ANTIQUES and COLLECTIBLES ARTICLES INDEX

COLORADO ANTIQUE DEALERS DIRECTORY

Investing in Antiques - Tangible? Intangible?

by Dennis Raleigh

Antiques, whether they are large pieces of furniture or something small to collect or decorate with, are an investment. Each time an antique is purchased it can be compared to putting money in the bank. How wise this investment is depends on many things. The novice collector makes many mistakes before developing that ‘eye’ we so often hear about. The novice begins by buying everything in sight, thinking little about quality, only about quantity. Many times I have suggested that collectors buy one great item in place of 10 mediocre items but it sometimes takes years for this advice to sink in. Sometimes I’m heard, sometimes not! This is, however, how the eye develops. I can honestly say I have never met anyone that started right out buying great things and never making mistakes. All great collections evolve into greatness, many from shaky beginnings. It takes a while before one even knows the direction to take to start a collection.

This is where the word investment comes into play. As I mentioned, great collections evolve and I believe many people have a master plan in mind. The plan is to collect the best antiques the market can produce and piece by piece, carefully selected items begin to add up to what amounts to fabulous collections of great quality and quantity - super star collections of great importance. Once completed, these collections are sold in their entirety for huge sums of money.

I believe it takes a lot of discipline to amass a great collection. Not only does it take money but often, the courage to say no to pieces that don’t measure up to your standards. Recently I read in one of the trade newspapers an ad that had a catchy little saying that read, ‘if you don’t know your antiques, know your antiques dealer’. I feel this is good advice! Many dealers are experts in what they deal in based upon years of experience. Establishing a ‘trust’ can have many rewards.

Antiques and the stock market have similarities. Some antiques gain in value over the years while others take off like a rocket ship. I call these fad antiques. Take for example slot machines. A few years ago they quickly went from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. Then cooled off just as fast. When you’re dealing in a category like this, you don’t want to be the last guy holding on to the ball. The good news is that, even after slipping, slot machines today are once again on the rebound and bringing some serious numbers.

Unlike the stock market, antiques hold their value better and are not affected like stocks each time the President sneezes.

Tell me another field that can have more advantages than collecting antiques? Not only can they make you a lot of money over the years, but while they’re doing it, they can be used to decorate your most valued asset, your home! You can sit on them, eat on them, sleep on them and do endless things to decorate your space and just plain have fun doing it!!!

I collected antiques long before I started selling them and they make wonderful investments. What seems expensive today, almost becomes ‘chump change’ in just a few short years. Some items, even for dealers, are hard to keep up with. A good example are weathervanes. It wasn’t all that long ago that a rather common Ethan Allen running horse weathervane was selling for about $1,500. Today these examples are $3,500 to $4,500. Rare pieces in rare forms are regularly topping $200,000, and if my memory serves me well, the world’s record for a weathervane was $750,000 - and that was about 10 years ago. I’m certain it won’t be long before we will see a million dollar weathervane.

After reading this far, don’t assume that it takes a lifetime to make a collection. Many fabulous collections are put together in very short time frames but it does take knowledge, that ‘great eye’ - and a little extra money won’t hurt at all. Regardless of what you wish to collect, just remember don’t pass the opportunity to buy a great antique by choosing instead something similar for a little less money. In most cases, there is a good reason why it is less! For years, I have coined the phrase, ‘good things aren’t cheap and cheap things aren’t good’.

Happy Collecting!

Copyright Dennis Raleigh

If you have any interesting stories or tips about collecting or selling antiques please e-mail us at CBHcontact@gmail.com.