Tools of the Trade

When we first started in this business, we had to rely on ourselves for answers to hundreds of questions. We did have our friends in Maine who were also dealers but they were pretty far away. Digital cameras weren't yet common place so it was very hard to take advantage of their knowledge and expertise. When you don't even know how to describe it properly, trying to find out how much a piece of porcelain is worth over the telephone is next to impossible.

The Internet existed but it did not have the wealth of information about antiques and collectibles that it has now. We therefore made many mistakes and wasted a lot of money. A friend of ours is always saying, "The antiques and collectibles business made me a millionaire. Of course, I had five million when I started out."

Prices on almost everything are down from where they were awhile ago and the profitable seller's market that once existed on eBay seems to be on hold for the present time. However the people who are starting out in this business right now have an endless supply of resources to help them acquire the knowledge needed for them to succeed and to keep their losses at a minimum during the learning curve.

There are a few tools of the trade that an antique dealer or collector must have and that is a jeweler's loupe and a hand held battery operated black light. Neither one is a major investment and they will pay for themselves ten times over. A jeweler's loupe is better on small items than a magnifying glass. It will allow you to see signatures, markings, cracks and other imperfections you might otherwise miss. It takes up no room and can easily be carried in your pocket or purse.

If you deal in or collect certain types of items, like pottery or artwork, the black light can be your best friend. It's not as small as a jeweler's loupe but it is ultraviolet and worth having around when you need it. Keep one in your car. It is important to note that for a black light to work properly you must be in a very dark area or room. I don't know of any reputable dealer or auction house that would refuse to allow you to black light an item unless they know there is a problem and did not disclose it.

For the most part, we have found that whenever there is a problem with an item or if an item has been misrepresented, it is usually an honest mistake. However there are a few people in this business that are out to take advantage if they can get away with it. You need to be careful of both situations because they can both cost you money.

Here are some ways a black light can be beneficial to you. If you collect or deal in pottery or porcelain it is very difficult to detect professional repairs. It is important to know if a piece has been repaired because a repair will decidedly hurt the value.

There are other ways to tell this such as tapping the piece and listening to the sound it makes. Cracked or repaired pottery doesn't sound the same when you tap on it as an undamaged piece, but it takes a long time to learn how to recognize the difference.

If there is a repair or if touch ups have been made the changes will fluoresce or glow under the black light. Modern paints and glue are of a different composition from the paints that were used on vintage items and modern paint will fluoresce.

Vaseline glass has been around for a very long time but its height of popularity was in the 1920's. Green Depression glass, like Vaseline glass, contains uranium dioxide and was very popular during (you guessed it) the Great Depression. Companies discontinued producing this glass at the beginning of WWII because the government confiscated all of the uranium dioxide.

Vaseline and green Depression glass will glow under a black light because of the uranium dioxide. It must glow bright green to be authentic. The composition of some newer pieces may appear to glow but unless they fluoresce bright green, they are most likely reproduction pieces.

A black light can really be invaluable when it comes to evaluating artwork, especially if it is a very expensive oil painting. Being misled on a painting worth thousands of dollars can really be deadly to your wallet. As mentioned earlier, modern paints will glow so it will be easy to see touch ups or repairs to an older painting.

The black light can also be used to test the authenticity of a signature. If the signature of a well known artist has been added to a less expensive painting after the fact then the signature will appear to float under a black light. If this happens then the painting is most likely a fake and is not attributable to the artist whose name appears on it.

Unfortunately there is an endless supply of reproduction cast iron toys and banks out in the marketplace today. There are a number of creative methods used to try to "age" these fakes. Real antique toys and banks are quite valuable which is why the reproductions are so prevalent. If the toy or bank has vintage paint, once again, the piece will not glow under the black light.

Even if paint has been aged to look old, the composition of the paint does not change so, if the paint is new, get out your sunglasses. As added protection from making an expensive mistake, even if the old toy or bank does not glow, check for wear. You should expect to see some amount of wear from either age or use.

There are a few other clues that help to identify a fake. Old cast iron toys were molded. Once hardened, the pieces were fitted together and the seams all matched up perfectly. The newer pieces are not as well made and therefore the pieces don't fit together as well as the originals. Also, look for screws. On the original pieces, the screws were flush with the piece - they were not crooked nor did they protrude. A final hint is the type of screw. Phillips head screws were not developed until around 1940. If the piece has a Phillips head screw instead of a slotted screw then chances are it is a reproduction.

Other items that would be beneficial to have would be a small digital scale used to weigh gold or sterling, a gold and sterling test kit to measure gold and silver content and a digital camera. The camera will allow you to take pictures of something you are interested in so you can research it before you buy it.

Pictures are important since there are some collectibles that look alike but have small differences that could greatly affect price. With some pieces, just a slight difference in color could mean a vast difference in value. You want to make sure that you are researching the exact item you saw.

With these tools, going treasure hunting will not only be fun but it might also prove profitable.

Written by Anne Benedetto, Auction House Talk
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