In this section, we answer the questions: how to sell antiques in Moscow as expensively and comfortably as possible, how to correctly evaluate an antique item, what antiques or objects are antique stores interested in buying, what can be safely attributed to the concept of “antiques,” and what after 200 years never will be.

Where to start if you want to sell antiques

Where does any sale begin? That's right, from an assessment of the value of the item itself or market value copies similar in parameters and condition on the market, in our case, antiques.

What are your options?

• 1. Find something similar icon, porcelain figurine or silver cigarette case on the Internet. On the forum or on Avito. And see how much they are trying to sell it for. A small disclaimer: “trying” - here keyword. Because it is unknown how long they have been trying to do this and with what success.
• 2. Write down addresses all nearby pawn shops in the area and call with the question “how much will you give for a porcelain figurine?”
  The answer is predictable: until we see it with our own eyes, we won’t say anything, just say it.
• 3. Take with you your antique masterpiece and take a tour of the pawn shops in your city.
  It's already warmer. But unfortunately, in most pawn shops, which mainly practice buying gold, watches and telephones, there will not be a connoisseur of Soviet porcelain or, say, an expert gemologist to appreciate a figurine, icon or amber jewelry. The key word here is "worthily". And not “for a thousand”.
• 4. Calculating person going straight to the antique store. And he's on on the right track. Why? Because antique stores are focused on trade expensive antiques. Few people are interested in phones and gold chains there. That is why we have a client base built up over decades.
  For a specific client-collector of porcelain or ancient Tsarist coins, your copy has every chance of being purchased five times more expensive than the price quoted in the “metro” purchase.
• 5. Save time. Before you go with your samovar on a trip to antique salons in the center of the capital, it makes sense to take a photo of it and send the photo to the antique store’s email address. Thus, finding out for yourself whether there is any interest at all on the part of antique dealers in your goods. If there is, great. We find out the price order and hit the road.

Valuation of antiques from photos online

With the advent of online valuation of antique items from photographs, selling antiques in Moscow has become incomparably more comfortable. Instead of going to all the antique sales and pawn shops in Moscow, it is now enough to take a photo of an icon, figurine or piece of silverware with a camera or smartphone and send the photo to the antique store’s website. After which, wait for 10 - 15 minutes for a response. Having chosen the maximum purchase price among the stores that responded to the offer, go to the address with confidence.

What do antique stores buy?

1. Ancient icons. Yes, Russian icons have always been in enviable demand among collectors and ordinary people who want to join spirituality

2. Gold and gold jewelry. Let the reader know that in some places gold jewelry is ready to be valued not “per gram,” but at its antique value. And this is several times higher than what they are willing to give for an antique brooch at the nearest purchase or pawn shop.

3. Soviet porcelain. It is collected and willingly bought by people “in the know.” And antique stores, acting as intermediaries, willingly buy porcelain figurines from the times of the USSR.

4. Silverware: Forks, spoons, glass holders, shot glasses, salt shakers made of silver - all this has the highest liquidity among connoisseurs of hoary antiquities. The antique store is right there. And I’m ready to buy expensive antique silver and put it up for commission at your price. Antique silver collectors - frequent guests antique commissions. And an item made of enameled silver on display will not stay on the store shelf for long.

5. Tula samovars: These are the ones with a pipe. In those ancient times, they heated themselves with coal or wood. Not to be confused with electric ones (nobody needs them except summer residents who want to add ambiance to a tea ceremony in their garden plot). They have value. And, sometimes, a considerable amount.

6. Amber beads:. It would seem that,; amber is not a diamond. It's not expensive. The result of evaluating antique amber beads will pleasantly surprise you. We promise:) Yes, but the key word here is “antique”, and not just “amber beads”. Antique, by the standards of the antique market, these are amber beads produced in the last century. A characteristic visual feature are beads made of opaque amber

7. Bronze figurines of Buddha: they used to be brought to us from China. There are very few of them in the hands of the population. The owner of such a figurine has every chance to exchange it for substantial capital. Collectors of Buddhist themes highly value Buddha statues and are willing to offer good price. Throughout Moscow, only in 3 places there are specialists who are able to appreciate a 19th century bronze Buddha statue and set a high purchase price for a well-preserved copy.

8. Paintings: due to the impossibility of promptly, on the spot, determining the authenticity of the canvas, the price assigned, as a rule, is underestimated. There is a great risk of purchasing a fake and staying with it forever. Therefore, it is very difficult to urgently sell a painting, even if it’s from the 19th century, “at a high price.” And the examination, quite likely, could cost more than the painting itself. Not unless, of course, you are sure that this is Savrasov in the original...

Let's say more: even having an expert opinion from an authoritative commission in hand, the chances do not increase one iota. What to do? If you have time and desire to put it up for sale "to the maximum" - we agree on commission sales. In a reputable antique store located in a crowded place, the chance that an object of painting will quickly find its new owner is quite real.

How to evaluate antiques in our antique store

There are several options:

• 1. You can easily find out how much antiques cost by calling the phone number indicated in the “contacts” section. If in an oral dialogue both parties decide that cooperation is interesting, we ask you to send a photo of the antique item by email or through one of the mobile applications (WhatsApp, Viber) for a more accurate assessment of your item.
• 2. Send a photo of an antique item by email [email protected] . It is advisable to indicate your phone number for feedback
• 3. Ask a question through the “question-answer” form in one of the sections of the site on the subject of your copy.
• 4. Use the blue “Call Back” button located on the right. In the daytime and evening, the expert calls back within 5-10 minutes

The assessment is carried out with the seller. It takes from 5 minutes to an hour. Valuation of an antique item with great historical and artistic value may be increased over time.

If you live far from Moscow

• If you live in the near or far Moscow region and do not want to waste time traveling to the center of Moscow, but at the same time have a strong desire to sell an old, antique item at the price of buying it in antique stores in Moscow, contact our manager. The appraiser will come and meet at a place convenient for you completely free of charge.
• This offer is valid for owners of valuable and rare antiques.

How to sell antiques profitably

Directly to an antiques collector? But where to find it? Generally speaking, serious collectors, by nature, are very distrustful people and prefer to add to their collection only in trusted places and from people with a reputation.

Accordingly, you are not their client. A private person who wants to decorate his apartment with an expensive figurine or an attribute of spirituality? But without being an expert, who is willing to set a high purchase price? Without wasting time, bypassing small resellers from bulletin boards, you can contact an antique salon that specializes in consignment trade in antiques. Which you, in fact, have already done.

How can we be useful to you?

A group of specialists in the field works in the store's acceptance department. ancient Russian culture and art. Everyone has a unique experience. Today, our experts advise about 30% of antique salons and shops throughout the country, and constantly participate in all Russian exhibitions and antique auctions. Many famous collections were formed with their direct participation. Often, absolutely free of charge, we are ready to give you all the comprehensive information on your copy. Give an initial assessment of the market value of antique porcelain or icons, directly in your presence. Antique masterpieces, of course, require more detailed analysis and, accordingly, time.

Payment and transaction confidentiality

Payment is made in cash or, at the client’s discretion, by transfer Money on bank card. Payment of the entire amount due for the antique item is carried out immediately after both parties agree on the mutually beneficial acquisition of the subject of the transaction. The purchase agreement is accepted after a visual inspection and assessment of antiques within the walls of a given antique store in Moscow or at the meeting place of our representative with the client.

The Antique store strictly follows the policy of non-disclosure of personal data and commercial information about the transaction. The content of correspondence with the client and his contact information are not stored in the database of the antique store for longer than 3 days and are not transferred to third parties under any pretext.

You can find out where and how much to sell antiques online, by sending a photo in any way, or by coming to the office. Here you can sell porcelain, silver, coins, icons, orders and medals, watches, antique books and jewelry. Buying antiques is our guide! Therefore we have Better conditions for the appraisal of antiques.

Antique and household items of antique value. Jewelry, bronzes, crystal, porcelain, silverware, paintings and wrist watch, antique dishes, silverware, jewelry, interior items, jewelry made of silver and gold, icons.

Free assessment of the market value of any antiques

Appraising antiques allows you to determine the exact value and authenticity of an item. It includes the following criteria that affect the cost:

• Determining the condition of the product.
• Establishing historical value as during implementation chervonets sower, sell which are possible in the shortest possible time.
• Correct metal content, precious stones.
• Availability of documents for an award, medal, etc.

All these indicators are established by an expert during an individual meeting with a client or through a quick assessment of value, for example, if it is necessary to sell an icon.

We provide FREE estimates for the following items:

• Antiques and vintage items. This includes cigarette cases, boxes, icons, and cutlery.
• Gold and silver items: candlesticks, foreign or domestic antique silver, gold rings, bracelets, pendants, watches.
• Wartime items: signs, tokens, orders and medals, edged weapons, etc.

The difference between a collection purchase and a pawnshop

The eye of an expert is able to appreciate a thing without at all underestimating its significance in material terms. When selling, you can be sure that the coin or antique will be in good hands, will add to a capacious collection of valuable items, and perhaps go to a museum or exhibition.

In addition, do not forget about safety. The purchase is carried out only with the appropriate documents confirming the value of the coin or order. When selling, the client receives the agreed amount strictly in deadlines. All transactions are carried out in a legal way with the provision of necessary documents.

Buying antiques is one of the areas of activity in which our professional club specializes. If you want to sell silver dishes, porcelain, antique porcelain quickly, profitably, anonymously, we will be happy to help with this. Come to our offices, call or write to receive free consultations and discuss the details of a possible transaction. Thanks to a large number clients among collectors, we will find a buyer for your rarity.

Antiques catalog on the website

The antiques section of our collector's portal includes the following subsections:

Our club has been purchasing silverware, antique porcelain and glass for over 25 years. So, by contacting us, you can count on professional service.

How does a free antique appraisal work?

To get a price for your rarity, you can use several options:

Send a high-quality photo of the product through a special form on this website, mobile messengers or social networks. You will receive an answer with the exact cost within a minute.

Come to one of our offices located in 4 cities of Russia and communicate “live” with appraisers.

When conducting an assessment, the presence of hallmarks and marks of the manufacturer, indication of 84 hallmark (if we are talking about silver products), workmanship, and condition today are taken into account. An erased design, tarnished or lost gilding over time, mechanical damage, deformation, and traces of cleaning can reduce the value of antiques by 20-30%.

How to recognize a fake

If you are just starting to build your antiques collection or have found an old item in grandma's house, then it is important to acquire at least the minimum skills to distinguish a genuine old item from a fake. Professional assessment antiques and identification of authenticity is carried out by specialists with extensive experience, so if you have any doubts, come to our offices to receive competent advice.

First of all, you should make sure that the silver item is actually made of silver. This can also be done at home. For example, use a magnet: silver will not be magnetized. Also, silver heats up quickly even from the warmth of your hand and cools down just as quickly. Under the influence of simple sulfur ointment or chalk, the silver will turn black. More complex methods checks are used by specialists.

There are cases when truly antique items are aged, adding several tens of thousands of rubles to the price. And it’s not just about applying an artificial patina, but also about removing old coats of arms and soldering new ones, erasing initials and applying others to silverware. Upon closer inspection, you will notice traces of stripping and thinning of the metal in the processing area. Even if it is thoroughly cleaned, it is enough to breathe on this place, and all the scratches will be clearly visible.

Pay attention to the clarity and depth of the marks - original ones are made of hard metal, fake cheap ones are made of soft metal. There are cases when stamps are cut out from cheap antique objects (spoons, for example) and soldered onto expensive ones (coffee pots, creamers, etc.). Carefully examine the area around the stamp to locate the soldering area. It is also worth comparing the mark of your item with the mark from the catalog - even many years after the release of the product, the mark on it will retain its proportions and lines.

Marks, stamps and other marks are also applied to porcelain and glass products. As years pass, stamps lose their clarity, so a “fresh” print should alert you. Study the stamps of the factories - all the proportions and character of the lines, numbers and symbols must be observed on the original product.

Remember that the more expensive an antique, the greater the temptation to fake it and sell it for a fortune. Therefore, when buying antiques from tsarist times or propaganda porcelain (and the cost of such items sometimes amounts to hundreds of thousands of rubles), do not take risks and turn to professionals.

Our acquisitions

We are proud that our club has many clients who come to us to sell china, silverware, antique glassware. If you are looking for a place to sell silver spoons or old jewelry, come to our offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Voronezh or Yaroslavl for a free in-person appraisal. You can also use the feedback form on this site or send a photo of the item via mobile applications, social media. Free assessment of porcelain and silver is carried out by our specialists on an ongoing basis.

1. This 32.01 carat square emerald cut diamond sold at auction for $7.7 million. Billionaire and philanthropist Leonor Annenberg, who died in March, bought it for his 90th birthday. Auction house Christie's did not want to disclose the name of the buyer. The ring was expected to sell at a price of 3 to 5 million dollars.

2. Lucian Freud's painting "Benefits Supervisor Sleeping" was sold at Christie's in London on May 13, 2008 for $33.6 million. The picture became the most expensive work the artist's art during his lifetime.

3. This globe, once owned by Adolf Hitler, was auctioned by Greg Martin in San Francisco for $100,000 in October 2007. An American soldier stole this souvenir from the Fuhrer's house in 1945.

4. A rare stamp of Audrey Hepburn with a cigar went at auction on May 26 in Berlin for $93,800 - more than two minimum prices. There are only five copies of this stamp. Most of them were destroyed after Hepburn's son refused to sell the copyright to the image in 2001.

5. This 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso, once owned by actor Steve McQueen, sold for $2.31 million to an anonymous buyer in October 2007.

6. This rare 7.03 carat blue diamond was auctioned in Geneva on May 12, 2009 for a record price of $9.49 million. This lot became the most expensive of the precious stones. The stone was discovered in 2008 in the historic Cullinan Mine in South Africa.

7. A rare stamp with a portrait of Abraham Lincoln sold at auction in New York for $431,250 on June 13. The lot is known as the "Refrigerator Stamp" because the envelope containing the stamp was shipped from Boston in cold storage to India in 1873. The stamp was stolen from its original owner in Indianapolis in 1967 and found in a Chicago home 39 years later.

8. A rare miniature of Peter the Great in a diamond-encrusted frame was sold at auction in New York on November 2 for $1.3 million. George Roberts of Arizona bought it from a London dealer in 1951 and was unaware of its importance until he had it appraised this summer.

9. A New York City surgeon paid $12,713 for a September 1966 issue of Datebook signed by John Lennon. The newspaper has a famous quote from Lennon about the Beatles being more popular than Jesus.

10. A bottle of Lowenbrau beer and a milk jug from the wreck of the Hindenburg airship, which burned in New Jersey in 1937. Andrew Eldridge from English auction house Henry Aldridge and Son says there is about 80% of the drink left in the bottle. This bottle is considered the most expensive bottle of beer in the world.

11. An unused life jacket from the famous Titanic was auctioned in New York for $68,500 on June 25, 2008. The vest was found on coastline Halifax after the ship sank off Newfoundland in 1912.

12. Claude Monet's painting "Pond of Water Lilies" was auctioned in London for more than $80 million on June 24, 2008. This 1919 masterpiece is one of four paintings in a series dedicated to water lilies.

13. This golden thicket, kept for years under the bed of a ragpicker's grandson, was sold at auction in the UK for $100,000 on June 5, 2008. This cup is a Persian artifact depicting the two-faced Roman god Janus.

14. The 1961 Ferrari California Spyder, once owned by actor James Coburn, was sold in Italy on May 18, 2008. The car sold for $10,894,900 and became the most expensive vintage car.

15. Claude Monet’s painting “Railway Bridge at Argenteuil” was auctioned at Christie’s in New York for $41 million on May 6, 2008. This price broke the auction record for a painting by the French impressionist. The previous record was set last year for the painting “Nymphaeas” - it was auctioned for $36.5 million.

16. A rich man from Abu Dhabi forked out money for a license plate for a car with only one digit “1”. He paid $14 million for it, beating the previous record of $6.8 million for a "5" license plate.

17. This copy of the Magna Carta of 1297 was sold at Sotheby's in New York. It went to auction for $21,321,000 in December 2007.

18. This prototype 10-cent coin was created by the US Mint in 1792. It went from auction along with other rare coins to a private buyer's collection for $30 million in November 2007.

19. This 1804 Adams-Carter silver piece is one of only 15 coins that were never released into circulation. The coin, purchased for $2 million at a private auction two years ago, sold at a Cincinnati auction on April 30 for $2.3 million.

20. This daguerreotype, dating from 1848, shows a lone house on what is now known as the Upper West Side of Manhattan. This one of the oldest photographs in the world was sold at auction for $62,500 to an unknown buyer on March 30 in New York.

Cast iron figurine “Clown with a bag of gifts”, USSR, 1960s. The figurine depicts the famous Soviet clown of the 50-60s “Karandash”

Trotsky figurines are considered valuable, since there are very few of them left - after his deportation, it was ordered to destroy all paraphernalia dedicated to this political figure.

№2

Records, paintings

The price of records varies from 10 thousand to tens and hundreds of thousands of rubles. Some sell them in whole albums. The cost of such a selection is about 700 thousand rubles.

Alla Gorskaya, cats and people, soviet painting

Engravings, drawings and paintings Soviet artists have a very wide price range. This is influenced by the popularity of the author of the work, the material used, and the period of creation. The theme of the plot is also important. Industrial views of Soviet cities, the Kremlin, portraits of party leaders, and propaganda subjects are considered more valuable. The cost of such images can reach several tens of millions of rubles.

№3

Toys and models

Christmas decorations are not considered a rarity on the antique market. But if you have glass jewelry from the first decades of the USSR lying around, you can count on an increase in their price.

They also make money by selling toy cars, tanks and other “equipment”. The better the safety of an item and the more complete the equipment, the more valuable it is. Soft toys and dolls cost less, but if you find a very keen collector, you can negotiate for more.

№4

Radios, TVs and players

The first Soviet TV

Such devices can be sold at a high price only if they have retained good appearance And working condition. For example, one of the first TVs of the KVN-49 type with a magnifying lens for the screen (working) can be sold for several hundred dollars and several tens of thousands.

№5

Decorative items made of cast iron

Cast iron figurines, watchstands, ashtrays and other things are not a cherished goal for antique dealers. However, they are willing to pay a lot of money for exclusive items.

For example, a figurine of Voroshilov with hands in gauntlet gloves and on a horse is considered very valuable. Due to the limited edition of this batch, the figure is valued at up to $30,000.

Figurine of a Horse in the freedom of the USSR Kasli 1940s

Objects from rare collections of Kasli casting (Ural) are in demand among collectors. Prices range from several hundred to a couple thousand dollars.

№6

Cup holders

Something as common in Soviet times as a cup holder may now turn out to be a small treasure for its owner. This is especially true for silverware that belongs to original works and is marked with the artist’s mark.

An example is the “Swans” glass holder made of 875 sterling silver (marked MYuZ, 1932) for sale at a price of almost 650 euros. Ordinary products can be found for several hundred thousand rubles.

№7

Porcelain products

Porcelain dishes in sets, as well as in the form of individual elements, are of considerable value to collectors. Products from Leningrad, Minsk, Kirov, Baranovsk and other Soviet factories are in demand. Belonging to the product of one or another is determined by the presence of a mark on the bottoms (sometimes with the author’s signature of the artist or sculptor).

Prices range from several hundred to several thousand dollars. For example, the “Golden-Maned Horse” tea set with cups painted “Red Cockerels” from the 1960s (E. Krimmer, A. Vorobievsky, LFZ) is valued by antique dealers at about $600.

In principle, you can even sell collections of chewing gum candy wrappers, the main thing is to find a hunter for this product. But before that, be sure to study the offers of the antique market and ask the price so as not to lose where you could win