For sentimental reasons, we keep things that are near and dear to us, maybe because it was given to us by someone special or because it represents an important event in our lives. Whatever the reasons you have for keeping it, it's importance to you makes it worth something, which means that it is one of your treasures.
Whether it is an antique or a collectible, the personal value may be worth more to you than the actual dollar value. But there is value in almost everything, so you may be pleasantly surprised if you have your antiques and collectibles appraised.
What you have hidden away in your attic or garage collecting dust may be worth a small fortune, and in some cases, certain items may be worth a large fortune.
We have all heard the stories about paintings being left in the garage, stored in the attic, or sold at a yard sale because they were too old and ugly to hang in the house and come to find out, they were worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
And what about that odd looking dinnerware set that your grandmother gave you for a wedding gift. You never liked it, did you? Well, you may want to take another look at it because your grandmother may have had a good eye for collectibles china when she picked it out and she may have known something about it's value that she neglected to tell you.
That old box of comic books that your dad gave you when you graduated from college may contain the one that a collector may be desperately looking for. Rare comic books and old baseball cards are in high demand as collectibles and some collectors are willing to pay a tidy sum to own them.
You may have valuable antiques and collectibles right under your nose and may not know it. Some items may not appear to be worth all that much but if it is rare enough, you may be pleasantly surprised.
Even certain autographs are collectible and a rare signature may fetch thousands of dollars at an auction or an antique sale. Old and rare coins are snapped up and taken out of circulation as soon they are recognized by those in the know.
Antiques and collectibles are not just household items. Old farm equipment like tractors and hay bailers, horse and mule wagons and buggies, horse saddles and bridles, plows, and hay reapers are sort after collectibles.
Old and classic cars are bought and sold every day and millions of dollars are spent on restoration and upkeep. Most of us have owned a car or truck in the past that we wish we had kept.
Some people have an instinct for antiques and collectibles. They know to buy and save items that will increase in value and they know what will become collector's items in the future. And some us, unknowingly, will put things away in an attic or garage, or store them away somewhere to be forgotten until someone, someday, happens to find them and realizes their true value.
Remember, one man's junk is another man's treasure. Antiques are valued by those who own them and by those who want them. You can easily start an antique collection by watching the coins you get for change,