The appraiser will research comparable sales, verify identifications, and consult reference materials. This may happen during the visit or afterwards in their office.
- Written report: You will receive a formal document listing each item with a description, identification, condition notes, comparable sales references, and stated value. The report will specify the type of value (fair market, replacement, liquidation) and the date of valuation.
The timeline varies from same-day for simple items to several weeks for large or complex collections.
Appraisal Red Flags to Watch For
Not all appraisers are equally competent or ethical. Watch for these warning signs:
- No credentials: Anyone can call themselves an appraiser. If they cannot demonstrate professional qualifications or membership in a recognised body, look elsewhere.
- Pressure to sell: An appraiser who urges you to sell — especially to them or a colleague — has a conflict of interest.
- Percentage-based fees: As noted above, this creates an incentive to inflate values.
- Verbal-only valuations: A professional appraisal should always be documented in writing. A verbal opinion is just that — an opinion with no evidentiary value.
- Unrealistically high values: If the numbers seem too good to be true, they probably are. A reputable appraiser will give you an honest assessment, even if the news is disappointing.
- No comparable sales cited: A valuation without evidence is just a guess. Ask to see the comparable sales data that supports the stated value.
Common Appraisal Mistakes to Avoid
- Cleaning or restoring before appraisal: Do not clean, polish, or repair items before having them appraised. You might accidentally damage the piece, remove valuable patina, or alter evidence that the appraiser needs to see.
- Assuming age equals value: Not everything old is valuable. Mass-produced Victorian items, common patterns, and damaged pieces may have minimal monetary value regardless of age.
- Relying on family lore: "This has been in the family for two hundred years" is not provenance. Without documentation, family stories are helpful context but not evidence.
- Confusing sentimental and monetary value: The teapot your grandmother used every day has enormous personal significance, but the market values it based on maker, condition, and demand, not memories.
- Skipping the appraisal to save money: For high-value items, the cost of an appraisal is trivial compared to the potential loss from under-selling, under-insuring, or unfair estate distribution.
Free and Low-Cost Appraisal Options
If you are not ready for a full professional appraisal, several lower-cost options can give you useful information:
- Auction house free valuations: Many auction houses offer free verbal valuations, especially if they think you might consign items for sale. These are not formal appraisals but can be very informative.
- Antique identification apps: Trove and similar apps give you instant identification and value estimates from photographs. This is ideal for sorting, triage, and quick buying decisions.
- Antiques Roadshow events: Free public events where experts provide verbal opinions. Entertaining and educational, though not substitutes for formal appraisals.
- Dealer opinions: A knowledgeable dealer will often give you an informal opinion if you visit their shop or stall. Bear in mind that a dealer may have an interest in buying the piece, which could influence their stated value.
- Online forums and groups: Specialist collector forums and social media groups can help with identification, though value opinions from amateurs should be treated cautiously.
Getting Started: A Practical First Step
If you have items you are curious about, start with the simplest approach: photograph them with your phone using the Trove app. Get instant identifications and value ranges. This immediately tells you which items are likely valuable (and worth professional appraisal) and which are common, low-value pieces that you can price for resale or donate without further investment.
This triage step is especially valuable when you are dealing with a large collection or estate. Rather than paying an appraiser to evaluate fifty items at a hundred pounds per hour, identify the ten items that matter most and focus professional attention — and budget — there.
