Many of us have been observers or participants in the antiques world for many years and have seen the popularity of certain items and periods in time come and go. It seems some of the changes in values is are reflection of the way antiques are sold, what’s going on in the overall economy and even different locations and styles of homes.
Certainly the internet and on-line auctions have made a big impact. There is more access to antiques that were once basically in a localized market. At the same time, there are more buyers as well. Sometimes something very scarce turns out to be not so scarce in an international marketplace that can be seen by many. And, like the stock market, rising prices of some items can be a “bubble” with people chasing what seems to be a safe “investment” in a certain type of antiques.
The PBS Antiques Roadshow sometimes airs a program that compares current prices of the same items with the valuation the experts placed on them years earlier. Often, when the time frame relates to an inflationary period, values have come down. It may be because people were seeing antiques as a hedge against inflation (physical goods keeping value as opposed to cash). Today we are seeing “investors” buy rare sports cards for large sums. Many have little interest in the sports or the sports figures and lock them away as long-term investments as an inflation hedge. I wonder.
In many regions antique furniture has had a difficult time, perhaps because there are often fewer people at on-site auctions with cars and trucks to take the larger pieces home. Or maybe the potential buyers are influenced by the “open concept” trend promoted by television home renovation programs. There just aren’t as many walls in these homes for an 18th-century corner cupboard!
My personal collecting began when there were more individual antiques dealers (often operating from their homes), more on-site auctions, few co-op shops, and no internet. Dealers would buy at auction or from individuals and what they didn’t sell locally, especially furniture, would be sold to out-of-state “pickers” who would take a truckload to another region.
Maybe the 250th anniversary of Independence will bring back more interest in Colonial and early 1800s antiques that I always liked. The important thing, though, is buy an antique because you like it, not because you think owning it will make money in the future.