Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Wood and Bolt Found by Bill H. At Pepper Park at Low Tide on Easter Morning. |
Bill H. found sent the above find photo and following email.
Any ideas on the object anyone?
I often get asked what is the most valuable thing I ever found. I find that almost impossible to answer, and for a variety of reasons. First, I don't have a good idea of the economic value of many finds, and often don't even try to find out. Secondly, there are some things I like a lot that other people might not like at all and vice versa. And values of items will change over time. For example, I mentioned in one post how diamond prices have decreased because of the recent glut of lab created diamonds. Or at least that is what I was told.
Some people say that an item is only worth what someone will pay you, and that is certainly true, but if you work at it and find the right person or do some good salesmanship, you might get someone to pay more than otherwise. Likewise, if you damage or poorly represent the item, its value can quickly decrease. Expect to get a lot more from an interested collector than a pawn shop or someone intending to resale the item.
For me a find might have a value very different from what I can sell it for. It might just be especially precious to me for some reason. You might not want to sell it at all - at least not for what any reasonable person would give for it.
One person I know had a ring they thought could be very valuable, and they wanted to find out how valuable it actually was. They got it appraised. You might be able learn from their experience. I did.
First of all, you need to know that there are different kinds of appraisals, and the terminology isn't always used consistently or precisely. There are market value appraisals, estate appraisals, and replacement value or insurance appraisals, to name some of the more common ones.
So first they took the ring to a jewelry store in the Vero area. The owner, self-described as self-taught, did the appraisal. He asked what kind of appraisal was desired, which is something that most appraisers will ask. I don't have the exact conversation. The owner doesn't recall it all precisely, but the appraiser, said the value he would give them is what he would pay them for the item if they sold it to him.
After cleaning the ring and inspecting it for a while, the appraiser went on to explain that it was a $20,000 ring, but he'd pay $7500 for it. He went on to explain what all he'd have to do before he could sell the ring in his store. He said the large diamond was chipped. As a result, he explained, he'd have to send it someplace to have it evaluated to determine the best way to have it recut. Then he'd have to pay to have it recut, which would reduce the total weight of the diamond, which he'd then have to send someplace else to have recertified, or whatever. And all that would take time and money, so he could only pay $7,500 for the ring.
Thinking that was a low value for the ring, the owner decided to take the same ring to a well-known pawn and jewelry store in St. Lucie. The store advertises that they do appraisals and will buy items. Again the appraiser said he'd give the value he'd pay for the item if he bought it. I think I've heard before (maybe on Antiques Road Show) that an appraiser is not supposed to offer to buy an item that he appraises. That could be seen as a conflict of interest. Maybe that is why the first two appraisers made it clear they were giving the price that they would pay. But this second appraisal put a value of only $3,400 on the ring. No mention was made of any chip or anything. Of course, this appraiser looked at it with a loop, etc., but his offer was less than half the previous appraised value.
Since there was such a big disparity and feeling that the item could be way undervalued by both appraisers, and certainly by the second, he then took the same diamond ring to a store in St. Lucie West which advertised "fine" jewelry. This jeweler charged $90 for appraisals. The first two were free.
There was the similar preliminary discussion of what type of appraisal was desired, and the owner of the ring was not sure about the terminology. As it turns out that was significant. This appraisal would take a while and the appraiser requested the ring to be left overnight, but the owner didn't want to do that and waited about an hour or so while the appraiser inspected and obtained high quality photos of the ring. The owner could then took the ring but had to come back a day the next day for the completed appraisal.
When the owner returned the next day he was presented with a very nice, printed appraisal with tons of data on it, including, but not limited to weights and measures, color, cut, quality, etc. along with nice high-resolution photos of the ring. The report gave the replacement value for the ring. The replacement value was listed as $31,000. What a difference!
The owner realized that wasn't what he really wanted and after a little discussion asked if he could get a fair market value appraisal instead. They agreed to do that free, and the owner was told he would be called when they had that done in a day or two. When the owner came back the next day, the listed fair market value was listed as just over $12,000.
This appraiser mentioned a crack at the base of the big diamond and attempted to show it to the owner with a loop, but the owner couldn't see it. Whether that crack is the same defect that the first appraiser described as a chip is not certain.
The first thing to notice is that the range of values given for the ring was from $3,400 to $31,000. That is a huge difference.
There was also a huge difference between the fair market value and the replacement value as determined by the same appraiser.
I've been told that jewelry stores will mark things up three hundred to five hundred percent. It looks like that is no exaggeration. Of course, they want to make a profit, but that seems excessive. Perhaps they already have too much inventory and don't want to take on anymore unless they stand to make a huge profit. They do have overhead, which is undoubtedly considerable. But offering as little as $3,400, or even $7,500 for something that has a replacement value of $31,000 seems like a lot. I'm not sure the second appraiser had the skill to really determine the quality of the item, so some of it could be due to lack of knowledge, and the desire to not make a big mistake, or it could be the desire to take advantage of the situation and score a big hit.
I can understand that there is considerable investment in having a diamond recut and reset and recertified, etc., which could account for some of the difference between the market value for a "chipped" diamond, and the replacement value for a perfect, unchipped certified ring of the same size and quality.
When you are selling to a store or someone who intends to resell your item, you are essentially selling wholesale and they are going to charge retail.
So what are the lessons?
You get what you pay for - sometimes. The appraisal that cost $90 seemed much more thorough and professional than the free appraisals.
Investigate the reputation and qualifications of any appraiser.
Take the time to learn what kind of appraisal you need and the terminology so you can explain what you want,
Different appraisers will give different values even if you were accurate and specific in your request.
Furthermore...
If there is such a thing as "a" true value, the owner of this ring still wasn't sure how close he got to it. It would be interesting to see what would happen if a number of highly qualified professionals did appraisals and how close would they be. That would be an interesting experiment.
It is no wonder that professional grading is so popular for coins and things. It helps some. Having a coin or other item graded and encapsulated adds confidence and increases values.
There might not be any method of obtaining a perfect value for an item, but I hope this post will at least help you be more aware of what you'll encounter and some of the difficulties involved in determining what an item is worth.
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We'll have a good high tide just after midnight Sunday.
The surf next week will be nothing higher than three or four feet.
Good hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net