What's My Stuff Worth: Tools

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When my mother asked me to have some old tools appraised, I couldn't imagine what tools she meant. Tools I used as a kid, that my dad used as a kid?

Actually, these tools originally belonged to my grandfather, Rudolph Gordon, and were sitting in a dilapidated old wooden box in my mom's shed. Dirty, with some rusting and pieces missing, I couldn't imagine they'd be worth much.

There was a hand drill, the kind with a wheel-like piece you turned to make a bit bore into wood, and a tool I learned was called a brace-and-bit, also a drill but one you could brace against your body and turn the bit, giving it more force to bore into wood.

There also was a Phillips screwdriver with a wood handle and a small oil can, the type you pushed with your thumb on the bottom to force drops of oil out of the long, slender spout.

When I realized some of these may have been used by Grandpa when he was on the crew that built the George Rogers Clark Memorial in my hometown of Vincennes, Ind., in the early 1930s, I got more excited. They might actually be worth something.

Turns out I had the perfect opportunity to find out. That's because Dan Philips, former owner of the Illinois Antique Center, has agreed to do a blog for us on our website, www.thepeorian.com, called "What's My Stuff Worth?" In that blog, Dan will consider pieces of furniture, tools and various other objects and try to answer if they have any value beyond the sentimental variety.

"When it comes to antiques and collectibles, condition is everything," said Philips, who with his wife Kim recently closed the Illinois Antique Center and now does estate sales. "With some things you can get into a predisposed condition to set a value, such as some still in its original packaging is going to be worth a certain amount compared with something that's been used. Then, you get into market value and replacement value or resale value.

"Retail value, then, is what a person should expect to pay for something in a competitive market," he said.

Philips started in the business as a collector, then he and Kim opened the Illinois Antique Center in downtown Peoria in 1986. In the 25 years they operated the center, he said, they sold more than $25 million worth of items for people.

"From dinosaur poop to kitchen cupboards, we sold it here," he said. "A lot of the things, as you can imagine, were items passed down through families. In those cases, a lot of times, the sentimental value is much higher than the retail value.

"The value of something is only relative to the end user."

Philips said typical questions he gets from people who want something appraised includes whether they should clean the item, or perhaps paint it or try and restore it. Usually, he answers that they should not do anything to the item, at least not before it gets appraised.

"As soon as you do, you may have lost half of your potential customer base," he said, explaining collectors most often prefer to acquire items in their as-is condition and if they want to clean them it's their choice. Items that look as old as they really are often have more value to collectors than those that are old but look newer, he added.

Another question he often fields is whether an item's value will grow with time. "People ask me if an item isn't worth much now, when will it be or will it ever be? That's a good question and one that is very tough to answer. The newer generations have a different set of values than we did or our parents and grandparents did. I'm not saying one generation was right and the other is wrong; it's just different.

"What people collect today is a reflection of their lifestyle. Money now goes to what people find more important to their lifestyles, such as electronics, than to the value of old items. That means the value of old items is less than it used to be," he said.

Philips said he doesn't want to burst any bubbles before people even try, though. That's why he agreed to be the author of "What My Stuff Worth?" He said people can write to him at www.thepeorian.com with detailed descriptions of the item and can email him digital photos, if they would like.

While he acknowledges he will likely advise having an appraiser actually see and touch an items – and he'd be willing to schedule appointments to do that – he will try to give his best estimate.

When I pulled my Grandpa's tools from the bag I brought them in, I just knew Dan would exclaim that those old drills were just what one of his clients was looking for to complete his own set and that the value would be such my Mom would never have to worry about her Social Security again.

I didn't have much hope for the others, particularly that little oil can. It was cute, but really not worth much. Even I could tell that and God knows I'm no expert.

Dan looked over the items, commented on each and pointed out flaws. It turns out only the brace-and-bit was old enough to have been part of the George Rogers Clark Memorial construction and even then, it was doubtful.

The most valuable piece I brought in? The oil can, worth $5 maybe. "People collect those things," he said.

Mom, if it's OK with you I'll just put these things on my own tool bench. Maybe one of my grandsons will find them someday and get them appraised.

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