Antiques

Most people understand that to be an antique, an object must be at least 100 years old (25 years for an automobile).

Assuming today is August 17, 2009, to be an antique, an object would have to have existed before August 17, 1909. An Indian head one-cent coin, commonly incorrectly called a “penny,” would qualify since those coins were last minted in 1909 before production began on the Lincoln head cents that same year. But how many people possess even one Indian head cent? Some may have silver dollar coins minted in the late 1880s or earlier, and they, too, would qualify using the standard definition.

But unless a person inherited something from a grandparent, he or she probably doesn’t possess any other antiques. As they get older, most people start to think of the toys from their childhood as antiques, as they fondly remember “the good old days.” But these are really just “collectibles” and not true antiques.

Fortunately, by the commonly accepted definition, “new” antiques are created every day. Since time does not stand still, something that is 99 years, 11 months and 30 days old today will be an antique tomorrow.

So hold on to everything you have and you will eventually be neck deep in antiques.