We have all heard the stories about someone finding a painting at an estate sale or flee market for 10 dollars then selling it at an auction for thousands. While I was working at an auction house in the Chicago area I would see this happen regularly. For example a lady bought a stein for $12.00 at a garage sale on the way to the auction house. This turned out to be a Meissen stein that sold at an auction for $1,200.00. This happens more often than people think. Many times …

As an antiques and collectibles appraiser I see many antique insurance claims. The most common mistake I see from collectors is that they assume their home owners insurance covers their antiques and/or collectibles. In this article I have talked about how to protect yourself from this common mistake.
Most insurance companies in the United States will cover up to $2,500 of arts, collectibles and antiques. If you have an art, antique or collectible collection, this amount will cover about 1% of your collection. Insurance companies categorized artwork, collectibles and antiques together.

The following list of good auction house bidding practices will prepare you for an auction. This list of things to do before biding will give you the knowledge to help you protect yourself from making big mistakes at an auction and in turn will save you money.
1. View the catalogue
Auction houses will usually have their auction catalogues available one week prior to the auction date. Most auction houses offer their auction catalogues on the internet or a hard copy that is mailed out or picked up at the auction house. …