The general definition of the word “antique” is an old, collectible item. An antique is collected because of its age, beauty, rarity, condition, or usefulness. The labeling of an item as an antique presumes it has value because of its workmanship and rarity. Other unique features may make an antique both desirable and collectible. For many collectors, there is frequently a personal or emotional connection to an antique item.

Items identified as antiques are purchased and acquired for personal use, gifts, and in the case of dealers and brokers, for profit. Collectors perform antiquing at garage sales, estate sales, resort towns, antiques districts, dealer shops, collective cooperatives, and auction houses. Antiquing has grown in popularity. Many people participate in the activity on some level.

Just because an item is old does not make it an antique. It is characteristic to define an antique as being at least 100 years old. However, in reality, an object does not need to reach an age of 100 years to be labeled as an antique. One example is an automobile. Many antique autos are far less than 100 years of age. Cars that are 50 years of age or less are typically identified as antique automobiles. Some states permit vehicles manufactured more than 25 years prior to the current year to be registered as antique as long as they have been maintained in or restored to a condition that is substantially in conformance with manufacturer specifications. Other vehicles are often considered antiques, such as earlier motorcycles and trucks.

An antique is an object that represents a previous era or time in human society. In contrast, today’s collectibles are the possible antiques of the future. While antiques are often more than 100 years of age, collectibles are usually less than 100 years old. Of course, most antiques are collectibles. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably.

Antiquing

Starting an antique collection is a simple activity that offers the collector great personal enjoyment for a particular passion and an opportunity for a profit. Collectors often specialize by accumulating items of a specific interest.

Antique collectors participate in an ongoing activity known as “antiquing.” This is a general term that describes the act of searching, shopping, identifying, negotiating, or bargaining for antiques. (The word “antiquing” may also refer to making an object appear older through distressing it or applying an antique paint or finish.) For enthusiastic antique collectors, searching for and finding an antique is exhilarating and exciting. Often, individuals get confused between these handmade distressed vintage or modern items and true antiques. Would-be antique collectors who are unaware of the differences may find themselves paying a high amount of money for something that has little value in the antiquing industry

Gold and silver have been recognized as valuable metals and have been coveted for a long time. Even today, precious metals have their place in a savvy investor’s portfolio. But which precious metal is best for investment purposes? And why are they so volatile?

There are many ways to buy into precious metals like gold, silver, and platinum, and a host of good reasons why you should give in to the treasure hunt.
Precious metals can be a good portfolio diversifier and hedge against inflation – but gold, perhaps the most well-known such metal, is not the only one out there for investors.
Silver, platinum, and palladium are all commodities that can be added to your precious metals portfolio, and each has its own unique opportunities.
In addition to owning physical metal, investors can gain access through the derivatives market, metal ETFs and mutual funds, and mining company stocks.

Bullion

A metal is deemed to be precious if it is rare. The discovery of new sources of ore or improvements in mining or refining processes may cause the value of a precious metal to diminish. The status of a “precious” metal can also be determined by high demand or market value. Precious metals in bulk form are known as bullion and are traded on commodity markets. Bullion metals may be cast into ingots or minted into coins. The defining attribute of bullion is that it is valued by its mass and purity rather than by a face value as money.

Purity and mass

The level of purity varies from issue to issue. “Three nines” (99.9%) purity is common. The purest mass-produced bullion coins are in the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf series, which go up to 99.999% purity. A 100% pure bullion is nearly impossible: as the percentage of impurities diminishes, it becomes progressively more difficult to purify the metal further. Historically, coins had a certain amount of weight of alloy, with the purity a local standard. The Krugerrand is the first modern example of measuring in “pure gold”: it should contain at least 12/11 ounces of at least 11/12 pure gold. Other bullion coins (for example the British Sovereign) show neither the purity nor the fine-gold weight on the coin but are recognized and consistent in their composition.[citation needed] Many coins historically showed a denomination in currency (example: American double eagle: $20).