Someone once said there are three factors that determine the price of antiques that have nothing to do with their age. They are, condition, condition, and condition. So without seeing acimand researching it, it’s impossible to have any idea how to value it.
Another thing is the value someone places on a book, and the price someone wants to sell the same book for may be two completely different things. For example if you have a family bible passed down through the family for generations, it has tremendous value to you but it actually is a very common and normal quality bible. So the truth is your highly treasured family bible might really only be worth a few dollars if you wanted to sell it.
There really are three factors that determine price: condition, scarcity, and demand. The age of a book has little to do with its value. A first edition book from 1900’s will often bring a lot more than an ordinary book a couple of hundred years old. To a book dealer, a book from the 1800’s is not old. Instead a book needs to be dated in the sixteen hundreds or earlier to be considered old.
As has been already said the variable that most strongly affects the value of a book is its condition. And this includes that the book has its original jacket. Though the jacket may seem unimportant, in fact it is the most likely part to be damaged or missing. Sometimes in fact, the jacket might be more valuable than the book itself. Books with missing pages are almost always worthless no matter what.
So if the condition of a book is good, what other considerations affect its price? Price is really a reflection of how desirable it is. So the price of an antique book is determined by its significance, its rarity, and its attractiveness.
So what really sets the value of an antique book rarity or demand? Well, probably it depends somewhat on how patient the seller is.
Unfortunately, there really is no universal set price list. This is because prices are constantly changing. As a result each individual decides what to charge for their antique books. Reputable vendors whether online or local should have a good idea of what the fair market value of a book should be.
