What is an Appraisal?

• What is it and who is qualified to prepare it?
• "If you plan to have an appraisal done, always check the credentials of the appraiser"

The three appraisal disciplines that matter most to individuals are real estate, personal property, and gems & jewelry.  Real estate appraisers are licensed by the state, but sadly there is no state licensing for the others.  I say sadly because anyone can hang out a shingle and call themselves a personal property or gems & jewelry appraiser when they may be no more qualified than the kid next door.

Gems & jewelry is self-descriptive. The personal property discipline covers virtually every property item, other than real estate, from cars to stamps, paintings to oriental rugs, watches and lamps, sports memorabilia to furniture, and on and on.  There are appraisers of personal property qualified and certified to appraise almost everything you own!

In the 2006 Pension Protection Act (PPA), the Federal Government established the requirements for a qualified appraisal and defined who is qualified to do an appraisal for tax (IRS) purposes, such as for gifts, donations or estates.  Very briefly, a qualified appraiser is someone who is tested and accredited by one of the major appraisal organizations (eg., ASA, AAA, RICS) and has passed the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) exam within the past 5 years.

An appraisal is a legal document. Every appraisal is prepared with the knowledge that it might be called into evidence in a court of law.  Therefore an appraisal needs to be a lot more than just a listing of your items with their values. 

Many books and entire college courses have been devoted to exploring the elements of an appraisal, so there is no way I could describe it adequately in this short commentary.  Briefly, every appraisal needs to include, among other detailed essentials, a definition of its function and purpose, the effective date, the type of valuation (Fair Market Value, Replacement Value, etc), certification that it is done in accordance with USPAP, the appraiser’s qualifications, and any assumptions, liabilities or limiting conditions.

As you can see, a lot goes into making an appraisal, and a lot may ride on its accuracy.  If you plan to have an appraisal done, always check the credentials of the appraiser to make sure they are competent to provide you with a professionally prepared appraisal.

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Summary: If an appraisal doesn't conform to USPAP and the appraiser isn't licensed (real estate) or accredited (other disciplines), it may not be accurate and probably won't hold up in court.

Links: American Society of Appraisers (ASA), Appraisers Association of America (AAA), Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP)

Notes:  The classification of appraisal disciplines generally includes two others besides real property (real estate), personal property and gems & jewelry, namely business valuation and machinery & technical specialties.  Most disciplines include recognized sub-disciplines or specialties.  For example, a real property appraiser might focus on residential real estate, while a personal property appraiser might focus on decorative arts.

The Best Kept Secret about Cooperstown, NY

• No, not the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Fenimore Art Museum
• "Do plan to have lunch at the museum; the menu is top shelf"

Say "Cooperstown, NY" and people naturally think of the Baseball Hall of Fame.  If you are a fan, the HOF is a must-see.  But many are not aware of the wonderful Fenimore Art Museum located on the northwest side of Cooperstown.  In 1944 Stephen Carlton Clark, descendant of the Singer Sewing Machine Company founder, donated the Fenimore House to the New York State Historical Association to house the museum.  The impressive neo-Georgian structure on the shore of Otsego Lake occupies the picturesque site of James Fenimore Cooper's 19th century farmhouse.

The Fenimore's permanent collections boast outstanding examples of American artists including from the Hudson River School, such as Thomas Cole and Asher Durand, portraitist Gilbert Stuart, American folk artist Edward Hicks and many other notables.  There are distinguished pieces of decorated stoneware, ship figureheads, quilts, trade signs and cigar-store figures.  Housed in a recent addition is one of the nation's premier collections of American Indian artifacts.  There is also a unique collection of life masks cast from famous Americans such as Thomas Jefferson and Dolley Madison.

Until December 31, 2010, the Fenimore is hosting a premier exhibit of John Singer Sargent titled Portraits in Praise of Women.  We saw it recently, and it is fantastic!  Paired with the exhibit is the museum’s collection of historic costumes titled Empire Waists, Bustles and Lace.

Cooperstown is beautiful anytime of year, but Fall is by far the most scenic time to visit this quaint town.  And with the kids back in school, downtown Cooperstown is a lot easier to navigate.  Do plan to have lunch at the museum; the menu is top shelf, and if the weather permits, you’ll be seated on the back patio overlooking the lake.  What a view!

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Summary: Renowned for its Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY is also home to the Fenimore Art Museum, a destination attraction for lovers of art, antiques and artifacts.

Links: Baseball Hall of Fame, Fenimore Art Museum, James Fenimore Cooper, Hudson River School, John Singer Sargent Virtual Gallery

Selling Gold or Silver? Know What's It Worth!

You've been bombarded and possibly confused by the ads on television, radio and in your local newspaper telling you "special buyers" are in town for a limited time and will be paying "top dollar" for your unwanted gold and silver items.  Our advice: Whenever possible deal with someone local that you know, someone who has been in business in the area for a while and has a good reputation.  A reputable dealer will offer you 70 to 80% of today's spot gold price and possibly more it you have a large quantity to sell.

Selling Gold? Know It's Value!

What is the Spot Price?
Basically it is the daily selling price of precious metals on the Commodity's Exchange.  It is published daily in your newspaper or you can find it on the web.  Spot is figured on pure gold which is 24 karat gold.  So if your item is 24K it is figured at 100% of spot, but most gold is marked 12K (which is 50% of spot) or 18K (which is 75% of spot) and so on.  You can figure the percentage by dividing the karat by 24.  Spot is figured in Troy ounces, not the common Avoirdupois ounces we use at the grocery store and post office.  (There are 12 ounces in a Troy pound vs. 16 in an Avoirdupois pound, so a Troy ounce is heavier, about 1.1 avoirdupois ounces.) Something else you should know is there are 20 pennyweights (dwt) in a Troy ounce.  (A pennyweight is abbreviated dwt instead of pwt, because d, for the Roman denarius, was the abbreviation for penny before the British monetary system went decimal.)

Figuring the Value
Here is our formula for buying gold or silver:  The Spot value of your gold = today's Spot price (dollars per Troy ounce) X purety (karat of your gold/24 for 100% pure) X fractional weight (your gold in dwt/20 dwt per ounce) X % the buyer is paying.  A shorter form is Spot/480 X karat X dwt X % paid.  This is the most common formula precious metal buyers use when making an offer to buy your gold or silver and it is fair to both the seller and the buyer.

I Own a Railroad Watch!

I can't tell you how many times someone has called us or come into the Connelly Gallery with a "railroad watch" that belonged to their grandfather or great grandfather. They believed it to be a railroad watch because it had an engraving of a train on the back of the case. Most often they had a case that is called a Hunting Case (HC), which means the watch has a cover over both the movement and the face.

Hamilton Railroad Watch

Railroad Watch
To tell you what a real railroad watch is, I have to tell you a little history. In 1893 after a train disaster in Ohio, the railroads set standards for the watches used by railroad employees. Since there was no mechanism for knowing the exact time, as there is today, railroads became the nation's timekeepers for a while. All railroad employees had to have an open face watch (OF) with at least 17 jewels (adjusted to 5 positions) and it had to be a lever-set mechanism to change the time plus it had to stem wind at 12 o'clock. There were a few other requirements such as it had to have Arabic numbers on a black and white face with black hands and the grade had to be stamped on the back of the movement. And, it had to be accurate to with in 30 seconds in 30 days.

Regulator Clock
In the late 1800's through the early 1900's railroads were the time keepers for our nation. Often the railroad station would have a "Regulator" clock hanging on the wall. It is interesting to note that a true regulator clock told time only; it was never a "time & strike" clock. So if your clock also chimes and/or strikes the hour, it is not a true regulator clock.