Collections and Antiques - What Are They Worth?

Collections can have an emotional, historic or personal value and sometimes a monetary value as well. Antiques will have a monetary and historic value but will sometimes have an emotional or personal value too.

Collections usually begin because of a personal interest in them. They can be anything: birthday cards, postcards, comics, baseball or hockey cards, specific CD's, old records, unique maps, Nancy Drew books, old coins, cow or owl ornaments, souvenirs, bells, tourist pennants, event pins, fridge magnets or stamps. Some of these items will have a monetary value in time such as a comic book collection, baseball or hockey cards, event pins or stamps. Old records may also but when trying to ascertain a monetary value for a 1920's collection of His Master's Voice red and black label records of my mother's, I was unable to find a value for them. Her stamp collection also would require some extensive research. Neither of these items have any emotional or personal value to her; their only value now being monetary.

Some collections such as unique or historical swords, Depress glass or special dolls can have a historic and monetary value as well as perhaps emotional and personal value. My daughter-in-law collects Depression glass initially because she inherited some pieces from her grandmother. Those particular pieces have an emotional value to her. The pieces she has added to her collection have a personal interest value to her although they do have a monetary value as well. My doll collection began in the same way. Given a lovely Ashton Drake doll as a gift, I have since added to my slowly growing collection. Although they have a monetary value, to me the value is mainly personal interest. Antique fishing lures can be considered to be a collection but will have a historic and monetry value and probably personal value as well.

Antiques may be collected because of our enjoyment of them, as an investment, a personal interest or they may have just happened as in the case of inheritances. Some say that antiques are something that is fifty years or older while others say they must be one hundred years or older.

Many of my antiques have an emotional value to me and I would never sell them. I have a Singer Sewing Machine that my grandmother brought to Canada in 1910 as well as a dinner set and a tea set that she brought over at the same time. But I also have a beautiful late 1800's antique pump organ which I purchased that has no emotional value to me. Because I no longer have room for it, I am selling it but am having difficulty discovering what its monetary value is.

Antiques, like collections have an emotional and personal interest that can be worth a lot to us. But if we are more concerned with their monetary value, they appear to be as valuable as what someone is willing to pay for them. Like anything else, their monetary value will depend upon the demand for them.