Rockville Centre Historical Society to host Appraisal Day

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The seemingly ordinary baseball card or stamp collection sitting on a shelf might actually be worth a great deal. By getting an antique or collectible appraised, its true value can be found, and often, it can be worth much more than anticipated.

On June 26 from noon to 4 p.m., the Rockville Centre Historical Society will host its ninth annual Appraisal Day event at the Phillips Museum, 28 Hempstead Ave.,  in which community members can bring in antiques, collectibles and old belongings to be appraised in hope of finding out that a certain item is more valuable than it may appear. Appraisal, or the assessment of an item by a qualified appraiser to estimate its value, gives them an idea of how much an item is worth.

“Stamps, coins, collectible pens, artwork, Disney items — any collectible really — can be quite valuable if they’re the right thing,” museum President Frank Seipp said. “Everything depends on condition and completeness. If you had a watch and its box, it would be worth 25 percent more than just the watch alone.”

The event will mark the Rockville Centre Historical Society’s first Appraisal Day since 2019, as the museum was unable to hold the event for the past two years due to Covid-19 restrictions. In previous years, the event has had over 100 attendees, and this year is expected to draw a similar or larger crowd.

Over the span of four hours, community members will visit the museum, register for a place in line and receive a number. Once their number is called, the appraiser will research the item(s) and provide a value estimate.

The Historical Society will offer tours of the Phillips House Museum while attendees await their turn to have their items appraised. The museum is a Victorian restoration built in 1880. It houses over 1,000 collectible pieces of housewares, tools, dolls, furniture and more.

The oral appraisal will be done by Philip Weiss, an expert appraiser with about 40 years of experience. He owns Weiss Auctions in Lynbrook and appears on PBS’s “Antiques Roadshow.”

While many items appraised have little value, finding a hidden gem is always a possibility. A pair of lamps that was worth about $30,000, a Topps baseball card collection worth about $40,000, and a Sitting Bull peace pipe are a few examples of items that have been discovered to be of great worth at previous Rockville Centre Historical Society appraisal days, Seipp said.

Many items can be appraised, but the museum requested that attendees do not bring jewelry or large pieces of furniture.

It will cost $10 for the appraisal of one item. For $25, attendees can have three items appraised and receive a free membership to the museum. All proceeds from the event will go toward expenses for the museum.

“It is important to preserve the past so you know where we came from,” Seipp said. “This event will help support us and keep it going.”

For more information, visit Rvchs.org or call the Rockville Centre Historical Society at (516) 764-7459.