Understanding Provenance from a Cast Iron Antique Collector’s Perspective
Jul 2nd
It’s said that everything in life has a story — so why shouldn’t the cast iron antiques that you love so much have a story? Indeed, when it comes to truly getting entrenched in the world of cast iron antiques, knowing where something is from is definitely a good idea. However, it can be difficult to really understand provenance in a meaningful way.
Of course, if you’re just starting out, you might be wondering exactly what provenance is, and what it has to do with cast iron in the first place.
Simply put, provenance as it relates to the cast iron collector simply means where the antiques actually come from. This is more than just where they were manufactured, since provenance actually covers who actually owned the cast iron in the past. For people interested in genealogy and other subsections of history, provenance when it comes to cast iron antiques is definitely a good thing.
The way provenance can be established with cast iron antiques is through pictures, journal entries, and other authentic records from the period where the owners of the now-antique pieces lived.
Cast iron antiques that have the highest resale price are usually the ones that have a proven provenance record that can be easily verified by the serious cast iron antique collector. It’s something that can really make the difference between getting a modest sum for your cast iron pieces and getting a very large sum for the same items.
Those that are interested in selling cast iron antique pieces that have been in their family for years may want to find any type of old journal entries or records — old receipts are still common, since cast iron is from a time before computerized shopping and checkout systems.
Overall, provenance plays a very strong role in cast iron antiques for the serious collector — if you’re ready to take your antique shopping to the next level, then you definitely want to make sure that you look closer into the provenance of cast iron antiques today!
Stop! Does That Cast Iron Antique Come with a Certificate of Authenticity?
Jul 2nd
In every hobby, there are the amateurs and then there are the serious enthusiasts. When you really start getting excited about cast iron antiques, it probably will not surprise you to learn that you will need to pursue different tactics than someone that isn’t as interested in cast iron.
One of the biggest things that you’ll notice as you transition into being a more serious collector is that you’re willing to spend a lot more money on quality pieces that are often hard to find. If this is the case, the biggest question you’ll mostly likely have is whether or not the piece you’re about to buy is real. If you spend a lot of time combing flea markets and garage sales, this is a question that can get tricky to actually answer confidently.
However, it doesn’t have to be that way at all. In fact, there’s one tool that many collectors of cast iron antiques use to make sure that they’re getting exactly what they want while avoiding the fakes and bad copies that often plague this side of the greater world of collectibles.
It’s a certificate of authenticity, which is exactly as the name implies: a true certificate that tells the buyer that the seller has exactly what is being sold. The best certificates of authenticity are actually directly from the manufacturer, and will help sellers of cast iron antiques get the true value of their collectibles without any hassle.
As a buyer, it’s definitely a good idea to ask about a certificate of authenticity if you’re concerned about whether or not the premium cast iron antiques that you’re looking at are truly the real deal.
Overall, if you take this one little tip to heart, you’ll have no problem getting the premium cast iron antiques you deserve!
Identifying Authentic Griswold Cast Iron Antiques
Jul 2nd
When it comes to cast iron antiques, it’s important to keep in mind that there are only a few companies that are well known for making quality cast iron. These companies may not always still be in business, which means that the cast iron antiques that are still available are definitely valuable.
One of the companies that many cast iron collectors frequently discuss is Griswold, a company that made quality cast iron from the mid 1860′s to the late 1950s. Contrary to popular belief, this company actually produced more than just cast iron cookware — hardware and other tools were also struck from quality cast iron, giving you plenty of options to choose from.
If you really want to start your cast iron antiques collection off to a good start, you can’t really go wrong with getting authentic Griswold cast iron. However, you will need to make sure that you identify it properly. The biggest thing to keep in mind is that there are many different signature marks for authentic Griswold cast iron.
The most common is the large circle with a cross inside it, which is what most collectors actually like. While the company was purchased in 1957, collectors will still accept the cast iron that was produced after this date. Unlike other types of collectibles, this specific category of Griswold cast iron antiques are still considered authentic and are not copies in any way. However, it’s important to also keep in mind that the earlier pieces will still fetch a higher price with collectors.
Naturally, if you can get several sets of Griswold cast iron, you will have no problem getting a higher price — even if you have to get the later cast iron antiques. Of course, you don’t have to focus on the resale value — that’s only one angle. If you want to just collect this beautiful cast iron for your own use, you can definitely do that too — get started today!