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>>Terry Kovel: Hi I’m Terry Kovel and I’m one of the authors of Kovel’s Antiques and
Collectibles Price Guide. This book has been around for over 40 years and a brand
new book is written every year. Every single entry, every single picture is brand new every
year. We get calls and letters from people saying that they don’t quite know how to
find things. This is a lesson on how to use the book.
First of all we get the prices from all over the place. We get them from shows; shops,
a few online, flea markets, collectors groups and of course we go shopping. These are
all new and they are not estimates.
We have a special format which took us years to put together. We had to make it go with
the computer. First we list the category which could be dolls, *** art or silver.
Then we list the item, the description which includes in most cases the pattern, description
of the design, the maker if we can find it. It always ends in the date and the price.
We have 700 categories in this book and you have to think a little bit to know where they
go, because we have categories like Royal Doulton which is easy and says so in the book.
We have categories which say dental and you have to think about that. If you have a
set of false teeth, you have to look in the dental section. We also have as you can
see 2,500 pictures. They are all brand new beautiful pictures with a caption under each
one telling you exactly what it is. If you are looking for the description in the book
you can also find illus. (illustrated) printed right next to anyone that has a picture.
The book has prices that range roughly from .25 cents to 10,000 dollars. Although, we
sometimes add in pieces that are a little bit higher especially if you have an exceptional
collection. For example; mechanical banks one year went from $40 to $50,000 because
they were pristine, where as in other years the same bank in normal condition might have
been $3 to $4,000. That is most of what you will find in here.
We have a lot of other special features. It is color coded. If you look at the side
of the book you will find the colors and if you go into one of the sections you will find
that there is a color code on each piece and all of the little sidebars and things that
go with that are in the color blue. There is also a very extensive index at the back
which tells you where things are. If you did not quite pick the right spot, you can
try looking back there. It also has an internal indexing section which says things like in
the doll section “for Barbie see Mattel.” Dolls are listed by the maker, not by the
name of the doll. That is your beginning lesson.
Go in and try to see what you can find in Kovels’ Antiques and Collectibles Price
Guide and I’m sure you will find it useful. In the meantime, go out and buy something
and you can tell if your paying the right price!