A bronze sculpture of a Rudolph the Red-Nosed ReindeerĪnswer: B. In the purest definition of the word, which object has been patinated?ī. Similarly, your sister-in-law probably doesn’t know that depending on the condition, pieces included in the set, gauge and rarity of the Lionel train set, it can be worth thousands when selling online. If you have a set in a box, the value of all of them increases a little more by keeping them in the original box. For instance, if you sell the Christmas ornaments at prime holiday selling time, from Nov. 1 to Jan. 1, you will do best to bring home a good return.Īnd, you should list and sell each ornament individually on, or, highlighting its best attributes in your listing with a clear, closely cropped photograph.įor a large collection of Christmas ornaments by Shiny Brite, Christopher Radko and other name brands, you can command several hundred dollars for them at holiday time when people are looking for ornaments that spark memories while decorating the tree. Both pieces headed to the trash bin could bring hundreds to thousands of dollars. Both brother-in-law and sister-in-law.Īnswer: C. Sister-in-law who want to toss the Lionel train set.Ĭ. Brother-in-law who wants to toss the Christmas ornaments.ī. Who is making the bigger mistake by tossing a family heirloom?Ī. Your sister-in-law wants to throw out grandpa’s Lionel train set.
Your brother-in-law wants to throw out grandma’s vintage Shiny Brite Christmas ornaments from the 1950s. Your family is cleaning out grandma’s house. If you’ve read my columns over the years, watched me on television, or attended my public appraisal events, then you know how fun it is to test your knowledge with the “Dumpster or No Dumpster” quiz. With an appraisal, my clients can make informed decisions about buying, selling, insuring, donating or disposing of family heirlooms and other stuff. Using my education and experience evaluating approximately 20,000 objects every year, many in homes like yours, my job is to research the market and provide accurate appraisals based on actual sales records where somebody paid cash, wrote a check, paid via ApplePay or PayPal, or swiped a credit card to buy an art, antique or collectible item. So, do you know if you made the right choice about your stuff? You may have already done this when you were downsizing, sorting out belongings during a heated divorce, settling your parents’ estate or just cleaning out the clutter during the COVID-19 pandemic. My quiz game, “Dumpster or No Dumpster,” will help you to use your antiques knowledge to determine whether you should throw something out or keep it. When cleaning out grandma’s attic, are you making decisions based on memories, just guessing an object’s value as you go? When it comes to your valuable objects, would you recognize the treasures from the trash?