You can identify most unknown objects by working through five questions in order: what it does, what it is made of, how it was made, what marks it carries, and how it has worn. Each answer narrows the next, and together they usually get you to a specific name and a rough date. Most finds from attics, barns and estates turn out to be everyday objects worth roughly $5-50. The ones worth more almost always have a readable maker's mark, a precious metal, or a scarce model that collectors look for.
Do not clean, polish or repaint anything before you know what it is. Original finish and grime are part of the evidence, and refinishing often halves the value of tools, metalware and militaria.
A triage flow for unknown objects
1. Function: what does it do?
Look for the parts that reveal a purpose: handles, blades, hinges, threads, sockets, springs, moving parts. Look at where it is worn, because wear shows where hands or tools touched it. A shiny spot on a handle, a dished surface on a block, a worn edge on a blade. Note the size against something familiar, since a two-inch tool and a two-foot tool are different objects even if they look alike in a photo.
2. Material: what is it made of?
A magnet and a kitchen scale answer more than color does:
- Iron and steel are magnetic. Brass, copper, aluminum, pewter and silver are not.
- Brass is yellow and heavy, aluminum is light and dull gray, pewter is soft and dark gray.
- Bakelite is dark and dense, and smells of formaldehyde after a minute under hot water.
- "German silver", "nickel silver" and "Alpaca" contain no silver.
Polished brass looks like gold and worn silver plate looks like sterling, so read marks before deciding.
3. Construction: how was it made?
Construction details date objects better than style does:
- Hand-cut dovetails and off-center slotted screws suggest work before about 1860.
- Square cut nails were common from about the 1790s to 1890s; round wire nails came after.
- Phillips screws appear from the late 1930s.
- Glass with a rough or polished pontil scar on the base was hand-blown. A mold seam that runs all the way over the lip means machine-made, about 1905 onward.
- Stamped sheet metal, spot welds and plastic parts point to the 20th century.
4. Marks: what does it say?
Check the underside, inside, back and any hidden surface. Useful marks include maker names and logos, model numbers, patent dates and country marks:
- "PAT. APR 12 1898" means made after that date, sometimes long after.
- "Nippon" about 1891-1921, "Made in Japan" after 1921, "Made in Occupied Japan" 1945-1952.
- "West Germany" or "Western Germany" 1949-1990. "Made in USSR" before 1992.
- A five-digit ZIP code in an address means after 1963.
Search the exact wording of any mark in quotes. A partial mark is a clue, not an identification.
5. Patina and wear: does the age look real?
Real age shows wear where hands, feet and use put it, with grime in the recesses. Artificial aging tends to be even all over, with fresh edges showing under paint or rust. Reproductions are common in cast iron banks, militaria, Depression glass and advertising signs.
The most common attic and estate finds
| Object | Approximate value |
|---|---|
| Most hand tools | $5-30 |
| Stanley No. 4 or No. 5 plane | $20-60 |
| Griswold or Wagner cast iron skillet | $20-100 |
| Unmarked cast iron pan | $10-25 |
| British WWI British War Medal | $30-50 |
| Bayonets, dog tags, insignia | $10-60 |
| Depression glass piece | $5-30 |
| Uranium glass piece | $20-100 |
| Silver plate set | $20-100 |
| Most postcards | $0.25-2 each |
| Real photo postcard of a small town | $10-50 |
| Singer sewing machine | $25-150 |
| Stoneware crock with cobalt decoration | $50-300 |
Tools
Most hand tools sell to people who want to use them, at $5-30. Collectors pay more for named makers and scarce models: a Stanley No. 1 plane is worth $500-1,500, and combination planes like the Stanley No. 45 and No. 55 with their cutters sell for $100-300. Patent dates cast into the body date many Stanley planes to a type.
Militaria and medals
Medals with a soldier's name engraved on the rim are worth more than unnamed ones, and research on that soldier adds more. A named British WWI trio typically brings $80-150. A US M1 helmet with the seam at the front of the rim points to WWII manufacture. Fraternal, school and sports medals are mostly $5-25 unless they are gold or silver. German WWII decorations are among the most reproduced items in collecting, and some countries restrict their sale.
Glassware
Pressed Depression glass in pink, green and amber is common and modest. Carnival glass has an iridescent surface; common pieces sell for $10-50. Uranium glass glows bright green under a UV flashlight, which makes it easy to identify. Cut crystal has sharp, polished cuts, while pressed imitations have rounded edges and mold seams. Most crystal stemware sells for $5-15 a glass.
Silver and silver plate
Read the mark before anything else. STERLING, 925 or British hallmarks mean solid silver worth at least its weight; EPNS, A1 and Quadruple Plate mean plate worth a few dollars a piece. Our guide to sterling silver versus silver plate covers the marks and the melt value math. For rings and chains, see is my old jewelry real gold.
Ephemera
Paper survives in shoeboxes: postcards, photographs, letters, sheet music and newspapers. Most is worth a dollar or two a piece. Real photo postcards (with a photo paper stamp box on the back, such as AZO or Velox) of storefronts, small towns and occupations sell for $10-50 and up. Famous historic newspapers, like the 1865 Lincoln issue of the New York Herald, are almost always later reprints worth a few dollars.
Kitchenware
Cast iron by Griswold and Wagner with a clear logo, Pyrex in popular patterns ($10-40), and stoneware crocks with cobalt blue decoration are the kitchen finds that sell. Ordinary enamelware, utensils and unmarked pans mostly sell for a few dollars.
Safety first: ammunition and restricted materials
- Ammunition and ordnance: if an object looks like a shell, grenade, fuze or live cartridge, do not handle it further, do not try to open or clean it, and contact your local police. Old ordnance can still be dangerous, even when it looks inert.
- Ivory, tortoiseshell and some animal parts: sale is restricted or banned in many places, including much of the US and the UK. Keep the item, but check local rules before listing it.
- Antique firearms: rules vary widely by country and state.
How to describe and photograph an unknown object
Good photos do most of the identification work. Take:
- The whole object from the front, side and top, with a ruler or coin for scale.
- The underside, back and inside, where most marks live.
- A sharp close-up of every stamp, label, patent date or number, in daylight without flash.
- Any moving parts, open and closed.
Then write down what a photo cannot show: the weight, whether a magnet sticks, where it was found, and anything the family remembers about it. A sentence like "found in my grandfather's workshop, he was a cooper in Ohio" can turn a mystery tool into a specific one.
What makes an everyday object valuable
Old and unusual is not the same as valuable. The things that move prices:
- Maker: a named maker with collectors behind it, such as Stanley, Griswold or Steuben.
- Rarity: a scarce size, model, color or variant within a common type.
- Material: gold, silver and some other metals set a floor value.
- Condition and originality: complete, unrestored, with original finish.
- Provenance: a documented history, such as a named soldier, a known factory or a famous owner.
If several of these line up, a specialist is worth contacting: an auction house for decorative arts and militaria, a tool collectors' association for planes and rare tools, and an accredited appraiser for anything going into an estate settlement. Coins found in the same box have their own logic, covered in inherited coins.