QUESTION OF THE WEEK: June 14, 2021.
Do you have a question and want to possibly be featured? E-mail me here and I’ll do my best to answer. Be sure to include QUESTION OF THE WEEK as the subject line. Keep in mind, my answers here are mostly general and should not take the place of a more in-depth and 
precise valuation.
QUESTION: “What’s the difference between vintage and antique?” – Debbie from Joliet, Illinois.
ANSWER: It’s subjective. There is no cut and dry definition for what is antique and what is vintage. For me, I prefer to note items as such:
- Antique: 100 years or older.
- Vintage – less than 100 years, but beyond the scope of my lived memory. I’m in my 40s, a child of the 1970s. But there is a chunk of the 1970s I don’t remember because I was a child. So that era to about the 1930s is what I would call vintage, your mileage my vary.
- Retro: Items that were once new in my lived memory but are no longer manufactured. Example: Cabbage Patch Kids. I remember the craze. It’d feel disingenuous for me to call them vintage. Again, your mileage may vary.
- Contemporary: Most items made within the last 20 to 30 years, particularly if they are still produced relatively unchanged. Again, your mileage may vary. For my job as a personal property appraiser I try to avoid the term “modern” when I can use “contemporary” because “modern” implies stylistic elements rather than simply meaning “new or newer.” “Contemporary” doesn’t hold the same implied meaning for most people.
Generally, I avoid “antique,” “vintage” or “retro” in my appraisal reports because I know they mean different things to different people.
I prefer to use more descriptive words in my reports; “Queen Anne-style” or “late 19th century” or “Mid-Century Modern” and others. I try to leave as little ambiguity in my written reports as possible. But I may use “antique,” “vintage,” or “retro” when casually discussing the market with a client.
Have more questions? E-mail me at grantmiller@grantmillerappraisals.com. In Illinois and looking for an antiques appraisal? Call or text me at 813-240-4586 (Chicago and elsewhere).