With personal property, many people assume that the personal property appraisal sets a definitive price for that item. But the personal property value is unlike the real estate appraisal where only one value is established. The personal property value depends on the type of appraisal that was done and can consist of four different values!

For example, let’s say you are a personal representative for your parent’s estate and inherit a 50 piece set of Baltimore made Stieff Co. Rose pattern sterling silver flatware that was purchased in 1940 for $150. This is the Original Value established at the point and date of purchase. Updating your insurance, you want an idea of what it would cost in today's dollars to replace the set.

This is the most common appraisal known as the Insurance or Replacement Value appraisal. It's done to establish what you could replace the silver for in today's dollars - not what you could sell the flatware for. The appraiser's motive is to establish a replacement value to find the same or like item in a retail marketplace. And in today's marketplace, Baltimore Stieff Silver is selling for about $50 per piece when ordered through the Stieff Catalog. So the appraised value is $2,500 for the set, certainly the highest value you could place on the silver.

Now let's say the State of Maryland comes knocking at your door, claiming that when you settled the estate, the silver was not included. With the State breathing down your neck (usually represented in Estate situations by the local Register of Wills), you knew the original value from the 1940 receipt for $150 would not be acceptable by them and that $2500 for second-hand silver, not brand new, was too high. The State is seeking a realistic value somewhere in between—the "fair" worth of the silver.

What the State requires is a Fair market Value appraisal, often referred to as the Estate appraisal. Fair market value being defined as the price established between a willing seller and a willing buyer in an open marketplace (such as an Auction). In this case the fair market value would be based on a combination of factors including recent auction records, wholesale, retail and second hand market information as well as silver reference books, price guides and jewelry stores. It should be noted that Auctioneers who also appraise can usually offer the most accurate fair market appraisals as they have current "hands on" experience in the marketplace and greater access to the most recent sales information. Currently Stieff Silver is selling at our Auctions (and throughout the State) at an average of $ 25 per piece establishing the fair market value of the set at about $ 1,250.

All of a sudden, a year after you've remarried, your husband wants to get rid of the silver. Hates it! Here we need a Liquidation Value appraisal. That is the value of the silver if sold without due process, under duress, and sometimes without a willing seller. As each utensil weighs 1 ounce, the appraiser multiplies 1 times $8 per oz., the value of silver per ounce today. This liquidation value, known by pawnbrokers as the melt value, is now $ 8 each for each knife, fork and spoon in the set or $400 for all 50 pieces.

So which Personal Property value is most similar to the Real Estate value? Which appraisal most accurately establishes a ball park figure for the final selling price? The Original value of $ 150? The Replacement value of $ 2,500? The Liquidation value of $ 400? Or the Fair Market value of $ 1,250? I've found that, with access to an open marketplace, a seller should be able to find a buyer to pay 40-60% of the Replacement value for most personal property. And that Estate appraisals, when done by an appraiser with a keen eye on the marketplace, consistently establish reliable guidelines when it comes to selling.

*The above guide is provided by Caplan's Auction Co. who provide hundreds of Certified Appraisals a year for, Estates, Insurance, Attorneys, Divorce and Personal Representatives. Our clients include Liberty Mutual and Nationwide Insurance Groups, The Blind Industries and Services of Maryland, Charlestown Retirement Village as well as dozens of law firms and attorneys throughout the metro area. Caplan’s is certified in all Maryland Counties as well as Baltimore City and Washington D.C.