Field Guides
What things are really worth.
Written by people who buy these things every week. No hype, no fishing: real ranges, real details, and the mistakes that quietly destroy value.
25 guides, updated as the market moves. Every range here comes from what we have actually paid or passed on in Southern California, not from auction records we cannot verify.
How to use these guides
Start with the category, not the price. Almost everything old gets valued the same way: what it is, who made it, when, and what condition it survived in. A guide walks you through those four questions for one kind of thing, then gives the honest range that follows from the answers.
Two warnings worth reading before you sell anything. Cleaning, polishing, and repairing almost always cost you money on old pieces, because the patina and original parts are part of what a buyer pays for. And a single detail can move a price by an order of magnitude, which is why the guides spend most of their length on identification rather than numbers.
If you have a box of mixed things and no idea where to start, you do not need a guide. Send photos and we will tell you what is in there.
Vintage Levi’s & Denim
What Is a Vintage Levi’s Jacket Worth?
We paid $12,000 in cash for one. Most are worth far less, a few are worth more. Here is how the market actually prices them.
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Levi's Denim Jacket Types: How to Tell a Type 1, Type 2, and Type 3 Apart
Every vintage Levi's jacket belongs to one of three families, and you can tell which in about ten seconds by counting pockets and looking at the seams. The details after that decide whether it is a nice old jacket or a very valuable one. Every jacket pictured below is one we bought.
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What Are Vintage Levi’s 501s Worth?
The same cut of jeans can be worth forty dollars or ten thousand. The difference lives in details most owners have never checked.
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How Much Are Old Levi’s Worth?
Most bring $40 to $150. The right pair brings thousands, and the records run to $87,400 and beyond. Five details separate one from the other, and you can check all five at your kitchen table.
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How to Tell If Your Levi’s Are Vintage
Five checks, five minutes, no expertise required. Any one of these is reason to stop and get a real evaluation.
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How to Date Levi’s: A Step-by-Step Guide
Every pair of old Levi’s carries a stack of date stamps hidden in its details. Here is how to read them, one by one, down to a narrow window.
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What Is Vintage Lee and Wrangler Denim Worth?
Most old Lee and Wrangler is worth modest money, but Storm Riders, hair-on-hide patches, and Blue Bell tags can change the math quickly.
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Where to Sell Vintage Levi’s in Southern California: Your Options, Compared
Consignment, eBay, trade-in programs, ship-in buyers, or a local cash buyer. Each one makes sense for somebody. Here is how to tell which one makes sense for you.
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Jewelry, Watches & Silver
What Is Estate Jewelry Worth?
How estate jewelry is really priced, from the melt floor to Cartier signatures, and the mistakes that quietly cost sellers thousands.
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What Is Old Gold Jewelry Worth?
Every piece of gold jewelry has a melt value floor. The expensive mistake is treating that floor as the ceiling, especially with signed and period pieces.
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What Is an Antique Diamond Ring Worth?
Old mine and old European cut diamonds were recut away for decades. The survivors now trade at a premium, and the period mounting is part of the price.
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What Is Costume Jewelry Worth?
Most costume jewelry brings $5 to $50, but Haskell, Trifari, Eisenberg, and real Bakelite bring far more, and they hide in ordinary boxes.
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How to Tell Real Bakelite: The Tests That Work and What It Is Worth
The most valuable plastic ever made looks exactly like the worthless kind until you test it. Here are the tests collectors actually use, and the ones that ruin pieces.
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What Is Old Turquoise Jewelry Worth?
Most turquoise jewelry is worth a little. A small fraction is worth a great deal. The difference is the stone, the silver, and who made it.
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What Is a Vintage Rolex Worth?
A stopped Rolex in a sock drawer can be worth more than a running one on a stranger’s wrist. Here is how the market actually prices them.
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What Is a Vintage Omega Watch Worth?
The same name on the dial can mean a three hundred dollar dress watch or a thirty thousand dollar chronograph. The difference lives in the reference number and what has been done to the watch since it left the factory.
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What Is Sterling Silver Flatware Worth?
The honest math on sterling flatware, from weighable melt value to the Tiffany and Georg Jensen patterns that sell for several times their weight.
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Selling Inherited Jewelry in Orange County: A Step-by-Step Guide
What to do first, what appraisal numbers really mean, and what buyers actually pay. A plain-language guide for families sorting through a jewelry box that suddenly became theirs.
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Where to Sell Vintage Jewelry in Orange County: Every Option, Compared Honestly
A jewelry store counter, a gold buyer’s scale, an auction consignment, or a buyer at your dining table. Each route nets a different number, on a different timeline, and the right one depends on what is actually in the box.
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Where to Sell Gold Jewelry in Orange County: Every Option, Compared Honestly
Scrap buyers all work from the same spot price. What separates a good sale from a bad one is whether anyone checks for the pieces worth more than their weight before anything gets melted.
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Vintage Clothing & Militaria
What Is a WWII Flight Jacket Worth?
The cracked leather jacket in the back of a Tustin closet may be a wartime A-2 worth thousands. Here is how to tell, and what decides the price.
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What Are Vintage T-Shirts Worth?
A shirt someone almost used as a shop rag can outvalue everything else in the closet, while a stack of carefully kept concert souvenirs is worth almost nothing. The difference lives in the graphic, the era, and one row of stitching.
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Pokemon & Trading Cards
What Are Old Pokemon Cards Worth?
The binder in your parents’ closet holds cards from a few cents to a few thousand dollars, and they look nearly identical. The difference lives in a tiny stamp, a missing shadow, and the corners.
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Where to Sell Pokemon Cards in Southern California: Your Options, Compared
A card shop counter, an online marketplace, a grading company, or a buyer at your kitchen table. Each one nets a different number, on a different timeline, for a different kind of seller.
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Where to Sell Pokemon Cards in Orange County: Every Option, Compared
A hobby-shop counter in Costa Mesa, a walk-in resale desk, an eBay listing, a weekend card show, or a buyer at your kitchen table in Irvine. Each one nets a different number, on a different timeline, for a different kind of seller.
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