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Antiques or Junk?

In today's modern world, you may describe just about anything that’s old as an antique and in generic terms that’s true. In reality, antiques are products that are more than 100 years old or products that are rare enough to have some value. In other words, antiques are old items that are in limited supply. The more limited, the more antique the item.

Another way to think of antiques is as something collectible. Whether the item is a piece of furniture you want to collect to enhance the look of a room, a ceramic piece to decorate a corner cupboard, or some silverware you want to hand down to your grandchildren, the items must be rare enough to be considered antiques. Everything else is secondhand goods or junk.

One misconception people have about antiques is that the older they look, the more antique they must be. Wrong! Appearance has nothing to do with it. Just because a piece looks like it came out of grandma's attic doesn’t mean it’s an antique–even though grandma might be. Not in the true sense of the word. If no one wants it, no matter how old it looks, it's just a piece of junk. Antiques have value, and that value is based on demand due to suitability and limited supply.

Most people become interested in antiques for one of two reasons: They either have an interest in collecting a particular type of antique purely for personal enjoyment–ceramics or pottery are the most common, or they inherit some items from a family member. But everyone wants to be sure of one thing–that what they buy or inherit will appreciate in value. That's what antiques are all about, isn't it? All those stories about people who buy some piece of junk at a garage sale that turns out to be a valuable antique worth thousands of dollars are really true, aren't they? And if they can do it, why can't you?

But before you get your hopes up, you need to know something about what you have. Two principles apply when collecting antiques: Know everything you can about the antiques that interest you and obtain them at the lowest possible price. By doing so you will not only get maximum enjoyment out of owning the antique, but you'll also be sure that your investment appreciates in value.