But there are a few things that can help us realizing an approximate period of a piece of furniture and if it is of value. Every time you do an inspection or find a piece of furniture, we can figure out if the furniture has value if:
- square head nails (if you have nails with rounded head the piece is not too old, square head nails were used until 1840).
- cut and fitting joints are not perfectly symmetrical (if they are means that was used a machine and this furniture was factory made, not handmade).
- the type of wood used (requires knowing types of wood, and if it's a wood like oak or mahogany the chances that the piece to be old are much higher, but this is not a requirement if you do not comply with the rest of the points).
- how big is the piece of furniture and if it's from a single piece of wood, (this means it was an old tree used for making the piece of furniture).
-drawers fixed without pieces made from materials like plastic or metal (if they have, the furniture is new or a reproduction/replica)
- If the edges are sharp the furniture probably is a new one
- a handmade piece of furniture that shows ornaments It is much more valuable than a simple one.
- shows changes of colors on certain portions (for some pieces that have stayed a long time in a certain place of the house some could have been more illuminated than the other and then you will notice changes of colors on certain portions of the furniture).
