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Monday, October 3, 2011

Very Old does not always mean Very Expensive


There’s a special, nostalgic feeling that comes from holding a piece of glass from the 1930s, a vase from the reign of Queen Victoria, or a coin that was in circulation when Lincoln was president. But many collectors are surprised to learn that it’s possible to purchase inexpensive antiques that pre-date the era of Abraham Lincoln, or even George Washington. As any collector of antiquities will tell you, there is something truly intoxicating about owning an object that is hundreds or even thousands of years old.
Many times I have heard statements or been told by someone trying to sell me something, "I know its very very old so it must be worth alot." "I know its old because it belonged to grandma."
Sorry,not always true.
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I knew I had a find—the pages were printed in German with Gothic lettering. When I looked at the bottom of the title page my eyes grew wide. There, clearly printed, was the publication date—1760. My discovery turned out to be a German Bible, printed before the American Revolution. At the time, I thought this piece was ancient, but I discovered later that it was practically new compared with some of the antiquities that could be had for very reasonable prices. That 1760 Bible was only the beginning.
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Most collectors believe that anything hundreds or thousands of years old will be found only in museums or the collections of the very wealthy. Antiquities certainly are found in these places, but they can also be a part of the collections of individuals like you and me. An item may only be worth $30 dollars and be centuries old. An example can be many ancient coins,books,stone oil lamps and so on.
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Why is something so old so inexpensive?
Many reasons---
Demand or Desireability of the item
How readily available
Condition
Trends
Location
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Lastly, everything old is not desireable, therefore many things old can be worthless to everyone except the person that wants to sell such item.

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