Aside from skeletons, have anything gathering dust in your closet?
If you have antique collectables you are unsure of, there may be an opportunity to find out just where and when it came from — and it might even net you some cash.
The Canadian Collectors Roadshow makes a stop at the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel in Langford for a six-day visit where professional appraisers keep their keen eyes open for the next hidden treasure.
“If there is anything out there you are not sure about, and it has just been sitting there and want to know about it or make some money from it come to our show,” said collectables expert Eric Dvorkin.
“There are people to help you and guide you in terms of what you have that may be very important to you you might want to learn about as well.”
The free appraisals don’t require appointments and have yielded surprisingly big-ticket items including a Scottish painting from a resident of Nanaimo valued at $30,000, and a $20,000 solid gold chainmail purse studded with jewels traced back to the Kelowna resident’s mother who was gifted the item from a Russian general 100 years prior.
“We give them knowledge and info from experts that have been in the business for a number of years,” Dvorkin said. “Then we give them an offer if we are interested in buying it.”
Big ticket items get resold to big-time auction houses such as Maynards, Christie’s of Sotheby’s while the smaller-ticket items are often sold to antique shows and private collectors.
The road show will look at almost all items big or small regardless of value and it doesn’t need to be an extravagant item to appraise.
He expects between 300 and 1,000 people during the visit bringing everything from War memorabilia, porcelain or wax dolls, and gold and silver in all it’s forms from jewelry and cutlery to coins. The more history the better.
“We have helped a lot of people with information if anything,” he said. “I like helping people recover a lot of lost memories they weren’t able to uncover before.”
The show runs Dec. 5 to 10 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
No appointment is necessary and is on a first come first serve basis.
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