Walpole Treasures Appraisal Session
By Chuck Bingaman
Renowned New England appraisal specialist James Marquis of Wallingford, Vermont will appraise all comers’ antiques, furniture, accessories, artwork and other items from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Saturday at the Walpole (NH) Historical Society Academy Building on Main Street.
Attendance is free and open to the public.
Marquis (pronounced Mar Kee’) is donating his time and expertise to help the Society pay off its mortgage on the building. The Society is charging $10 for a single item for appraisal and $25 for up to three items. Participants may bring up to 6 items for Marquis to appraise.
Marquis, who does 30-40 such appraisal programs each year in New England, says, “I fly by the seat of my pants in the sense that I bring along no books or computers to do research. I give people my opinion of fair market value for their items based upon my experience, my training and education, etc. Fair market value envisions a willing buyer and a willing seller who both know all there is to know about the item.”
“Generally I will zero in on a number for the value because that’s what the IRS wants you to do when you appraise things,” according to Marquis.
“But,” Marquis said in an interview Monday, one must remember, “Almost nobody will offer you the full market value for your item. A dealer, for instance, would offer you anywhere from 50% to 75% of fair market value depending on how quickly he thinks he could sell the item or turn it over.”
Over the last several years, Marquis says he has seen “very wonderful silver items in New England and furniture but one should always remember that it’s ‘condition, condition, condition’ when you’re trying to determine value!”
Anything can appear at an informal New England appraisal session. In one appraisal in Vermont a few years ago, Marquis was shown a large silver presentation piece from the time of Paul Revere that was pulled from an old shopping bag. After he appraised the item for $150,000, the women pulled two more such pieces from their own bags and each of them also appraised at over $150,000! Following the session, Marquis said he and others present learned that the ladies had left without speaking to anyone else, and none knew who they were!
“It’s all over the board! There is no way you can categorize it! There is no way of telling what someone is going to pull off their shelf or bring in from their home! I’ve had amazing silver items, wonderful paintings; I’ve had good postcards and good furniture. I don’t do jewelry or gems, but most anything else can show up,” says Marquis. That’s part of the fun!
A tip for preparing your treasure for appraisal? Marquis says, “Wrap it up carefully so it doesn’t get broken on the way to and from the show! And clean most items only with a soft, dry cloth!”
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