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
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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.
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If
you are looking to do research, 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! |
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#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. |
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#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. |
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#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. |
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