What does the Term Antique mean to us?
June 13, 2008
The Term
The term antique sounds antique and thus means different to different people, but the true meaning and understanding which qualifies the meaning of antique is age. It’s all to do with the age and hence the number of years. But the reality is that everything that is old is not necessarily termed as being antique. It has to be unique. And also many items that are old may not be referred to as being antique. The age may be part of the equation, but its rarity, condition and functionality also are considered when determining the correct term to use. Many older items that do not work and are of no use to us are called junk.
Many people collect a number of items such as furniture, wall clocks, jewelry, household appliances and much more into history. These are some of the antique items mentioned. Of course to qualify as an antique age plays a role, but for many people how something works is more important. For example, in the olden days and the mid nineties, electric appliances were not available and most of the household appliances were hand operated. It was truly said and practiced that if a person can find a manual butter churn for instance that is still in working condition, they may add it to their antique collection. This was how antique was qualified.
Many people have the knack of collecting antique items for their house. They collect items from places they visit throughout history not so much due to the age of the item, but because of their interest in the era. Furniture that was handmade in the Queen Anne fashion is some of the prized possessions of antique furniture collectors.
Not All items or things have Monetary Value beyond Age.
It is said that people who have the knack of collecting antique jewelry, usually get disappointed when they hear that the money they have spent for buying the jewelry has actually no monetary value. These items that they have bought only have functionality value but no monetary value. A two-hundred-year-old ring for example, may have been made of cheap metal, as they were before someone decided that gold and silver was the metal that should be used, and rarely would valuable gemstones be used, especially outside of royalty. Hence, the value of these antique items may be very less based on the content of valuable metals or stones. One must remember that after buying this kind of antique item, you must forget about selling it as you will not get the value you paid for buying it.
Another example, a motor vehicle, in most of the states has to at least 32 years old to qualify for antique license plates, but if the vehicle is a rusting hulk of metal it is not worth more than the cost of the scrap metal. The motor vehicle has to be in a very good condition and maintained well. It is also said the if someone is able to restore the original parts of the motor vehicle and maintain it in a new condition, then the price of the motor vehicle goes up exponentially. Less than 32 years they are usually referred to as classic, but their value is still judged by condition and functionality. The mandatory rule is 32 years in the best running form, for a motor vehicle to be termed as antique.
Summary:
The term antique doesn’t mean old, it’s the rarity, and condition and the functionality, all put in use that qualifies the term antique.
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