Guides
All guides
Everything published so far, grouped by category. Pick a category, or scroll down for the full list.
Hallmarks, makers, patterns
Silver
4 guides
Browse silver →
First editions, bindings, jackets
Books
3 guides
Browse books →
Penny Blacks, collections, covers
Stamps
3 guides
Browse stamps →
Sovereigns, silver, grading
Coins
3 guides
Browse coins →
Campaign and gallantry medals
Medals
2 guides
Browse medals →
Estates and house contents
Probate
2 guides
Browse probate →
GuideHow to read British silver hallmarksFour punches, read left to right, tell you what the metal is, where it was tested, when, and who made it. This guide walks through each one with real pieces.
GuideSolid silver or plate? Six tests you can do at the kitchen tableMost inherited "silver" is plated. Here are six ways to tell before you weigh it, in the order a specialist would try them, and what each one can and cannot prove.
GuideSilver date letters, explainedEvery British assay office stamped a letter that changed once a year. Here is how the cycles work, why the shield matters more than the letter, and how to find the year without a book.
GuideScrap value or auction value? How to decide what to do with old silverEvery piece of silver has a floor, which is its weight in metal, and some have a ceiling far above it. A method for telling which is which before you sell.
GuideFirst edition or first printing? The difference that moves the price"First edition" on a copyright page does not mean what most sellers think. Here is what the trade means by edition, impression, issue and state, and which one the money follows.
GuideHow to identify a first edition, publisher by publisherThe rules for spotting a first printing differ by publisher and by decade. A working list for the British and American houses whose books come up most.
GuideWhat makes an old book valuableAge on its own is not it. Demand, scarcity, condition and the dust jacket decide the price, and the jacket alone can be nine-tenths of it.
Price guideWhat a Penny Black is worthThe world's first postage stamp is common, famous and much misunderstood. What decides its price, from margins and plates to the colour of the cancel.GuideHow to value an inherited stamp collectionThe catalogue price is not the selling price. How dealers and auction houses look at an album, what they pay for, and what they leave in the box.ExplainerFirst day covers: are they worth anything?Most are worth pounds, a few are worth hundreds, and the difference is the date. A short guide to the covers people find in boxes.
Price guideWhat a gold sovereign is worthEvery sovereign carries a quarter of an ounce of gold, so the floor is easy to find. The dates, mint marks and grades that lift some far above it.
GuideOld coins: what actually sells from the tin in the drawerMost tins of old coins are worth less than their owners hope, and a few contain something. The categories that carry value, and the ones that do not.ExplainerHow to grade a coin, and why you must never clean oneSix words describe the condition of every coin the trade sells, and each step between them changes the price. A short course, with the one rule that protects value.
GuideWhat war medals are worthA medal's value is decided by who received it, what for, and whether the group is complete. A guide to British campaign and gallantry medals for the people who inherit them.GuideHow to research a medal from the name on the rimWith a name, a number and a regiment you can find the man, the battalion, the battles and sometimes the day he died. The records, most of them free, and the order to search them in.
GuideProbate valuation of house contents: what HMRC expectsThe executor has to put a figure on everything in the house. Here is what the figure means, when a professional is needed, and the mistakes that cost estates money.
GuideHow to clear a house without giving away the two things in it that were worth somethingEvery cleared house had something in it. A room-by-room list of what to look for before the clearance van arrives, and how to get an opinion for nothing.Auctions
Auctions
1 guide. The category page also has recent sale prices.
