information about Antique trunks. Antique Trunk forum. Blog

Need to find out information about your trunk like the age, type, or general information?
This page may answer many of the questions you may have.

We do not do appraisals or evaluations

Visit out free online Antique Trunks Forum for information
and discussion about Antique Trunks

Unfortunately, We do not give evaluations or Appraisals.
If you are interested in how we price our trunks, check out our "How we price our Trunks" section

We receive numerous emails daily from people who want to find out more about their antique or vintage trunks. The most asked question, is" I have an old trunk, and I would like to know something about it." Generally this means that they want to know what type of trunk it is and when it was made, by whom, and how much it is worth.
This section will be very helpful to you in your research.

If you want information about your trunk we will try to try to help you.
We will need to have the following information to help you.
Please email these to us here > Contact Us

Exterior and interior photos
NO LARGE PHOTO FILES OR WE CAN NOT DOWNLOAD THEM ON OUR SERVER!
Close up photos of any names, labels or markings
Close up photos of the lock and lock mechanism
What type of material is it made with
What type of material is it covered with
Dimensions
Brief description of the trunk, and the overall condition and any accessories (trunk tray, drawers, hangers, straps, covers, etc. also any missing parts)

If you are looking to do research yourself, the information below will be very helpful. Feel free to use it, and please email any useful information you might have to us so we can make it available to help other people do research as well. Thank you as always!

#1) What type of trunk is this?

Most Trunks we see are manufactured in the USA between the 1860's and the 1920's. generally the lock mechanism is the main indicator we can date a trunk by since different types of locks are indicative of different time eras. There are other indicators such as the type of hardware, coverings, and style of the trunks. There are many types of trunks, and we have a photo gallery to display some of them. There are Flat Top Trunks, Curved Top Trunks, Dome Top Trunks or more commonly called 'Camelback Trunks', Wardrobe Trunks there are Bread loaf style with bands which are generally called 'Jenny Lind Trunks', Civil War Era Trunks, Gold Rush and Stagecoach Trunks, Half Trunks or Hat Boxes, Small / Doll Trunks, Rare and Unique Trunks and Chests, and Carpenter / Tool / Wood boxes. You can click on the links above to see photo samples of many of these kinds of trunks. Possibly you can see one similar to yours.

#2) Who is my Trunk manufactured by?

In the USA there were many, many trunk makers. They were made by companies, individual trunk makers, and often saddlery makers. If you think about it, trunks were the luggage of their day. How many different kinds of luggage can you find today? The best thing to do is look for a label in the trunk. If you can't find a label, look on the hardware for markings. Generally the locks were made by lock companies and sold to trunk makers as parts, so they are not a good source to determine who made the trunk. Our history section will have different trunk manufacturers to help you find out more information about specific trunk makers.

#3) How much is my Trunk worth?

O.K. Here's the big question. now you've bought one, found one, or inherited an antique trunk and since it is so old, you most likely think it must be worth a Lot of money. The most important thing we believe is that if your trunk is a family heirloom, IT IS PRICELESS! Now with that being said, there are some brands of trunks that can be very valuable, but they are generally European, and Very Rare. In fact other than on websites, and an occasional high end antique store, I have never run across any of these. An example of one of these brands is Louis Vuitton from France. However, most of the trunks we see and hear about are American made trunks, and WE LOVE THEM! They can run from a few dollars to several hundred based on what you have. We sell 'refinished' trunks. I call them refinished, because many people call them restored, and unless they are returned to the original look they had when they were new, with original or exact reproduction parts and materials, they are not really restored. Very seldom if ever you will see a real 'Restored' trunk! With that being said, we buy a trunk, put 20 - 30 hours of work, buy parts and materials as needed, and supplies to finish the trunk, and then sell it. Our average price for a trunk currently ranges from $350 to $600 including shipping. Shipping usually costs us an minimum of $100.00 including the box and packing materials. Now you can see that we buy trunks in the $20 - $100 range depending on what the trunks is. If you are selling an antique trunk, it is like they say, 'condition is everything'. We have a Trunk Valuation page that will help give you some guidelines in trying to value your trunk. I also recommend to look in antique stores, websites, and yes, even ebay for some price ideas, but remember to evenly compare what you have to what you are looking at. Also, remember that what they actually sell for is what you need to know, not what they are asking for it, as they can ask whatever they want, but that does not mean it is worth that much. Most of all, be realistic. We do not do official appraisals, but we do recommend Brettuns or The Trunk Shop who will do this for a fee.