Appraisal of collectibles & antiques

I receive a lot of requests connected with appraisal of table lighters that were not described yet. Determining the price of a specific item is very difficult and one can give only a rough estimate. Why? Because you are supposed to be able to guess how much a buyer may pay for it within a specific period of time and sales conditions. 

Our market is not a perfect market. Mainly because perfect and global market information simply does not exist. It changed a lot due to the development of Internet but it is still not ideal. The price range for the same item may vary a lot. It depends among others on your focus group - who are you going to reach with the information that you want to sell it? Will you list your item on ebay? Yes? Then in what country? Or maybe an auction house would be better? Or selling it to your nearest antiques dealer or friend?... Well, everything depends on a lot of factors. In each case you might be almost sure that you will receive a different amount of money for you item. 

For you consideration find all ebay listings on the Dunhill Pistol Lighter. Then check this post here and take a look at the appraisal which was included in the Miller's Collectables Price Guide 2004 edited by Judith Miller:

Speculation and long-term investment in vintage cigarette lighters

Lighters collectors are usually both buyers and sellers. Some of them collect lighters because of self-actualization, some of them think about their grandchildren and others perceive it as an investment or just as a alternative for paper money. Investing as well as speculation requires knowledge, luck and taste. It refers also to vintage cigarette lighters. You probably won't be a millionaire though you can benefit on your unique knowledge on lighters. How? What kind of profit do we talk about?

Let's consider you have bought a Dunhill ‘Aquarium’ lighter on a garage sale for $20 in excellent condition five years ago. The previous owners did not know that this table lighter was something special - they even did not know where to find any information about it. It would help to know that this lighter was manufactured in relatively small amounts in England in the 1950's and that it was hand-painted by Ben Shillingford.


So you have made a fantastic deal from todays perspective. Such bargains happen also today though the future will change it. The main reason for it is the wide-spreading Internet and easy accessible sources on vintage lighters. Additionally there number of people who find collecting lighters amusing rises. The limited supply and rising demand causes that the prices of particular examples of lighters will go up.

Going back to our story, three years ago you decided to sell it on ebay as the prices for it was astonishing high - average price for it (excellent condition) was at $1700-1900. You sold it though you still have monitored the market for the Aquarium Dunhills just for curiosity. You are not happy anymore, because since than the dissonance of your decision rose. Why? Because the price you could get was also rising and now you would get for it more than $3300. There are more examples of lighters that experienced such astonishing value appreciation.

The highest increase of value can be registered particularly in some luxury niche brands like Dunhill or DuPont. The time will probably also come to some lighters from more popular brands like Evans, like the Phinney Walker Evans lighter alarm clock. To a higher demand for particular lighters do contribute museums, galleries, antique guides, cigarette lighter books, movies etc. The more a lighter is showed, described, admired the higher value might can expect...

How much is my vintage cigarette lighter worth?

General speaking, the value of a lighter can be identified with the price someone is ready to pay for it. This thesis would be correct if only the market would be perfect (perfect information and perfect competition). Of course it is not. That is why collectors search for a better way of valuating their trophies. The simplest way is to look for the most up-to-date reference sources, like ended auctions or on-line guides.

Estimating the value of vintage lighters is a very complex process. One need to take into account several factors. The collectors value depends on:

1. Condition

The condition is one of the most fundamental issue for a collector. The most sought after are lighters in mint, pristine condition. The poorer the condition the less valuable is a lighter. It is often the case that the difference in pricing between a lighter in good condition and mint condition is 45-75%. It is worth to now that a mint cigarette lighter should include packaging, instructions, tags etc. To such lighters one refers to as "old new stock" (abbreviated ONS) or "mint in box" (abbreviated MIB).

2. Age

In general, the older the lighter is the better. The main reason for it is scarcity and condition. It is much easier to find a Ronson Crown manufactured in 1952 than a Ronson Crown in the 1936 in excellent or mint condition. Furthermore the closer we are of the modern times the closer the mass production economy model.

3. Brand, model, country, style of origin etc.

People collect everything. I am quite sure it would be impossible to find anything that comes to your mind that people do not collect. The only issue is many of them collects what. Regarding vintage cigarette lighters, collectors often specialize in collecting lighters that can be ascribed to a distinct category, like: German lighters, pocket lighters, figural lighters, lighters made by Evans, lighters made of silver, Art Deco lighters, wick table lighters, etc. The price of a lighter will than depend on the amount of collectors of its kind and fashions. Of course not only lighter collectors look for vintage lighters. You should take into consideration for instance people who are decorating their homes in one particular style, like Art Nouveau - they also will look for lighters in Art Nouveau style.

4. Scarcity

The most important factor for scarcity is the amount of lighters that were manufactured. One can also include the problem of wars in which a lot of goods is being destroyed, etc.

5. Quality and materials used for production

It is quite obvious that a lighter made of gold is more valuable than the one made of silver. The same counts to fine craftsmanship.

OK, are that all factors? Of course not, but these are the most important factors that must be considered in you estimation.

The nominal value of a lighter

Due to inflation the real value of money decreases. It refers to all currencies whether it is a dollar, euro or pound. In opposite to paper money gold does not lose its value due inflation. That is why it is the best mean in the analysis to compare prices and the purchase power of money long term. The nominal value often differs from the real market (collectors) value.

Zippo case study: The market value for a Lady Bradford Zippo table lighter in 1950 (see advertisement from Life magazine from 06.05.1950) was $10. Actualizing the $10 price tag the nominal value today should be much higher. One once of gold in 1950 cost $40,25 and in 2008 it was near $872. It means in 1950 you could buy for one once of gold only 4 Lady Bradford Zippos! In terms of nominal value the very same Lady Bradford would cost today $218. But it does not - you can have it in mint condition at ebay for approx. $150. Can someone explain why? What happened here? What has changed in these years?

PS. The Zippo Lady Bradford was manufactured between 1949-1951. In addition Zippo started in 1997 (production ceased in 2002) a reissue of the classic Lady Bradford calling it Lady Barbara. It is still available for approx. $100.
PS2. The yearly gold prices since 1793 can be found here.