I was clearing out the rubble in the apartment and found antique spoons. Not some tiny ones for tea, but straight scoops: heavy, good quality, long - 30 centimeters each. With monograms. Maybe the 18th or even the 14th century. Looks like cupronickel. “Spoons - an antique store - a new car,” instantly flashed through my head. “We just need to wash them.”
I typed “big old spoons” on the Internet. Utensils similar to my treasures were exhibited for only 1.5 thousand rubles, but I did not find them with exactly the same monograms. “Let the professionals evaluate it,” I decided. “And at the same time, maybe they’ll buy it right away.” And I went to the antique shops.
TIME IS NOT WORTH ANYTHING
Mothballed grandfathers in pince-nez or seasoned men in expensive suits remained in vulgar movies. In antique shops on Arbat I was greeted by hipster-looking young guys. Here is Alexey - you can never tell from his red beard and ripped jeans that he is an experienced art critic.
No one needs cutlery, even silver. Especially if it is not a set, but separate things. And your spoons are not even silver, they will never be bought. - He appreciated my spoons without even looking up from playing tanks on the computer.
Ilya from another shop confirmed the diagnosis:
It's not silver... So what if it's ancient? They don't give you money for your time!
Antique dealers work quickly and uncomplicatedly. Either they immediately determine the cost of the item or take a photograph of the item and send it to a specialist. And he says whether to take the thing and at what price.
PENSIONERS ARE THE MAIN SUPPLIERS
The main resource of antique shops is elderly pensioners. This is understandable: can you really live on a Russian pension?..
One brought a figurine to evaluate - a boy with a dog. This is in memory of my wife. Left with nothing. Antique dealers have a lot of such figurines; why take more?
Then an elderly woman came in. She brought a bag of amber.
When I lived in the Baltics, I bought a lot of this stuff. My granddaughter is getting married, we need help,” she explained.
Lekha, look, do we need such stones? - antiquarian Sergei photographs amber and sends the photo to his partner. Lekha refuses. The woman nervously puts away her supplies and promises to look at something else interesting at home.
I still hope for luck. And, reassuring myself that intermediary antique dealers will still give less than a collector, I decide to find a buyer directly.
Including crazy and aggressive ones.
In order for me to take such spoons, you must first pay me! We'll buy it for just a couple of rubles! - they were excited.
I posted an ad on Avito. The girl immediately called, introduced herself as Svetlana and said that she was ready to give 10 thousand for the spoons.
I want to be sure that the spoons will not go to anyone, so I will make an advance payment. Give me your card number, I’ll transfer the money,” she suggested.
“This is a scam,” I guessed. Fraudsters look for sellers on online platforms and promise them advance payment. First they will ask for your card number. And then, under various pretexts, the code on the back of the card, the password received in SMS, etc. This is enough to pay with your money in the online store.
There was an idea to put spoons up for online auctions like Bag, but to register there you have to take a selfie with a passport, which I didn’t want.
I left the spoons at home. I will use them myself.
OPINION OF ANTIQUES
Treasure under your nose
If you search properly, you will find that many are the owners of treasures.
Modern coins are worth decent money if they were issued in limited editions. For example, one five-ruble note from 1999 of the St. Petersburg Mint is sold for 150 thousand rubles, 5 kopecks of the same year - for 200 thousand rubles,
1 ruble of 2003 costs 30 thousand rubles.
Sergei Koronevsky recalls how one day his grandmother brought a vase to an antique shop and asked for at least a thousand rubles for it. And the vase turned out to be a work of art from early Holland of the early 18th century, which was eventually bought for $15 thousand.
The inexpensive segment of antiques will become more expensive only if the dollar grows very much, and then it’s unlikely,” sighs antique consultant Grigory Pyatov.
And he cites the example of Soviet postage stamps, which were issued in millions of copies. There are so many of them that they will never cost much.
What antique items can be sold for high prices now?
Lifetime editions of classics - Pushkin, Gogol, Lermontov. The price of a book can be from $2 - 3 thousand to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Chekhov's lifetime editions, but not all. This is because during his lifetime he was produced in large quantities. The first lifetime editions are highly valued, says the antiquarian.
He advises paying attention to books from the 20s of the last century, which were illustrated by famous artists. The thicker the book, the worse it is. More rare copies are found among thin editions.
Look on your bookshelves - maybe there are books by Mayakovsky with illustrations by Lissitzky. They can be sold for 300 thousand rubles. and more expensive.
Pre-revolutionary publications on history and military affairs are valued.
Grigory Pyatov spoke about ephemera - ephemeral things. For example, a ticket to the opening of the Moscow metro can now be sold for several hundred dollars. There will also be a demand for an advertising napkin from a pre-revolutionary confectionery shop, old candy wrappers.
Many people still have old photo albums; maybe there is something worthwhile there? - I ask the antique dealer.
He says that about 30 years ago such things went with a bang. In the 90s, new Russians wanted to “make a biography for themselves” and bought various old portraits for a lot of money. Nowadays, no one except her descendants needs a pre-war photograph of some Aunt Motya on vacation. Of course, portraits made by Rodchenko, Nappelbaum, Khaldei (famous photographers of the 20s and 30s of the last century) will always be in value.
Porcelain Soviet figurines cost from a couple of hundred rubles to several tens of thousands. Size doesn't matter. In an antique shop I saw a modest figurine of a sailor for 20 thousand rubles, and next to it a large sculpture of two lovers for only 5 thousand.
These were made in Ukraine, they are not valued, antique dealers explain.
Figures from the first edition and products from the LFZ (Lomonosov Porcelain Factory) are prized.
The first series of LFZ figurines are easy to identify. There is a hole at the bottom through which the porcelain is blown. It should be no more than 3 mm in diameter. If it is wider, it means that this is the third or fourth edition,” adds antiques expert Sergei Koronevsky.
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. The Christie's auction house 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 painting became the artist's most expensive work of 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 of the English auction house Henry Aldridge and Son says that about 80% of the drink remains 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 the Halifax coastline 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.
Do you know that
antiques are some of the most expensive things in the world
Even diamonds are cheaper! For example, the Guarneri del Gesù violin was once sold at auction for a record amount of $4 million! The master who created it was considered one of the main competitors of Stradivarius himself! By the way, many musicians believe that this violin still sounds better...
The most expensive antiques in the world! THIS IS INTERESTING
But the most expensive antique in the world, which you will not find by visiting an antiques store, is
handwritten book by Leonardo da Vinci himself
- one of the greatest artists, poets, physicists of our time. This antique was sold at auction in 1994 for the incredible price of $31 million. By the way, absolutely everyone knows the person who purchased it - this is the head and founder of Microsoft - Bill Gates!
The most expensive antiques in the world! THIS IS INTERESTING
He, in turn, keeps the manuscript in his home collection. But you can also look at this work! Bill Gates annually organizes an exhibition where this book is displayed. At the same time, you can go to the shops and buy maxi lift, which is an excellent remedy for wrinkles and is quite popular among women. It is known throughout the world as the Leicester Code. Why does it have such a strange name? Somewhere in the 16th-17th centuries it was acquired (or inherited - currently unknown) by the Leicester family, in whose honor the chronicle received its name.
It is believed that this is one of the most important notebooks that Leonardo da Vinci kept. It contains a huge number of sketches, drawings, formulas and so on. It can really be compared to a modern physics textbook! True, some pages of the notebook were never understood by scientists, which again confirms the amazing nature of the great artist da Vinci!
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to hold the book in your hands. Its pages are so dried out that at the slightest touch they can simply turn into dust...
In the military antiques market there has always been, is and will be a demand for items produced in a single copy, many of which boast a unique history. Most often these are weapons that belonged to great people or are associated with key events of the era. For example,
saber of Napoleon Bonaparte
was put under the hammer at the Osenat auction in 2007 for €4.8 million, becoming the most expensive antique European bladed weapon. Eastern military antiques compete with Western military antiques. The most striking example is
Chinese saber from the Qing Dynasty
Sold for $7.5 million. Forbes selected the 10 most expensive military antiques sold at auction sites over the past 13 years.
Novel "The Sun Also Rises"
became a kind of milestone in Hemingway’s work. Unfortunately, for his publishers it was just another book by a first-time author. The novel was released in a limited edition by Scribner's in 1926. The copy was sold at Sotheby's in New York in April 2004 for a record amount of $366,400, more than three times the maximum estimated value. This can be explained simply: firstly, by the perfect preservation of the book, and secondly, by the author’s signature on the inside cover. It was addressed to Dr. Don Carlos Guffey and spanned as many as 20 lines, so it would be more correct to call it a letter rather than a signature.
The famous auction house Dallas Auction Gallery held its next auction, the main discovery of which was
sale of a pair of antique vases from the reign of Nicholas I.
This expensive antique, created by the masters of the Imperial Porcelain Factory, was completely accidentally found in a private collection in America. Paired vases were supposed to participate in the auction with an estimate of one to one and a half million dollars, but the lot was sold a week before the auction day for two million seven hundred thousand dollars.
Expensive antiques were inherited by Randy Buttram from his grandfather Frank Buttram, who was the founder of a large American company. The previous owner bought the vases in the twenties in Munich and transported them to the United States. As a child, Randy saw these incredibly beautiful vases in his grandfather's mansion in Oklahoma, but he never realized their true value.
The authenticity of the expensive antiques was confirmed by a porcelain specialist from the Hermitage. One of the vases contains an image of a famous painting by an eighteenth-century Dutch master called “The Concert.” According to data preserved in the Hermitage, in 1832 a canvas from the museum was sent to the Imperial Factory to create a copy of the painting on a vase. After information about such a magnificent find appeared in the press, collectors from around the world began to actively take an interest in the vases. As a result, the owners of expensive antiques agreed to a private sale.
Another interesting and expensive find of the year was
antique painting “The Sacrifice of Polyxena”
Recently recognized as the work of the famous French master Charles Lebrun, who worked in the seventeenth century. The antiques were sold at Christie's auction held in Paris. The lot brought its owner more than $1.8 million. The work was discovered on the eve of a major renovation that began at Paris's most popular hotel, the Ritz.
One of Christie’s specialists managed to attribute the painting. The initials “CLBF”, which belonged to Charles Lebrun, were found on the canvas. For many years, expensive antiques were in the room where his star guest Coco Chanel lived. “The Victim of Polyxena” was purchased by representatives of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, whose collection previously did not have a single work by Lebrun. This antique will be on display starting at the end of May this year.
You can find out where and for 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! That's why we have the best conditions for appraising antiques.
Antique and household items of antique value. Jewelry, bronzes, crystal, porcelain, silverware, paintings and wristwatches, antique dishes, silverware, jewelry, interior items, silver and gold jewelry, 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 content of metals and 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 within the established time frame. All transactions are carried out in a legal manner with the provision of the necessary documents.
Buying antiques is one of the areas of activity in which our professional club specializes. If you want to sell silverware, 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 of 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 of antiques and determination of authenticity is carried out by specialists with extensive experience; if in doubt, come to our offices for 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 verification methods 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 brands - 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 website or send a photo of the item through mobile applications or social networks. Free assessment of porcelain and silver is carried out by our specialists on an ongoing basis.
We present to your attention ten stories about lucky people who were lucky enough to accidentally discover the most expensive antiques that made them rich.
A photograph of the Cincinnati Red Stockings baseball club, dated 1869, was discovered by chance in a basement and eventually sold at auction for $75,285.
$182,000 in Depression-era dollars was found during a bathroom wall renovation. In the USA, even money from the 30s and 40s can be exchanged at a bank, so the find is very relevant.
A collector discovered approximately $200,000 worth of coins while investigating an abandoned home.
On the British TV show "Antiques Roadshow", the essence of which boils down to the fact that experts evaluate all antiques. Sometimes you come across really interesting specimens, such as a painting by Clyfford Still, which experts valued at no less than $500,000.
Another discovery made during the Antiques Roadshow was four jade objects dating back to the Qianlong Dynasty (1736-1795), which experts estimate is worth $1.07 million.
The painting, purchased for only $30, turned out to be by the American artist Martin Johnson Head and is called “Magnolias on Gold Velvet Cloth.” Sold at auction for $1.2 million.
A couple from Wisconsin (USA) purchased a reproduction of one of Van Gogh's works, but it later turned out that it was the original of the work "Vase with Red Poppies" from 1886. The painting was sold at auction for $1.4 million.
A copy of the US Declaration of Independence, purchased for $4 at a gift shop, turned out to be one of 24 remaining copies of the 1776 original. It’s difficult to say how such a valuable item ended up in the souvenir shop, but at auction it fetched $2.4 million.
This abstract "something" by Jackson Pollock was purchased in 1992 by truck driver Teri Horton for just 5 bucks. The funny thing is that the driver tried to establish what kind of “masterpiece” this was, and eventually got to the bottom of the truth. Later, the Canadian gallery "Gallery Delisle" bought the painting for $50 million. Teri himself commented: “Did I think it was worth 50 million? No way. It cost exactly the 5 dollars I paid. The picture is terrible.”
A completely unique case: the painting “Pieta” by Michelangelo himself was kept behind a sofa in a house in Buffalo (USA) for 27 years. One day the painting was hit with a tennis ball and, to protect it from further destruction, it was wrapped and hidden behind the sofa. Which was conveniently forgotten for several decades. The examination confirmed the authenticity and the painting was valued at $300,000,000. Now she has changed her place of “registration” from the sofa to a safe deposit box.