Specialty Search Engines & Tools

There are many specialty search engines and tools out there that can help you research your antiques.

Here are some of my favorites:

PriceMiner - Search data from eBay, GoAntiques stores and TIAS stores. A superb identification, research and pricing tool.

Worthopedia - Offers many resources on valuation, expert advice and a large collecting community.

Google Scholar - This search engine by Google lets you search the text of books, articles, abstracts, theses and other publications. Make sure you have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer, as many of the documents that come up are in PDF format. This tool is absolutely invaluable. A cursory search for "sterling silver hallmarks" for example, brings up 700 results, which includes books on the subject, articles from many years ago, magazine articles and much more. Some of these results will merely lead you to a library link, where the book or article is actually located. In this case, the information is only available offline, you'll need to go to your local library with the informtion about the book or article and they can often help you get the full text. If it's a fairly recent book, you can also try searching for the book second hand, eBay and Amazon are great places for that.

Kovels - This is an online price guide provided by the famous Kovel's, authors of many antiques and collectibles price guides. Enter search terms into the search box and click GO. I recommend You need to sign up for a free account to get any information.

AbeBooks - The best book resource I have found so far, use their search engine to find the value of your antique books.

Antique Clocks Price Guide - If you are researching an antique clock, this is THE place you need to go.

CeramicMarksFinder - An online guide that helps you identify marks on pottery and porcelain objects. Very handy, but note that there is a monthly fee for access.