Accredited Chicago antique appraisers & estate experts.
Serving Chicagoland over 50 years for Estate, Insurance, Donation Appraisals
✓ ISA Accredited Staff (International Society of Appraisers)
✓ Complimentary consultation
✓ USPAP and IRS compliant
✓ Expert level experience in assessing valuables
✓ Licensed, accredited and local – 50 years in business
✓ A team of dedicated professionals working on your behalf
Send photos for a fast estimate (usually same day)
Estate & Probate Appraisals
We provide documented valuations for individual objects and entire collections. Services range from a single heirloom to complete estate contents throughout Chicago and surrounding communities.
Insurance & Claims Appraisals
Accurate valuations for coverage, loss, and damage claims.
Decades of experience and accepted by major insurance providers.
What Is It Worth? (Single Items)
We understand that making decisions about valuable possessions can be complex. Our team specializes in providing accurate and reliable valuations for antiques, jewelry, artwork, and collections.
Charitable Donation Appraisals
We base every appraisal on real market data—verified auction results, collector demand, and current selling trends. Our valuations reflect what items actually sell for, not estimates or guesswork.
Resale & Auction Evaluation
Decades of hands-on experience across antiques, fine art, jewelry, and decorative objects. We identify value in pieces often overlooked or misjudged by general buyers and estate sale companies.
Independent, Unbiased Opinions
We pride ourselves on offering unbiased opinions. Our process ensures objective valuations because we never purchase the items we appraise. This commitment allows us to provide fair and accurate assessments, free from any potential conflicts of interest.
How We Identify Value in Items Others Often Overlook.
Resources that go beyond the internet
Our Chicago antique appraisal practice focuses on careful identification, research, and market analysis of historic objects and personal property.
Many items dismissed as decorative or sentimental often possess measurable collector value when properly examined. We evaluate antiques, vintage clothing, jewelry, art, and decorative objects using auction records, comparable sales, and material analysis to determine accurate market value.
Serving Chicago and surrounding suburbs, we provide professional appraisal services for estates, insurance documentation, charitable donation, and resale planning.
What you can expect
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Appraisals in a few easy steps
Expert personal property valuations in every category.
Our extensive experience in the antiques field enables us to expertly assess any collection.
Ancient Art & Antiquities
Contemporary Art
Glass & Porcelain
Paintings & Multiples
Fine Jewelry
How we’re different.
LIQUIDATORS
- Lots of hidden fees
- Uneducated pricing of valuables
- Little or no customer reviews
- Unlicensed activity
Lost Eras Appraisers
DO IT YOURSELF
- Intense crowds and pressure
- Hard to value items
- Weeks of work and setup
- Potentially hazardous situations in home
FAQs
Question not here?
Professional Ethics Statement
Our Promise to you
At Lost Eras we live by the motto “Integrity is doing the right thing, even if nobody is watching.” Our personal and professional ethics help us to pick the legitimate option in sensitive situations. We answer all questions with honesty and forthrightness. We will never take advantage of someone for momentary monetary gains because we believe in a greater universal kinship.
Use our connections to find the highest paying buyers.
What if you need help selling the items we appraise? Our long history in the antique and auction business can be put to work. We have helped many clients find the most appropriate avenues for sale.
Testimonials
What our clients have to say.
Chicago Antique Buyers
We buy antiques all over the country but specialize in Chicago as well.
Vintage Clothing
We are one of the biggest buyers of clothing in the midwest.
Estate Sale Services
We run full service estate sales online, or at the home