| A common question among new collectors or | | | | don't get locked up. It's not that bad, but |
| those starting an antique dealer business is | | | | guns must have been manufactured before 1898 |
| why are some old items called antiques while | | | | to be an antique. |
| others are just called vintage? Good | | | | |
| question. A question that makes me think of | | | | |
| vinegar. Huh? There is everyday newly | | | | |
| produced vinegar that costs pennies then | | | | Have and Eye for the Old |
| there is aged vinegar that can cost as much | | | | |
| as a bottle of fine aged wine or liquor. The | | | | New collectors tend to overlook the fact |
| same is also true for "stuff". Technically, | | | | that it is not difficult to manufacture an |
| anything be it a hair pin to a piece of paper | | | | item in the same style as a period piece, and |
| is anointed with antique status on its | | | | with aging techniques it can be very |
| century old birthday, and antiques are so | | | | difficult to spot a fake. So, how can you |
| desired because they simply get better with | | | | tell if your "antique" is hot off the |
| age. It is this aging process that gives an | | | | assembly line or the genuine article? The |
| item, be it food or furniture, a quality that | | | | only proven method is to read every resource |
| cannot be reproduced. | | | | about the items you wish to buy. Subscribe |
| | | | to specialty magazines, read collecting |
| | | | books, analyze pictures readily available |
| | | | online that are common fakes, and attend |
| The set standard for antiques in the | | | | auction previews were you can freely examine |
| industry is when an item is 100 years old. | | | | items. This becomes your education and how |
| Normally antique dealers (the honest ones) | | | | you will acquire an eye for what is old. |
| stick to this timeline so customers can rely | | | | Remember, you can abstain from acquiring |
| on a consistent standard, but the | | | | antiques at an auction, and simply go to |
| inexperienced ebayer or unscrupulous seller | | | | learn. Look over the items. Hold them. Feel |
| may list an item that is only 75, 50, even 30 | | | | the fabrics. Compare old pieces of glass, |
| years old as an antique, when it is really | | | | porcelain and pottery to newer ones. The |
| vintage. So always ask the seller how old it | | | | more you see it, feel it, and study it, the |
| is. If they claim not to know ask how they | | | | more of an expert you become. |
| determined it was an antique. That is | | | | |
| certainly a fair question. As the buyer you | | | | |
| must educate yourself on how to spot a fake, | | | | |
| or you may end up paying hundreds, maybe | | | | For example, an experienced person may see |
| thousands of dollars for a reproduction. | | | | old tin pea cans that were pitched by workers |
| (Reproductions have been made for centuries, | | | | under a bridge over a hundred years ago and |
| so even the old fakes look authentic!) | | | | think they were trash. But the experienced |
| | | | collector knows that if those labels are in |
| | | | pretty good shape, that trash is actually a |
| | | | treasure. This doesn't apply to all |
| Exception to the Rule | | | | antiques, however. Just because something is |
| | | | an antique doesn't mean it will bring big |
| Firearms must actually be older than 100 | | | | daddy the big bucks. |
| years in order to be an antique. Hold it, | | | | |