"Dealing with House & Estate Contents"
Program Descriptions

1 - Dealing with Today's Record-High Gold & Silver Prices
The key to selling Jewelry, Coins and Sterling Silver for top dollar is to understand Value…BEFORE Selling. With Gold approaching $2,800/ozt, and with Silver approaching $35/ozt, a failure to understand the precious metals selling process can cost you some major money.

• How many Pennyweights are in 1 Troy Ounce?
• How many Grams are in 1 Troy Ounce?
• What is a Troy Ounce? Or an Avoirdupois Ounce?

If you can't answer these very basic questions, then you'll need this program prior to selling your treasures. We'll discuss:

• Understanding & Identifying Gold, including 10k, 14k, 18k, Gold-Filled, Gold Plate, more
• Understanding & Identifying Sterling Silver, Foreign Silver, Silver Plate, more
• Identifying Scrap vs. Premium Items
• Navigating the Smoke & Mirrors of selling to Jewelers, Gold Stores, Pawn Shops, and Private Buyers
• We'll explain the Mathematics of Determining Value … BEFORE Selling
• We'll discuss how the Scrap Gold & Silver Markets work
• We'll provide helpful Tools, Apps, Web Sites, Tips, Strategies, Much More
• ? (PS: The are 20 Pennyweights and 31.1 Grams in 1 Troy Ounce)?

2 - Dealing with Value: 100+ Ways to Determine Value…and Then Sell It
Appraisers of Antiques, Collectibles and Household & Estate Contents estimate value by looking for 'Comparables', or what things have sold for in the past. Where do you look for Comps? And how should you interpret the various "Values" you find?. This program will help attendees to appraise their own items…and then sell them. We'll cover such topics as:

• 50+ ways to determine value in general categories, as well as in specific categories such as Art & Prints, Coins & Stamps, Jewelry, Militaria, Firearms, Books, Vehicles, More
• Then we'll discuss 50+ ways to sell or otherwise deal with your treasures
• We'll talk Free vs. Subscription Value Sites … Asking Prices vs. Sold Prices … Deep Markets vs. Shallow Markets
• We'll provide helpful Tools, Apps, Web Sites, Tips, Strategies … and much more.

Just as you'll never eat everything in a restaurant buffet, you'll never use all of the tips in "Mike's Buffet of Value & Selling Options". But we'll share it all and then you can pick and choose those options best suited to you. You'll need a thick pad of paper for this program because we'll be covering a lot.

3 - Dealing with Garage Sales
The days of just putting a "Garage Sale" sign on your front lawn are long past in today's Internet and Social Media world. In this session Mike will share 101 tips and strategies designed to help you make more money at your next garage sale.

• We'll talk preparing for the garage sal
• We'll talk pricing strategies
• We'll talk both selling and buying at garage sale
• We'll provide helpful Tools, Apps, Web Sites, Tips, Strategies … and much more

4 - Dealing with Original Art and Fine Art Prints
The Art Market is arguably the hottest of all Antiques & Collectibles categories. With select single paintings selling for $100,000,000+ … and with Paul Allen's Art Collection selling for $1,600,000,000+ (that's 'billion') in 2022 … Original Art can be extremely valuable. But not all Original Art has value. Some Fine Art Prints can sell for $50,000+, and others can sell for less than 50 cents. And "Print" is probably the most mis-understood word in the entire Antiques & Collectibles field. In this program we'll take you into the world of Art & Prints and show you how you can identify what you have … and how to value and sell it.

• We'll discuss how to tell an Original Artwork from a Print
• We'll discuss Oil-on-Canvas, Oil-on-Boards, Watercolors, Pastels, Pen & Inks, More
• We'll discuss Etchings, Engravings, Lithographs, Offset Lithographs, Chromolithographs, Limited Editi
• Prints, Hand-Tinted Photos, Japanese Woodblock Prints, Screen Prints, Serigraphs, more
• We'll discuss Numbered Prints, Limited Edition Prints, and Mass-Produced Prints
• We'll discuss how to identify, value and sell Art & Prints
• We'll provide helpful Tools, Apps, Web Sites, Tips, Strategies … Much More

5 - Dealing with Coins & Currency
Most households and estates include a variety of Coins & Currency. Some have considerably more value than others, but how can you tell which is which? This program will help those who are dealing with coins & currency and will cover such areas as:

• Identifying Gold, Silver, and Non-Precious Metal Coins
• Sorting Coins & Currency into key categories
• Suggested tools you can use
• How to tell the difference between Face Value and Numismatic Coins
• What "Junk Silver" is and how to avoid the $25,000 Junk Silver mistake
• Understanding US Mint Sets, Proof Sets, Bullion, Tokens, Reproductions & Fakes, More
• Understanding US Currency including Silver Certificates, $2.00 Bills, Large Notes, Small Notes, Bank-Issued Currency, Fractional Currency, Confederate, More
• What 'Spot Price' is and where can you find it?
• Tips on selling Coins & Currency
• What 'Grading' is and why is it so important to value
• We'll touch on Foreign Coins, but we'll be talking primarily US Coins
• We'll provide helpful Tools, Apps, Web Sites, Tips, Strategies … Much More

6 - Dealing with Sterling Silver, Silverplate & Pewter
I'm amazed at the number of people who can't tell the difference between Sterling Silver, Silverplate, and Pewter. There's a major value difference between them and, if you can't tell the difference, be prepared to lose money when selling. What's the difference between an Avoirdupois Ounce and a Troy Ounce? Do you even know what a Troy Ounce is? If your answer is "No", you're not alone. And that's why you need this program if you plan on buying or selling Sterling Silver, Silverplate, or Pewter. We'll cover such topics as:

• How to identify, weigh & value Sterling Silver like the pros
• 20 ways to identify & value Silverplate
• How to identify & value Pewter
• Understanding the Avoirdupois vs. Troy Weight Systems
• How to test precious metals for purity
• What Spot Price" is and where you can find it
• Tips on selling Sterling, Silverplate & Pewter
• We'll provide helpful Tools, Apps, Web Sites, Tips, Strategies … Much More.
  

7 - Dealing with Gold, Sterling, Estate & Costume Jewelry
Jewelry is one of today's hottest categories. It is also one of the easiest areas you can lose a lot of money … if you don't know what you're doing. You certainly know what a "carrot" is (think Bugs Bunny). But do you know the difference between a "karat" and a "carat"? You better if you plan on selling your jewelry for Fair Market Value. In this program we'll cover such areas as:

• Understanding Gold & Silver Fineness
• 10 types of Gold Jewelry
• 7 types of Silver Jewelry
• Understanding Estate & Costume Jewelry
• We'll also touch on Cameos, Pearls, Diamonds, Gemstones, More
• Recognizing important maker names
• How to test precious metals for purity
• What "Spot Price" is and where you can find it
• Tips on selling Jewelry
• We'll provide helpful Tools, Apps, Web Sites, Tips, Strategies … Much More

8 - Dealing with Household & Estate Furniture
The furniture mantra today is "Brown is Down" which means that the younger generation has little interest in grandma's antique oak, cherry, pine, walnut and other brown-wood furniture. But not all furniture is brown … and not all furniture is down,

• We'll discuss "Brown Furniture" and how best to deal with it
• We'll discuss Antique, Used, Country, Mid-Century Modern, Danish Modern, Ikea, and many other furniture forms
• We'll discuss some of the key style-makers such as Chippendale, Hepplewhite, Queen Anne, Sheraton, Duncan Phyfe, Victorian, Empire, More
• We'll discuss how to identify age
• We'll discuss repairing & refinishing furniture
• We'll discuss selling and donation options
• We'll provide helpful Tools, Apps, Web Sites, Tips, Strategies … Much More

9 - Dealing with Household & Estate Books
Just because a book is old doesn't make it valuable. There are many factors that add value to books. Every house has books but dealing with them is a lot like mining for gold. You have to do a lot of work to find only a few nuggets. Such as a recent Virginia Wolfe book that was donated to a library book sale, but which ultimately sold for $4500 because it was author-signed. And what was popular 25-50 years ago (e.g., Zane Gray) isn't nearly as popular today as more contemporary topics (e.g., Harry Potter). Whether selling your own collection, books you've inherited, or are trying to help someone sell their books, this program will help attendees better understand Household & Estate Books and How to Sell Them in today's market, including:

• How to sort books into Sell, Donate or Dump categories
• 15 factors that can make a book valuable
• How to Identify Investment Grade Books
• How/Where to sell Mass-Market, Paperback, Hard-Cover, Vintage Sets, Franklin Library, etc.
• We'll talk selling, donation & dumping/recycling options
• We'll provide helpful Tools, Apps, Web Sites, Tips, Strategies … Much More.

10 - Dealing with Stamp Collections
People selling their own Stamp collections usually understand value. Others who are selling collections that they inherited often have absolutely no concept of value. This program will help attendees to better understand how to deal with Stamp Collections and we'll cover such topics as:

• Brief history of Postage Stamps
• How to sort, analyze, and evaluate a Stamp Collection
• Various types of Stamps including Definitives, Commemoratives, Blocks & Plate Blocks, Sheets, 1st Day Covers, Coils, Air Mails, Postage Due, Revenues, more
• We'll introduce you to the Scott's Catalog # System
• We'll discuss five common types of Stamp Collections you may encounter
• We'll discuss what's Hot & Not in Stamps
• We'll introduce Discount Postage
• What "Grading" is and why is it so important to value
• How … and where… to sell a Stamp collection
• We'll discuss 'Retention' and why so many different Stamps are issued each year
• We'll discuss both US and Foreign Stamps
• We'll provide helpful Stamp Tools, Apps, Web Sites, Tips, Strategies … Much More

11 - Dealing with China, Porcelain, Cut Glass/Crystal, Glassware, & Figurines
There's no question that today's younger generation doesn't appreciate or value China, Porcelain Glassware, & Figurines the way their parents and grandparents did. That doesn't mean it's valueless. It just means that you need to understand it better. Which is what we'll do in this program. We'll discuss such topics as:

• Understanding China, Porcelain, Dinnerware, Dishes & Glassware
• We'll talk Cut Glass, Leaded Glass, Crystal, Clear Glass vs Colored Glass, Depression Glass, Carnival Glass, Milk Glass, more
• We'll talk Hummel, Lladro, Royal Doulton; Lenox, Japan & Occupied Japan, 1930's Bisque, Precious Moments, other Figurines
• We'll review the importance of the Original Box & Paperwork, Maker Marks and Mold Numbers
• We'll discuss How and Where to Sell … Donation Options … What Makes Some Valueless
• We'll provide helpful Tools, Apps, Web Sites, Tips, Strategies … Much More.

12 - Dealing with Early 20th c. Hand-Colored Photography
We'll explore the world of Wallace Nutting and many other Photographers who were selling their hand-colored photographs during the early 20th century. We discuss such topics as:

• Wallace Nutting: Photographer, Author, and Furniture Maker
• We discuss the Hand-Colored Photography Process and How to Identify Them
• We'll discuss many of Nutting's Photographic Contemporaries, whose works often sell for more than Nutting's
• We'll discuss Sawyer, Davidson, Thompson, the Gardiners, more.
• We'll discuss Hand-Colored Photography from New England, Florida, Mid-Atlantic States, Western US, Canada, more.
• We'll discuss Values … How and Where to Sell
• We'll provide helpful Tools, Apps, Web Sites, Tips, Strategies … Much More