What’s it Worth?
Posted on March 1, 2014 by bob in Features
by Janet Adams; photos by Bob Corley, Prime Montgomery
If you’re a fan of Antiques Roadshow, you’ve likely gone online to nab one of the free tickets for the upcoming show date June 21 in Birmingham (ticket deadline April 7th). If your weekend “best thing to do” involves scouring garage sales and flea markets for the old, the unusual and the (possibly) genuinely valuable antique, then you’re no doubt interested in the elusive answer to the question, “What is this thing worth?” It’s also time to realize that in the antiques assessment business—as in most areas of life—there’s no free lunch, even online.
Linda Ruston Pugh inspects a piece of silver with a ‘loop’.
You may have good reason to think your treasure is indeed valuable. Maybe you’ve seen a similar item described on Pickwick Antiques highly informative education segment of their website. Or you have a letter stating the item was given to your great Aunt Charlotte by Queen Somebody or Duke So and So. If so, you should engage a reputable appraiser. (Note: Pickwick Antiques is not a buyer nor an appraiser, but a purveyor of British and Continental antiques.) Locally, there are several highly-experienced appraisers you can contact.
Linda Rushton Pugh, certified by both the International Society of Appraisers and the Appraisers Association of America in New York, has conducted estate division, estate tax, insurance, IRS donations, and liquidation appraisals throughout the Southeastern United States.
According to Frank Powell, who has a stall at Eastbrook Flea Market on Colonial Drive in Montgomery, “…anything that bears an old Coco-Cola label”—particularly old Coca-Cola coolers—is in high demand at the moment. Also, painted furniture from the 1980s-90s is popular. Even the ugliest pieces from that era, he says, attract buyers when “…lavished with paint and new hardware.”
Frank Powell at one of his booths in Eastbrook Flea Market.
“Persons furnishing a home for the first time,” says Powell, “are looking for bargains, and the wide variety of furniture and decorative items offered by vendors at Eastbrook offers buyers the opportunity to give their living space individuality at a budget-friendly price.”
Montgomery Antiques and Interiors on the Eastern Boulevard houses 30 to 40 vendors offering a range of what treasure-seekers might term “up-market” antiques. These include jewelry, porcelain, coins, objets d’art, silverware and furniture with many items bearing signatures or proof of provenance.
If you’re not looking for treasures to buy, but have to handle the sale of a family member or dear friend’s estate, there are local specialists in that area.
Michael Respess relaxes among some of his own treasures.
Michael Respess has been holding estate sales and appraising valuables for Montgomerians and clients in neighboring states for twenty-six years. His guiding principle on assessing valuables is to assign “…the best fair market value possible,” which applies to every item in an estate sale whether it’s a garden/lawn tool or a cherished piece of heirloom silver. His commission is an industry standard 25%. If he should find personal letters or other documents, or items that are obviously part of a family’s history, he returns the items. One would not want Great Uncle Charles’ letters to his betrothed discarded or read by non-family members.
“Due to the vagaries of the current economy”, Respess added, “buyers are looking for gold and silver items—including jewelry—as well as diamonds and other precious stones.”
Linda Shogren at Montgomery Antiques and Interiors.
Another local organizer of Estate Sales, Linda Shogren, is a former owner of Old Cloverdale Antiques (open in a new location with new owners but with the same store name). Linda “…grew up surrounded by antiques and always appreciated the fine workmanship and beautiful woods they embodied.” Linda works with families as well as attorneys, banks and the courts in the disposal of estates in the area as well as surrounding states.
To check current estate sales by these and other organizers, visit www.estatesales.net. Most listings carry photos and prices of items being sold.
Here are some stores you may not have on your list as possible “antiques discovery” places. In addition to Salvation Army stores and Goodwill, Habitat for Humanity on the Southern Boulevard and Willie’s World on Atlanta Highway don’t advertise as havens of antiques, but you never know what you might find.
Pawnshops? Maybe… but by all means visit Lulu’s Attic to Antiques at 946 Plantation Way. Proprietor Leigh Lusser offers a really unique range of merchandise from junk to the sublime. If a vintage car or antique metal or wood sign is on your want list, you might find it at Lulu’s. New items mingle with vintage clothing.
Your interest in antique items may have led you to invest in a book or two, and you’ve likely studied any of the informative websites on the Internet. If you enjoy visiting local antique shops, here’s a further sampling of such businesses in the Montgomery area.
Cottage Collection Antique Shop
Old Cloverdale
334-269-4999
Continental and American antique furniture and decorative accessories.
Co-owners Elisabeth Byram, Kaye Collet.
Beckett Antiques
514 C Cloverdale Road
334-546-3602
Unusual and traditional iron and gilt wood lighting fixtures. “Lots of chandeliers,” says owner Rebecca Cumbie, who developed a love of antiques from watching her grandfather, whose sideline was restoring antiques for clients in Mobile, AL.
Nicole Maleine Antiques, Inc.
nicolemaleineantiques@gmail.com
Direct importer of French antiques and accessories.
The above information doesn’t cover every store or person engaged in appraisals and sales of antiques in the Montgomery area, but does serve as an introduction to the many venues in this historically-rich city.
