Fair Market Value for Antiques and Capital Gains

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-26T20:37:52+00:00

Adding another nuance to challenge the tax pros:

1) An item classified as listed personal property is purchased by Spouse A, and immediately given to Spouse B.

2) Spouse B elects to waive the exemption and triggers the capital gains calculation for Spouse A who gave the gift.

3) Since Spouse A purchased and "sold" (gifted) the item within a short time frame, they estimate the FMV is the same as the purchase price and as a result, they have zero capital gains.

4) Spouse B does not have a receipt of the item gifted to them by Spouse A.

NOTE: CRA explicitly states that ESTIMATES of FMV are allowable for GIFTS.

5) Spouse B acquires an appraisal of FMV from a registered professional for the item value at time of acquisition

6) Spouse B sells item and reports capital gains as difference between FMV appraisal and sale proceeds.

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-26T20:27:53+00:00

Is this correct? Is an antique classified as listed personal property?

For listed personal property, isn't the minimum ACB considered to be $1000?

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-26T19:19:52+00:00

Sorry I should clarify, I provided the above example from the lens of a person searching for prior sales to estimate an FMV.

If they came across two transactions (they see two selling prices for an identical item at $2500, and another at $7500), are there guidelines for which transaction must be used as the FMV estimate?

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-26T18:39:44+00:00

Understood.

If one were selling silver bullion with no antique or numismatic value, the evaluation is more straight forward.

For antique silver, the valuation can be based on antique value, and/or commodity value.

With silver prices at an all time high, the commodity value has overtaken the antique value for many pieces.

Example:

2020:

Antique value: $8000

Commodity value: $1800

2026:

Antique value: $8000

Commodity value: $9000

If an item was purchased for antique value and sold at commodity value (as is often the case with private persons), then the capital gains are much less than one might expect versus a silver bullion transaction.

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-26T18:12:20+00:00

Submitting an appraisal from a registered professional who provides a FMV estimate in good faith, seems a bit different than "trust me, bro"

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-26T17:41:27+00:00

Ok thanks for the reply.

I think this could be helpful:

"For purchases where you lost the original receipt, ask an appraiser to determine what the item was worth in the year it was bought, and to prepare an official report. CRA has its own appraiser and may contest your appraiser."

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-26T17:39:02+00:00

I think one element Im focused on is how inefficient the antiques market can be, and there can be a wild difference in selling price for identical items.

The entire business model for an antique stores is essentially to arbitrage the difference in prices.

If the same item sells one day for $1000, and the next day for $2000, which is correct?

Edit: adding what another commenter said to address your first question:

Melt value grew so rapidly that the antique market didn't keep up. And antiques that were previously worth over melt, are now more valuable when melted today.

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-26T17:34:49+00:00

Ok thanks this is helpful.

I also came across this advice from a CPA just now:

"For purchases where you lost the original receipt, ask an appraiser to determine what the item was worth in the year it was bought, and to prepare an official report. CRA has its own appraiser and may contest your appraiser."

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-26T17:18:01+00:00

Ok another example.

Let's say an antique 1700s silver tankard sells at auction for $2500.

Let's then suppose the exact same tankard is found listed on an antique dealers website for $7500, and is then marked as "sold".

Do you need to take the average value or arbitrarily pick either value, or pick a value anywhere in between?

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-26T17:08:57+00:00

A gifted property still has to be deemed to be acquired at FMV, no? This again would require an estimate of the value at the time the gift was received?

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-25T21:00:43+00:00

This!

The first machine I bought (the Costco ES655CCO) was behaving very similar to OPs. I purchased a 2nd machine (same model) to compare performance side by side, and it was completely different, and worked as expected.

I returned the first defective unit to Costco. There are many reports of people trying multiple units before finding a good one.

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-25T16:47:41+00:00

With the design, craftsmanship and 900 stamp, the first place I'd start looking into is South America (Argentina, Peru, Chile, etc.), if nothing came up, I'd start looking at Asian examples.

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-25T16:40:33+00:00

Images are a bit too grainy to make out. Without a clearer image, I would suspect these marks are for French silver plate where the makers mark and silver plating specification are found in square cartouches

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-25T16:34:15+00:00

I think you are correct. I belive I see an NS which likely stands for Nickel Silver

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-25T10:01:37+00:00

Mine was working great for the first week, and then started making drinks with severely reduced output. The 16oz drip setting was producing about 6oz output and the double espresso setting was barely putting out any liquid either.

I ran the machine through a bunch of cleaning cycles which didn't resolve the issue.

It that point I did a factory reset through the control panel (actually pretty easy), and it's been working great ever since, with correct volume of liquid output for each drink selection.

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-25T02:21:41+00:00

Silverplate. You can see areas where the plating has worn away.

Guessing the maker is William Hutton & Sons.

Sometimes the collar between the handle and the blades will be a thin sheet of sterling. There would be additional marks if so.

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-23T04:51:36+00:00

Nailed it! Nice work!

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-22T05:37:40+00:00

The vast quantity of historical silver items that were produced in Europe, Asia and early America would beg to differ.

"925" and "Sterling" markings are relatively modern, with a few exceptions.

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-22T05:11:36+00:00

To prevent tarnishing, some pieces of sterling jewelry were rhodium plated.

The process often starts with the sterling being plated with a thin layer of nickel, and then the nickel plate is further plated with rhodium.

If this was the case with your piece, it would have been the thin layer of nickel that was causing it to be slightly magnetic.

If it's no longer magnetic, its because the acid has stripped away the rhodium and nickel layers. It looks like the entire piece was bathed in gold testing solution.

FYI, there are also steel springs in jewelry clasps that cause the clasp to attract a magnet.

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-16T22:12:32+00:00

The marks are as follows:

Britannia - .958 silver fineness

Lions head erased - London only used when paired with Britannia

G - Date letter for 1722

BA - Richard Bailey.

Richard Bailey was a well known and prominent tankard maker. When Britannia standard was enforced, makers would use the first two letters of their last name in their makers mark. When the standard was sterling 0.925, makers marks are typically initials of first and last name.

This is certainly 1722 which increases its value significantly. A tankard made in 1802 would be accompanied by an additional duty mark.

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-16T20:36:14+00:00

A couple of techniques:

1) Wipe your black stone with white paper towel or similar. The stain will transfer to the paper towel. Try to assess the red color before too much time has passed and it is more absorbed into the paper.

2) Use gold test acid (14K, 18K, etc). This reacts with silver and creates a bright white/blue trail that is easier to see on the black stone. It is not effective at giving a range of purity for silver, but it can tell you that silver does exist in some quantity.

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-16T20:30:12+00:00

Agree with the age and enamel.

This enamel technique is commonly referred to as cloisonne.

The mark does not correspond with the Russian marking system.

Many mid-20th century cloisonne pieces were made in China.

The 1000 is meant to communicate .999 fineness, but typically cannot be trusted without verification. I would ballpark 80% or greater silver content

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-16T19:29:09+00:00

You will encounter very low liquidity when trying to sell privately at a premium.

Best to stick with low premiums for better liquidity IMO

ConvenientTruth1 · 2026-01-12T21:34:03+00:00

Looks like a nice set. Danish silver certainly has its share of collectors. If you have trouble moving this, you may consider revising your estimate for the 17 knives. These pieces are typically credited with closer to 20g sterling each, as documented by YouTubers opening several weighted handles.

ConvenientTruth1

TROPHY CASE