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What are the current dollar values of Antique Machinist tools?

rivett608

Diamond
Joined
Oct 25, 2002
Location
Kansas City, Mo.
I am working on an inventory of my collection which is a major task that I have been putting off for decades. Amazingly I kept records of my purchases going back nearly 40 years.

I’m curious what you all think these historic pieces are worth today? I’m not talking about just average old stuff but rare (only a few known to exist), historic (like the earliest micrometer or vernier caliper) or just plain cool looking some strange patented surface gage that never became popular.

The market place for these things has always been driven by a handful of collectors who will pay $100s or even $1000s for a single piece. What is the market today? My collecting has gone in different directions the past bunch of years so I don’t follow it much like I used to.

I’m interested more as curiosity, not because I plan on selling. Arrangements have been made for the collection with museums. To me the cost of the items has never been the driving factor in buying them. I often say I buy on average, some days I pay way too much, somedays I get things cheap. In the end I have a very complete collection. Surprisingly most I bought really cheap because years ago no one knew what this stuff was, like an 1877 B & S 1” mic for $10.

What brought this up was I just recorded about 70 surface gages, I did a check on eBay both current and past sales and of the 70 only 6 of the most common ones showed up. This stuff has always been pretty scarce, now it seems nearly impossible to find. But when it is found, does it bring in high dollars? I see every now and then good micrometers do very well, how about other tools?

Look forward to your thoughts.
 
My frame of reference

a rusty 54 studebaker is worth scrap price
A restored 54 studebaker is worth 20-50 grand
A rusty 54 studebaker owned by Marilyn Monroe is worth a million bucks

The point being, is that if the tool has not inherent importance, real or perceived, it is pretty worthless.
100 year old mics were pretty much commodity items.
Important measuring instruments, first of a type, or important for some other reason, like Marilyns 6 inch dial caliper, might be worth money

Otherwise they are just fun things to have.
 
I suspect that like most antiques the prices on antique tools are falling because there aren't younger collectors coming along to replace the ones that are dying off. In both my personal experience in selling off an estate full of antiques and reading on the subject people under forty don't collect anything. That group would rather spend their disposable income on doing things. IE travel dining out the sort of thing they can do with their friends. There more interested in memories than objects.
 
Thanks everyone. btw Phil, did not miss the boat because I am not selling.

Yes I have read a lot about the younger folks lack of interest in owning stuff. Funny about antiques, went to an auction this past weekend, lots of nautical stuff, I got way out bid on everything I wanted. All of it was in the $1000s. Other stuff was strong too, except furniture. Fun part was, auction was outside in a big tent. I had a parking place at the back and could bid from my car, they attached our bidding card to a flyswater.
 
auction was outside in a big tent. I had a parking place at the back and could bid from my car, they attached our bidding card to a flyswatter.

Was this tent big enough for the cars to be inside? I would assume you had a catalog and they had some sort of a sound system?
 
From what I've seen, there's still a lot of younger people who enjoy antiques and collectibles of that nature, but for too many of them, very little thought goes into the future of the stuff.

Many will buy an old bicycle or an old tool because of it's perceived history and uniqueness... but really they want the "patina," because next they mount it on a board to put in the den, and then toss it out in 5 years when the trends change. Even if they sell it or pass it on to someone, rarely does the information about it's past go with it. The antique market is huge right now, but it's also very destructive. Values have been greatly skewed by what is trending or what someone saw someone else do in the antique shop window. Because a things actual rarity or actual historical significance is of no consequence in the equation, common things are left to rust while uncommon things get chopped up for someones Steampunk outfit.

An example would be the classic car market. It used to be that you could shop around a find a good project at a decent price and restore it within a budget. Now, any good projects that happen to fall out of a barn get cut up into "rat-rods," and the rust-bucket that's been in a field waiting for grandpa to die so it can go on the market, gets over-priced to the point that the rich artsy people are the only ones who can afford it because they aren't going to put any more money into them once they're cut up and sold as lawn art for a profit. I've read a lot of topics over on the Jalopy Journal of guys who have taken 1930's wreaks out of river beds that were seconds away from vanishing into rusty dust, and they stubbornly put the work into bringing them back. Most of those guys have become superior metal smiths and do amazing things, but it's out of necessity! Those cars aren't getting any more plentiful.

IMO many machine tools and measuring tools that are saved now are not going to gain any collector value in our life-time. The next owners life-time is still more likely, but that possibility can vanish a lot quicker.

All this stuff really is just "stuff," but IMO our history is too easy to be re-written these days. It greatly helps to have tactile reminders of the lessons we've already learned.
 
There is no doubt that the newer generations are lacking interest in a lot of this old stuff,however I do believe there will always be plenty of young fellas with a love for collecting old iron..the world has a lot of people and growing by the minute. If I had to guess it will probably fade away and then get more popular again over time... I’m actually amazed at how many young guys are in to blacksmithing and forging these days... The market for old tools and iron will fluctuate as will the interest .
 
While I can't add anything about the value of old tools and it is easy to generalize about young people ,I know there are a few young people who with some help and encouragement may be around to keep a few of the old tools and machines around in the future.
I know when I was young and starting out and over the last many years in addition to my father I had several mentors who helped and encouraged me.
Here is a link to an article about one young fellow that was featured in my local paper a few month's ago.
Model A restoration project a labor of love for Vankleek Hill's Clay MacWhirter - The Review Newspaper
Jim
 
The value of historically important objects is weird. Collectors' tend to value things based on unfulfilled desire or reputation. So, somehow ing like my South Bend Heavy Ten has several times the value of my Sheldon even though they're functionally identical because people know the South Bend name. It's even harder to value historical significance, if you get the collector or institution that has to have a particular object for whatever reason, the price can be quite high, but if you're trying to sell it in the open market and the three people in the world who would kill for your item aren't interested at the moment then it's worth little more than scrap.

My Neracar motorcycle is rare, different, and technologically significant, but it's also the cheapest 95 year old American motorcycle you can buy because very few people care about its innovations.

For insurance purposes, I'd probably take the sum of the purchase prices and adjust for inflation. Just like you average out paying too much for some pieces and getting a bargain on others, you can average the inflation from the middle of your collecting period.

Y'all are getting way too worked up about kids these days. You are forgetting that a lot of us bought this stuff cheap 20-30 years ago because no one wanted it. My shop has literal piles of blacksmith tools that were bought cheap because no one wanted them in the fifties and sixties.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
 
I agree Jim. My day job is in education and while it's easy to lump a younger generation into those that "don't like work and don't collect" some of the burden fall on us to lead the way. You never know what interest you will spark, even far down the road, by a quick demonstration.

Some students like the CNC but can also be receptive to a hacksaw.. :)

Best, -Kyle
 
You old codgers better pump the brakes on the youth hating! I'm 34 and just getting started with this stuff...i'm also not afraid of work or "figuring it out."
 
So you are 1 in 1000 that not on drugs and wants to learn a trade.. I mean this... my hat is off to you, now you get the other 999 in line would you please and save the country...Phil
 
From what I've seen, there's still a lot of younger people who enjoy antiques and collectibles of that nature, but for too many of them, very little thought goes into the future of the stuff.

Values have been greatly skewed by what is trending or what someone saw someone else do in the antique shop window. .

you say you are 32, but refer to the "antique shop window", few under 35 even knows what an antique shop is, they only know what they saw on "cable" back when that still existed. anyone under 25 only knows what they have seen on Facebook and instagram, and no one under 15 knows anything that's not on TikTok. :D:stirthepot:
 
Sorry if I am running this thread too far off topic.
I think older tools take on more value to younger people when they are associated with happy times and great experiences and great friends
Here are a couple of other links that feature young people at work and interested in vintage equipment even if they are a little off topic for this forum
http://www.pierregillard.com/articles/WilliamLEVACHER_EN.pdf
Pierre Gillard who was one of his instructors and also part of the DC3 project posted the story on his blog.
Passion Aviation
If you haven't seen them before you can see more links about the Plane Savers DC3 project mentioned in the article that I posted in post 5 & 6 of this thread where young people played a large part in the story mentored by so many people with years of experience.
https://www.practicalmachinist.com/...las-aircraft-1938-a-358107/?highlight=Douglas
This young fellow from the U.K. is certainly getting some great encouragement.
The Skymaster project is not just... - Save the Skymaster
It may not play too well if you aren't logged in to Facebook or perhaps it's just my slow internet connection .
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Jim
 
I have been scrounging for gems all my life. I see the guys in my local metalworking club getting older and older and sometimes I wonder if there isn't going to be some tipping point where suddenly the value of these former collectibles goes to zero, and the last owner loses out.
 








 
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