2009.09.11
Photos from Antiques Road Show at The Glebe
Radford’s Ken Farmer, auctioneer and antiques appraiser, came to The Glebe the afternoon of September 10, 2009 to conduct appraisals on items brought by Glebe residents and other Botetourt folks. He worked with Fincastle’s Katherine Harris, an old friend.
Farmer gave a continuing lecture as he appraised items, suggesting methods for valuing similar things. Those interested in finding other expert appraisers can go online to pbs.org and look for the Road Show section. A much faster and easier way to discover value on just about anything you might own or find in a yard sale or antiques shop is to look on eBay, he said. During his presentation, he looked up several items on eBay.
A big disappointment for many owners of antiques is the recent drop in value of what Farmer calls mid-level items. Things such as sets of china and glass ware, collectibles, country decoration items and so on have either not risen in value or have dropped back to values of twenty years ago. He opines prices will not recover, because demand has lessened and younger folks aren’t buying.
The good news, which he illustrated with items brought to the event, related to the continuing rise in value of very scarce or highest quality items. He appraised a Civil War tintype at about $5,000 because of its subject, rarity and good condition. And some spectacularly decorated china plates are worth about $65 each.
Fincastle’s Martha Henry brought a pocket watch. Bad news for her. Farmer said that every man used to own one, so there are thousands of them out there. That number keeps the values low. Other items appraised included an oil lamp, oil paintings, a long rifle, two horse drawn toy carriages, a razor sharpening kit in its original box, a Russian icon, a box of carte de visite showing Confederate generals, carved ivory jewelry, a cut glass carafe and vase, and a keywind pocket watch.
After two hours of non-stop appraisals, Farmer still took questions from those in the audience. And, just like on the road shows on tv, everyone had a great time.
Submitted by Priscilla Richardson
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