It’s the start of a new year and a new beginning for Read & Mullin with our regularly updated blog. Our goal is to provide news on a variety of topics related to art, antiques and collectibles, and to relay updates in appraising. We hope you find our commentary useful.
There are four questions that must be answered before a prospective purchase is made: is the piece authentic; what is its condition; what is its quality, and what is a fair price to pay for it?
Our advice to collectors who need answers to these questions is based on information that comes from a network of seasoned experts, most of them current or former department heads of international auction houses, and independent specialists. Our advice is always current, accurate, and impartial.
Auctions great and small can be excellent sources. But these purchases usually involve questions that must be posed by an experienced hand. A few of these questions would include:
These questions change according to the nature of the purchase, and its location.
A fine day for our clients who purchased this small painting (6 x 12in.) of a mule-drawn wagon by William Aiken Walker at a yard sale in Arkansas, for $30.00. They drove down from North Carolina to meet with us in Charleston. We appraised the painting for them, explained the options open to them, and then negotiated the sale of the work for them to a buyer in the Northeast for the sort of price one might associate with a winning lottery ticket.
Here are some helpful tips to get you at least through the Personal Property smoothly.
Even if you’re not named the Executor or Personal Representative (PR), you’re more than likely to have to assist with your sleeves rolled up; most estates require a division of assets and often a probate appraisal. In those cases where you don’t have to file the details with the IRS, the personal property still must be accurately assessed in order to be equitably distributed. Often the only way to do that correctly is to have an appraisal by a professional you can trust.
Estates usually involve property division, and there are some common pitfalls. First, there is the time-worn adage that in a falling economy you take the money, and in a rising economy you take the goods. But remember, “value” is highly relative. Good appraisers always weigh a variety of comparables to establish value. The price of a chest of drawers, for example, may be $250.00 in one market, and $2,500.00 in another. You must know the difference. And always remember that if you take an object instead of cash, you will have costs of selling – for your chest of drawers; shipping, insurance, and auction commissions.