Found something in grandma’s attic? How to find out what it is

First, take your time

Going through a loved one’s things is rarely just a sorting job. There’s no need to decide anything today, and a few unhurried first steps protect both the memories and the value:

• Don’t clean, polish or repair anything yet. Polishing can strip the patina from bronze and silver, cleaning coins can damage them, and refinishing old furniture can lower what it’s worth. Dust is fine.
• Keep things together. Boxes, receipts, letters, old photos of the piece in the house and notes in a drawer can tell you what something is and where it came from. That history can matter as much as the item.
• Photograph things where you found them before moving them, especially if several family members will want to see what there is.
• Talk to the family before selling. The piece you’d never keep may be the one a cousin remembers from every holiday.

Look for marks, signatures, labels and patents

Whatever the maker wrote on a piece is the surest way to a name. Look underneath, on the back, inside drawers and lids, and on clasps.

• Silver: “Sterling” or “925” means sterling silver. “EP”, “EPNS”, “silver plate”, “quadruple plate” or “A1” mean silver-plated. British silver carries a row of small hallmarks, including a lion for sterling.
• Jewelry: look inside rings and on clasps. 10K, 14K and 18K (or 417, 585 and 750) are gold content. “GF” is gold-filled; “GP”, “GEP” and “HGE” are gold-plated; “RGP” is rolled gold plate. A stamp is a claim, not proof, and a jeweler can test the metal.
• China and porcelain: the backstamp usually gives the maker and often the pattern name. A country name on the mark, like “England”, is typical of pieces made after 1891, when U.S. import rules began requiring it. “Made in Occupied Japan” dates a piece to the postwar occupation; the mark was used on exports from 1947 to 1952.
• Paintings and prints: check the signature, then the back for gallery, framer or exhibition labels. Under a magnifying glass, a regular pattern of tiny dots usually means a printed reproduction. Prints signed in pencil and numbered, like 45/200, are limited editions.
• Furniture: paper labels and stamps hide inside drawers, under seats and on back panels.
• Patents: “Pat. Apr. 12, 1887” or “Pat. No.” tells you the design was patented then; the piece was made on or after that date, often years later. “Pat. Pend.” means the patent was applied for, not granted. Looking up a patent number online can give you the inventor and the product’s name.
• Toys: a year molded on a toy is usually the copyright or design date, not when that piece was made.

Write down exactly what each mark says, letter for letter, even if it means nothing to you yet.

Identify it from a photo

1. Photograph the mark, or the whole piece. On Spotter Otter, choose Add photo, then take a photo or upload one. If there’s a mark or label, photograph that sharp and straight on, in daylight.
2. Add what you know. Type the mark’s wording if it’s faint, and anything the family knows, like “grandpa brought this back from Germany.”
3. Check what it says. Spotter Otter reads visible marks, labels and model numbers, uses eBay’s image search for clues, and writes a description. If it isn’t sure, it says so.
4. Compare with the closest listings. It also shows the closest items on eBay right now. Look for the same mark and the same shape, not just a similar look.

Your photo isn’t stored. It’s sent to OpenAI and eBay to identify the item. Keep family papers, addresses and faces out of the frame.

What is it worth? Start with sold listings

Spotter Otter doesn’t appraise items. For a first idea, search eBay for the maker and pattern or model, and turn on the Sold items filter to see what similar pieces actually sold for in recent months. Match the maker, pattern, size and condition, look at several sales, and ignore asking prices on listings that haven’t sold. Where a sale shows “Best offer accepted”, the buyer paid less than the price shown.

Be ready for either answer. Some things families treasure, like everyday dinnerware, are common on eBay and sell modestly. Other plain-looking pieces turn out to be sought after. Neither changes what the piece means to you.

When to get a professional appraisal

Sold listings are a starting point, not a valuation. Get a professional appraisal when:

• similar pieces have sold for high prices, or you can’t find anything comparable at all;
• it’s fine jewelry with stones, signed artwork, a large silver service, antique furniture, a rare book or anything with documented history;
• you need a written value for insurance, for dividing an estate among heirs, for estate taxes, or for a large charitable donation, where the IRS can require a qualified appraisal.

Choosing an appraiser: look for credentials from an appraisal organization such as the American Society of Appraisers, the International Society of Appraisers or the Appraisers Association of America, with a specialty that fits your piece. Expect to pay a set fee or by the hour, not a percentage of the value, and get a second opinion if an appraiser offers to buy the item. An auction house may give a free estimate of what a piece could bring at auction; that’s useful, but it isn’t a formal appraisal.

Keep the set together: watch for matching pieces

Often the goal isn’t to sell at all. It’s enough place settings of grandma’s china for every grandchild, the other earring, the missing volume, or a replacement for the cup that broke in the move.

• Use the backstamp. Start a Spotter with the maker, the pattern name and the exact piece: Franciscan Desert Rose cup and saucer.
• Say what matters. “Same backstamp”, “no chips” or “set of four” become must-haves that Luna, Spotter Otter’s AI, checks in each new listing. A listing that doesn’t say comes to you as a Maybe match so you can look at the photos yourself.
• Set your price from what you saw in the sold listings.

The Spotter only alerts you to listings posted after it starts, by email and on your Alerts page. For more on completing a set, see replacing a missing piece, and for things picked up at sales rather than handed down, see garage sale finds.