The SoldSnap Journal
Research notes from the SoldSnap valuation desk: hallmarks and maker marks, comparable sales, and the practical side of selling or clearing an estate.
The question has four different answers, and the gap between them is wider than most people expect. Which number you need depends entirely on what you plan to do next.
SoldSnap7 min read
Most of the value in a picture comes from three questions: is it an original, who made it, and what has that artist’s work sold for recently. The back of the frame often answers more than the front.
SoldSnap Editorial Team4 min read
Most old coins are worth their metal or a little more. A small number are worth far more, and four details on the coin itself tell you which kind you are holding.
SoldSnap Editorial Team5 min read
A worn Roman silver coin is more common than most people think and more interesting than its price suggests. The emperor, the reverse design and the surface decide what it is worth.
SoldSnap Editorial Team5 min read
Turn the plate over. The backstamp tells you who made it, roughly when, and often where it will sell. Three real questions show how much one mark can change the answer.
SoldSnap Editorial Team7 min read
Almost everyone checks the mark first. A competent reproduction copies the mark first too, which is why it is the weakest evidence on the object rather than the strongest.
SoldSnap7 min read
Almost every object worth valuing carries a mark that tells you what it is made of, who made it, or whether it is a reproduction. Four kinds of mark, and how to read each one.
SoldSnap8 min read
A good photograph settles most valuations. A bad one wastes everybody’s time and produces a range so wide it is useless. The difference is four frames and about ten minutes.
SoldSnap6 min read
A marketplace quotes a fee, an auction house quotes a rate and then adds charges you did not ask about. Here is the arithmetic, and when each channel actually wins.
SoldSnap6 min read