Antiques: Telling treasures from trash

Bad deals—including fakes—are rampant. Here's how to avoid costly mistakes.

By Leslie Kane
Senior Editor

Thanks to Web sites like eBay and TV programs like Antiques Roadshow, acquiring antiques has grown in popularity—and so have the opportunities for collectors to get taken.

"Some people go to great lengths to deceive buyers," says Mark Chervenka, editor of Antique & Collectors Reproduction News, a newsletter published in Des Moines, IA. "We've seen manufacturers purchase original molds to produce porcelain pieces that look identical to those created a century ago. They also reproduce artists' signatures and factory marks, imitate period furniture styles, and represent new items as antiques." In one instance, dealers bought India-made replicas of antique scientific equipment, marked them as being made in London, and baked them in an oven to give them an aged look.

"A former executive bought an old barn in Virginia, filled it with reproductions of antique furniture, kept the place dusty, and threw dirt around so everything looked old," says Chervenka. "He's making plenty of money selling junk to tourists who think they're getting antiques."

Internet auctions have made selling questionable items even easier. According to the National Consumers League, an advocacy organization in Washington, DC, problematic transactions arising from online auctions topped the list of Internet fraud complaints in 2000.

"On most Internet auction sites, sellers know you've got little recourse if problems of authenticity occur," says Kyle Husfloen, editor-at-large for Antique Trader Publications in Dubuque, IA. "Since the sales don't technically involve mail fraud, getting restitution can be tricky. The auction houses aren't liable, and there's no supervision mechanism."

Still, collectors bear some blame for getting duped. Many don't know what a bona fide antique is, or what determines its value. "To the public, the term 'antiques' has lost its meaning," says Chervenka. "Shop owners call used items antiques to make them sound more valuable."

Husfloen adds: "Many consumers think that age automatically makes something valuable. But a high-quality, desirable 60-year-old piece can be more valuable than a widely available 100-year-old piece in poor condition." Handmade items that show superior workmanship generally fetch more than those produced in a factory.

Even if you plan to amass a serious collection, don't purchase antiques solely as an investment. Husfloen estimates that you must hold your purchases for 10 to 25 years before you'll see significant price escalation. If an item's popularity ebbs, its value could remain flat or decline.

"Buy an antique because you'll enjoy it, and consider any monetary appreciation a bonus," advises Ron Zoglin, an antiques dealer in Kansas City, MO, and co-author of Antiquing for Dummies (IDG Books, 1999).

Here's how to make sure you get the antique you think you're buying: