Antiques are expensive things. The most expensive antiques in the world! that's interesting
Do you know that
antiques are some of the most expensive things in the world
Even diamonds are cheaper! For example, the Guarneri del Gesu violin was once sold at auction for a record $4 million! The master who created it was considered one of the main competitors of Stradivari himself! By the way, many musicians believe that this violin still sounds better…
The most expensive antiques in the world! THIS IS INTERESTING
But here's the most expensive antique in the world, which you won't find in an antiques store, is
Leonardo da Vinci's handwritten book
- one of the greatest artists, poets, physicists of our time. This antique was sold at auction in 1994 for an unthinkable price of $31 million. By the way, absolutely everyone knows the person who bought it - this is the head and founder of Microsoft - Bill Gates!
The most expensive antiques in the world! THIS IS INTERESTING
He, in turn, keeps the manuscript in his home collection. But you can also look at this work! Bill Gates annually arranges an exhibition where this book is on display. On the way, you can go to the shops and buy maxi lift, which is an excellent remedy for wrinkles and is quite popular with women. It is known throughout the world as the Leicester Code. Why does she have such a strange name? Somewhere in the 16th and 17th centuries it was acquired (or inherited - currently unknown) by the Leicester family, after whom the chronicle got its name.
It is believed that this is one of the most important notebooks that Leonardo da Vinci kept. It has a huge number of sketches, drawings, formulas and so on. It can really be compared with a modern physics textbook! True, some pages of the notebook were never understood by scientists, which again confirms the amazingness of the nature of the great artist da Vinci!
Unfortunately, you will not be able to hold the book in your hands. Its pages are so shriveled that at the slightest touch they can simply turn into dust ...
In the military antiques market, there has always been, is and will be a demand for items produced in a single copy, many of which boast a unique history. Most often, these are weapons that belonged to great people or are associated with key events of the era. For example,
saber of Napoleon Bonaparte
was auctioned off at the Osenat auction in 2007 for €4.8 million, becoming the most expensive piece of antique European edged weapons. Eastern military antiques compete with Western military antiques. The most striking example is
Chinese saber from the Qing Dynasty
Sold for $7.5 million Forbes chose the 10 most expensive military antiques sold at auction sites over the past 13 years
Novel "The Sun Also Rises"
became a milestone in the work of Hemingway. Unfortunately, for his publishers, it was just another book by an aspiring author. The novel was released in a limited edition by Scribner's in 1926. The copy was sold at Sotheby's in New York in April 2004 for a record $366,400, more than three times the maximum estimated value. This will be explained simply: firstly, by the perfect preservation of the book, and secondly, by the author's signature on the inside of the cover. It was addressed to Dr. Don Carlos Guffey and stretched for as many as 20 lines, so it would be more correct to call it a letter rather than a signature.
The famous auction house Dallas Auction Gallery held its next auction, the main discovery of which was
sale of a pair of ancient vases from the era of the reign of Nicholas I.
This expensive antique, created by the masters of the Imperial Porcelain Factory, was found by accident in a private collection in America. Paired vases were supposed to participate in the auction with an estimate of one to one and a half million dollars, but the lot was sold a week before the auction day for two million seven hundred thousand dollars.
Expensive antiques were inherited by Randy Buttrem from his grandfather Frank Buttrem, who was the founder of a large American company. The previous owner bought the vases in the twenties in Munich and moved them to the United States. As a child, Randy saw these incredibly beautiful vases at his grandfather's mansion in Oklahoma, but he never guessed their real value.
The authenticity of expensive antiques was confirmed by a porcelain specialist from the Hermitage. One of the vases contains a famous eighteenth-century painting by a Dutch master called The Concert. According to data preserved in the Hermitage, in 1832 the canvas from the museum was sent to the Imperial Factory to create a copy of the painting on a vase. After the appearance in the press of information about such a magnificent find, collectors from around the world began to be actively interested in vases. As a result, the owners of expensive antiques agreed to a private sale.
Another interesting and expensive find of the year was
old painting "Victim of Polyxena"
Recently recognized as the work of the famous French master Charles Lebrun, who worked in the seventeenth century. Antiques were sold at Christie's auction, held in Paris. The lot brought its owner more than $1.8 million. The work was discovered on the eve of a major renovation that began at the most popular hotel in Paris, the Ritz.
One of Christie's specialists managed to attribute the canvas. The initials "CLBF", which belonged to Charles Lebrun, were found on the canvas. For many years, expensive antiques were in the room where his star guest Coco Chanel lived. The "Victim of Polyxena" was bought by representatives of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in whose collection there was not a single work by Lebrun. This piece of antiques will be on display starting from the end of May this year.
However, something else is surprising - now many of our old Soviet things are really expensive. Collectors are ready to offer a round sum for such things - from several thousand rubles to several thousand dollars. So maybe it's worth taking a closer look at the old sideboard?
Crystal
Crystal vases and decanters seem to many a relic of the Soviet era. The Soviet people considered crystal an investment, so an incredibly large amount of it accumulated in apartments and in Russia it lost its value.
However, in the west it has become surprisingly popular. Europeans are looking for it in commission shops, and the mass market copies motifs in ordinary glassware. First of all, collectors are interested in pre-revolutionary crystal - its cost will reach up to 50-60 thousand rubles. Among Soviet products, blue or red crystal is the most interesting - products from it can be sold for up to 5 thousand rubles, and a whole set for 10-15 thousand rubles.
Dulevo porcelain and LFZ porcelain
Such figurines can be recognized by the stamps "Dulyovo" and "LFZ". At antique dealers, such items have risen in price significantly, and in Europe they are considered a rarity at all, although earlier such figurines could be found in every apartment. Now, the design of such figurines is copied, and new products are produced based on their motives. A simple figurine can be sold for 10 thousand rubles, and the cost of some rare pieces reaches fifty thousand rubles.
It turns out that metal toys also cost a lot. Collectors appreciate them for the quality of the material and workmanship. You can get up to ten thousand rubles for ZIL trucks, and you can also sell passenger pedal cars and spring guns at a high price.
For example, here is an offer on Ebay, where it is offered to buy a GAZ-M20 metal pedal car for $ 3,450
Metal soldiers are sold on the Internet for an average of 2 thousand rubles, and in the wake of the popularity of World of Tanks, the demand for metal tanks and toy military equipment has again increased - they are bought up at a price of a thousand rubles and more.
TV "KVN-49"
Not all Soviet TVs are now in price, but this case is an exception. The great-grandfather of TVs today is willingly bought up at a price of 10 thousand rubles or more, and if it is also working, then it is twice as expensive.
SVD radio receiver
Another Soviet miracle technology today is also valued by antique dealers. Its price also averages from 15 thousand rubles, depending on the condition.
Bronze figurines
Bronze figurines from the Soviet era are also valued by collectors, though much less than the works of the 18th and 19th centuries. Figurines made in Kasli, Chelyabinsk region, are especially valued. On the Internet, Kasli casting can be found at different prices, but on average, such figures cost from several thousand to several tens of thousands of rubles. Figurines of the 50s are sold expensively - on average for 25-50 thousand rubles. But this horse with a foal is offered to be bought for 48 thousand rubles.
old perfume bottles
In Russia, they are not yet highly valued, but Europeans buy them very willingly in commission shops. Ideally, these are crystal bottles with a worn cap. They are sought not so much by perfume lovers as by interior designers. Pre-revolutionary products are especially valued. Their cost can reach hundreds of thousands of rubles.
Who among us did not have multi-colored glass cones and balls. The same type of houses, owls and dolls that were in every family, and now they are gradually growing in price. Of course, so far they are unlikely to be sold at a high price, but toys from an earlier period before 1960 are now very much appreciated, but their appearance should be taken into account. On average, they cost from 5 to 10 thousand rubles. Moreover, much more valuable toys are not made of glass, but of cotton wool. Here is such an unsightly harlequin costs about 15 thousand rubles.
Old Pyrex cookware
The heat-resistant dishes of this French brand are still popular with housewives. However, for culinary specialists, dishes of twenty years ago or more are of particular value.
Lithographs
Lithographs often adorned the walls of Soviet people's apartments. Many of them cost nothing. However, there are certain series that are highly valued by collectors. For example, in Europe, early 20th-century lithographs from the Currier and Ives series are sold at auctions for an average of $100,000.
This is not a complete list of what else is valued by collectors. It is quite possible that an expensive rarity is hiding on your farthest shelf.
In this section, we answer the questions: how to sell antiques in Moscow for the most expensive and comfortable way, how to properly evaluate an antique item, what antiques or items antique shops are interested in buying, what can be safely attributed to the concept of "antiques", and what after 200 years never will be.
Where to start if you want to sell antiques
Where does every sale start? That's right, with an assessment of the value of the item itself or the market value of copies similar in parameters and condition on the market, in our case, antiques.
What are the options?
- 1. Find a similar an icon, a porcelain figurine or a silver cigarette case on the Internet. On the forum or on Avito. And see how much they are trying to sell for. A small caveat: "trying" is the key word here. Because it is not known how long they have been trying to do this and with what success.
- 2. Write out addresses all nearby pawnshops in the area and call around with the question "how much will you give for a porcelain figurine?"
The answer is predictable: until we see it with our own eyes, we won’t say anything, bring it on. - 3. Take with you your antique masterpiece and drive through the pawnshops of your city.
Already warmer. But unfortunately, in most pawnshops, which mainly practice buying up gold, watches and telephones, there will not be a connoisseur of Soviet porcelain or, say, an expert gemologist to appreciate a figurine, icon or amber jewelry. The key word here is "worthy". And not "for a thousand." - 4. Calculating person going straight to the antique shop. And he is on the right track. Why? Because antique shops are focused on selling expensive antiques. Phones and gold chains are of little interest there. For that, there is a customer base that has been accumulated over decades.
Under a certain client-collector of porcelain or ancient royal coins, your copy has every chance of being bought five times more expensive than the price named in the buy-out "at the metro". - 5. Save time. Before you take your samovar on a journey through antique shops in the center of the capital, it makes sense to take a picture of it and send it to the antique store's email address. Thus, finding out for yourself - is there any interest on the part of antique dealers to your good. If there is, great. We find out the order of prices and hit the road.
Evaluation of antiques by photo online
With the advent of online valuation of antiques from photographs, selling antiques in Moscow has become incomparably more comfortable. Instead of going to all the antique shops and pawnshops in Moscow, it is now enough to take a picture of an icon, figurine or piece of silverware with a camera or smartphone and send the photo to the website of the antique store. After that, wait for 10-15 minutes for an answer. Having chosen the maximum purchase price among the stores that responded to the offer, go to the address with confidence.
What do antique stores buy?
1. Antique icons. Yes, the Russian icon at all times is in enviable demand from collectors and ordinary people who want to join spirituality.
2. Gold and gold jewelry. Let the reader know that in some places gold jewelry is ready to be valued not "per gram", but at their antique value. And this is many times higher than what they are ready to give for an old brooch in the nearest buying or pawnshop.
3. Soviet porcelain. It is collected and willingly bought by people "in the subject." And antique shops, acting as intermediaries, willingly buy porcelain figurines from the times of the USSR.
4. Silverware: Forks, spoons, coasters, stacks, salt shakers made of silver - all this has the highest liquidity among connoisseurs of hoary antiquity. The antique shop is right there. And I’m ready to buy expensive antique silver and put it up for commission at your price. Antique silver collectors are frequent visitors to antique commissions. And the exhibited thing made of enameled silver will not stay on the store shelf for a long time.
5. Tula samovars: These are those with a pipe. They were heated, in those ancient times, with coal or firewood. Not to be confused with electric ones (no one needs them except summer residents who want to add the surroundings of a tea ceremony in a garden plot). They have value. And, sometimes, a lot.
6. Amber beads:. It would seem that,; amber is not a diamond. It is not expensive. The result of evaluating antique amber beads will pleasantly surprise you. We promise:) Yes, but the key word here is "antique" and not just "amber beads". Ancient, by the standards of the antique market, these are amber beads produced in the last century. A characteristic, visual sign are beads made of opaque amber.
7. Bronze Buddha figurines: they used to be brought to us from China. There are very few of them in the hands of the population. The owner of such a figurine has every chance to change it for a solid capital. Collectors of Buddhist themes highly value Buddha statues and are ready to offer a good price. Throughout Moscow, only in 3 places there are specialists who are able to appreciate the 19th century bronze Buddha statue and charge a high buying price for a well-preserved copy.
8. Paintings: due to the impossibility of promptly, on the spot, to find out the authenticity of the canvas, the cost is assigned, as a rule, underestimated. There is a great risk of acquiring a fake and staying with it forever. Therefore, it is very difficult to sell a painting urgently, even if it is of the 19th century "at a high price". And the examination, most likely, can cost more than the painting itself. No, unless of course you are sure that this is Savrasov in the original ...
Let's say more: even having an expert opinion from an authoritative commission, the chances do not increase one iota. What to do? There is time and desire to put up for sale "to the maximum" - we agree on a commission sale. In a reputable antique shop located in a crowded area, the chance that the painting will quickly find its new owner is quite real.
How to evaluate antiques in our antique shop
There are several options:
- 1. You can easily find out how much antiques cost by calling the phone number listed in the "contacts" section. If in an oral dialogue both parties decide that cooperation is interesting, we ask you to send a photo of an antique item by e-mail or through one of the mobile applications (WhatsApp, Viber) for a more accurate assessment of your copy.
- 2. Send a photo of an antique item to the mail [email protected] . Please include your phone number for feedback.
- 3. Ask a question through the "question-answer" form in one of the sections of the site on the subject of your copy.
- 4. Use the blue button "Callback", located on the right. In the daytime and evening, the expert calls back within 5-10 minutes
The assessment is made at the seller. Takes time from 5 minutes to an hour. The evaluation of an antique item of great historical and artistic value can be increased in time.
If you live far from Moscow
- If you live in the near or far suburbs of Moscow and do not want to spend time traveling to the center of Moscow, but at the same time have a strong desire to sell an old, antique item at a purchase price in Moscow antique shops, contact our manager. The appraiser will come and meet you at a place convenient for you absolutely free of charge.
- This offer is valid for owners of valuable and rare antiques.
How to sell antiques profitably
Directly to an antiques collector? But where to find it. Generally speaking, serious collectors are, by nature, very distrustful people and prefer to replenish the collection only in trusted places and from people with a reputation.
Accordingly, you are not their client. A private person who wants to decorate his apartment with an expensive figurine or an attribute of spirituality? But without being an expert, who is willing to charge a high purchase price? Without wasting time in vain, bypassing small dealers from bulletin boards, you can contact an antique salon specializing in the commission trade in antiques. Which, in fact, you have already done.
How can we be useful to you.
A group of specialists in the field of ancient Russian culture and art works in the acceptance department of the store. Everyone has a unique experience. To date, our experts advise about 30% of antique shops and stores throughout the country, constantly participate in all Russian exhibitions and antique auctions. Many well-known collections were formed with their direct participation. Often, absolutely free of charge, we are ready to give you all the comprehensive information on your copy. Give an initial assessment of the market value of antique porcelain or icons, directly in your presence. Masterpieces of antiques, of course, require a more detailed analysis and, accordingly, time.
Payment and transaction confidentiality
Payment is made in cash or, at the discretion of the client, by transferring funds to a bank card. Payment of the entire amount due for an antique item is carried out immediately after the agreement of both parties on the mutually beneficial acquisition of the subject of the transaction. The purchase agreement is accepted after a visual inspection and evaluation of antiques within the walls of this antique shop in Moscow or at the meeting point of our representative with the client.
The Antiquarian store strictly follows the policy of non-disclosure of personal data and commercial information about the transaction. The content of the correspondence with the client and his contact details are not stored in the database of the antique store for more than 3 days and are not transferred to third parties under any pretext.
It is believed that the rarest mineral of organic origin is the little-known painite: this orange stone was first discovered in Burma in the mid-50s. Since then, there have been only two Painites in the world. However, a couple of years ago, its deposit was discovered, and now about a hundred polished rarities are at the disposal of mankind. The most famous rarity stone is the famous red diamond.
In 2006, at Sotheby's New York auction, a mid-14th-century Chinese porcelain vase went under the hammer for $4.72 million. It last appeared at a public auction in 1993: then it was bought for $1.2 million. the small (34 cm) vase is an example of the classical Yuan style, dominated by cobalt blue underglaze painting on a white ground, and is the only one of its kind that has survived. 
One of the rarest comic books in existence today is the first edition of the famous Spider-Man titled Amazing Spider-Man #1. Its rarity lies not only in the serial number, but also in the fact that for a book of 1963 edition it is amazingly well preserved. The approximate value of the rarity for collectors is about 40 thousand dollars with an original retail price of 12 cents. 
The Guinness Book of Records claims that the most rare and expensive jeans are the famous 501st model of Levi Strauss & Co. For vintage jeans, sewn 115 years ago, a collector from Japan laid out 60 thousand dollars to the owner of the lot on the eBay online auction. A huge amount, considering that new jeans of the same model cost only 46. 
According to Wikipedia, the rarest and most expensive postage stamp in the world is the Yellow Crackkilling from Sweden. Its approximate cost is 2.3 million US dollars. What is its rarity? In 1858, Sweden issued a series of blue postage stamps worth 3 skilling (hence the name - Treskilling) and yellow - worth 8 skilling. The printers mixed up the colors, and due to this mistake, several copies of yellow stamps worth 3 skillings were produced. 
There are a huge number of rare books in the world, but perhaps the rarest is the famous Gutenberg Bible: the first printed book appeared in 1456. There are several hundred copies of the same Bible, but the very first copy in two volumes - if found - will cost the collector of antiquarian books about 20-25 million dollars. What can we talk about if one page of this book goes under the hammer for 25 thousand dollars, and for one of the volumes of the two-volume edition sold last year - not the first edition - someone forked out 5.5 million! 
One of the rarest and most exotic dishes on the planet is the famous Chinese swallow's nest soup. Over the 400 years that have passed since the invention of the dish, it has risen in price at times: the broth from the nest of sea swifts-salangans can cost gourmets up to 10 thousand dollars. 
The rarest and most expensive sea salt in the world is produced in Japan and is called "Amabito No Moshio" - "ancient salt of the seas". Due to the complexity of extraction and the delicate method of evaporation and centrifugation, the cost for 1 pound of salt reaches 40 US dollars. 
Baseball cards are a popular collectible in the United States, Canada, and Japan. The "T206 Honus Wagner" card, issued in 1906 by the American Tobacco Company, is said to be the rarest baseball card in the world. It was printed in an edition of only 70 copies, and then its release was discontinued at the request of Onus Wagner himself, who was against smoking and did not want the American Tobacco Company to use his name. In 2007, the card was sold for a record $2.8 million. 
One of the rarest bottles of wine sold at auction was bought by Christopher Forbes - "only" 160 thousand dollars. An unmarked green bottle labeled "1787 Lafitte Th. J." supposedly belonged to Thomas Jefferson. 
The rarest breed of domestic cats is the Ashera. She was bred from an African serval, an Asian leopard cat and a common domestic murka. The weight of a cat can reach 14 kg, and you can buy a kitten for "only" 22 thousand dollars. 
Scientists say that the horses of the rarest breed of Sarraia are direct descendants of the wild horses of Southern Iberia. There are only 200 of these horses left in the world. But in terms of characteristics and qualities, the Austrian Lipizzaner breed, bred for military purposes, is considered the rarest breed. The price for one such horse reaches 100 thousand dollars. 
Having decided to start collecting jewelry rarities, stock up on patience and money: a measly five million dollars will not help here. The most expensive piece of jewelry in the world is a necklace with a rare blue diamond weighing 14 carats. The pear-shaped stone is framed with white diamonds and encased in a white gold necklace. The total cost of the product is 16 million dollars. 
In 1999, the same copy of John Lennon and Yoko's album "Double Fantasy" was sold at an auction, on which the singer signed an autograph for his future killer Mark Chapman 5 hours before his own death. The record was found in a decorative flower pot near the crime scene. The envelope contains Chapman's fingerprints: at one time the album served as one of the evidence against the murderer. Rarity price: 460,000 US dollars. 
On July 30, 2002, a rare gold coin of the 30s of the 20th century was sold at Sotheby's auction for $ 7.9 million. A unique $ 20 coin is called the "double eagle". the withdrawal from circulation of coins from this precious metal, and almost all the "double eagles" were sent for remelting. Ten coins of the release of the spring of 1933 were stolen from the Treasury Department store. American intelligence agencies managed to find and return all but one - this very one. "Double eagle "managed to be found almost half a century later - the British collector Stephen Fenton bought the coin in London and came with it to New York, where he was arrested by US federal agents. After five years of litigation, the American government reached an agreement with him: the coin is the property of the United States, but it can be sold. 
The oldest and rarest property for sale is a castle in Transylvania, famous for the fact that Count Dracula, the real prototype of the famous literary character, allegedly lived in it. The market value of the castle is close to $135 million. 
Despite the vast literary heritage he left to his descendants, there are not so many handwritten evidence of his activities. There are only 6 "autographs" of the great Shakespeare in the world. The most expensive of them - the writer's signature - is estimated at 3 million US dollars. 
I was sorting out the blockage in the apartment and found old spoons. Not some tiny ones for tea, but straight scoops: heavy, solid, long - 30 centimeters each. With monograms. Maybe 18th or even 14th century. Like from cupronickel. “Spoons - an antique shop - a new car - instantly flashed through my head. “We just need to wash them.”
I typed on the Internet "big old spoons." Utensils like my treasures were exhibited for only 1.5 thousand rubles, but I did not find exactly the same monograms. “Let the professionals appreciate it,” I decided. “And at the same time, maybe they’ll buy it right away.” And went to antique shops.
TIME IS NOT WORTH ANYTHING
Naphthalene grandfathers in pince-nez or experienced uncles in expensive suits remained in the vulgar cinema. In antique shops on the Arbat, I was met by hipster-looking young guys. Here is Alexei - by his red beard and torn jeans you can never tell that he is an experienced art critic.
No one needs cutlery, even silver ones. Especially if it's not a set, but separate things. And your spoons are not even silver, they will never be bought. - He appreciated my spoons, not even looking up from the game of tanks on the computer.
Ilya from another shop confirmed the diagnosis:
It's not silver... So what if it's vintage? They do not give money for the time!
Antiquaries work quickly and uncomplicated. Either they immediately determine the value of the item or take a picture of the item and send it to a specialist. And he says whether to take the thing and for what price.
PENSIONERS - MAIN SUPPLIERS
The main resource of antique shops is old pensioners. This is understandable: can you live on a Russian pension? ..
One brought to evaluate the figurine - a boy with a dog. This is the memory of his wife. Left with nothing. Antiquarians have a lot of such figurines, take more - why?
Then an old woman came in. Brought a bag of amber.
When I lived in the Baltics, I bought a lot of this stuff. My granddaughter is getting married, we need help,” she explained.
Lyokha, look, do we need such stones? - Antiquary Sergey photographs amber and sends the photo to his partner. Lech refuses. The woman nervously puts away her supplies and promises to look at something else interesting at home.
I all hope for good luck. And, reassuring myself that antique dealers-intermediaries will still give less than a collector, I decide to find a buyer directly.
Including crazy and aggressive.
In order for me to take such spoons, pay me first! We'll buy it for just a couple of rubles! they got excited.
I posted an ad on Avito. The girl immediately called, introduced herself as Svetlana and said that she was ready to give 10 thousand rubles for spoons.
I want to make sure the spoons don't go to anyone, so I'll make an advance payment. Give me your card number, I'll transfer the money, - she offered.
“It’s a wiring,” I guessed. Fraudsters are looking for sellers on Internet sites, promising them an advance payment. First, they will ask for a card number. And then, under various pretexts, a code on the back of the card, a password sent to SMS, and so on. This is enough to pay with your money in the online store.
There was an idea to put spoons on Internet auctions like Bag, but there, for registration, you have to take a selfie with a passport, which was not desirable.
I left the spoons at home. I will use it myself.
OPINION OF ANTIQUERS
Treasure under the nose
If one searches properly, it will turn out that many are the owners of treasures.
Modern coins cost decent money if they were produced in limited editions. For example, one five-ruble note of 1999 of the St. Petersburg Mint is sold for 150 thousand rubles, 5 kopecks of the same year - for 200 thousand rubles,
1 ruble in 2003 costs 30 thousand rubles.
Sergei Koronevsky recalls how one day a grandmother brought a vase to an antique shop and asked for at least a thousand rubles for it. And the vase turned out to be a piece of early Dutch art from the early 18th century, which was eventually bought for $15,000.
The inexpensive segment of antiques will rise in price only if the dollar grows very strongly, and that is unlikely, - sighs antiquary consultant Grigory Pyatov.
And he cites the example of Soviet postage stamps, which were issued in millions of copies. There are so many of them that they will never be expensive.
What old items can be sold at a high price now?
Lifetime editions of the classics - Pushkin, Gogol, Lermontov. The price of a book can range from $2,000 to $3,000 to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Chekhov's lifetime editions, but not all. This is because during his lifetime he was produced in large numbers. The first lifetime editions are highly valued, - says the antiquary.
He advises to pay attention to the books of the 20s of the last century, which were illustrated by eminent artists. The thicker the book, the worse. More rare specimens are found among thin editions.
Look on your bookshelves - maybe there are books by Mayakovsky with illustrations by Lissitzky. They can be sold for 300 thousand rubles. and more expensive.
Pre-revolutionary publications on history and military affairs are valued.
Grigory Pyatov spoke about ephemera - one-day things. For example, a ticket for the opening of the Moscow metro can now be sold for several hundred dollars. There will be a demand for an advertising napkin of a pre-revolutionary confectionery, old candy wrappers.
Many have preserved old photo albums, can there be something worthwhile there? - I ask the antique dealer.
He says that 30 years ago such things went with a bang. In the 90s, the new Russians wanted to "make a biography for themselves" and bought various old portraits for a lot of money. Now no one except her descendants needs a pre-war snapshot of some aunt Moti on vacation. Of course, the portraits made by Rodchenko, Nappelbaum, Khaldei (famous photographers of the 20s and 30s of the last century) will always be in price.
Porcelain Soviet figurines cost from a couple of hundred rubles to several tens of thousands. Size doesn't matter. In an antique shop I saw a modest figurine of a sailor for 20 thousand rubles, and next to it a large sculpture of two lovers for only 5 thousand rubles.
This one was made in Ukraine, they are not valued, - antique dealers explain.
Figurines of the first edition and products of the LFZ (Lomonosov Porcelain Factory) are valued.
The first series of LFZ figurines are easy to identify. At the bottom there is a hole through which porcelain is blown. It should be no more than 3 mm in diameter. If it is wider, it means that you have the third or fourth edition in front of you, - adds Sergei Koronevsky, an expert on antiques.
