We once had a man call into our radio show to ask if an old laundry slip he'd been holding onto, signed by Lee Harvey Oswald, was worth anything. Was it ever! Our autograph expert, Paul Hartunian, told him it was easily worth $7,000 at that time.

Do you have a trinket or keepsake that you think might be worth something? Well, an appraiser can tell you whether that broach you inherited from your Aunt Sally is worth anything (besides its sentimental value, of course.) There are a couple of other reasons you might want to have something you own appraised.

First, it can be very useful for insurance purposes. If something happens to your "stuff" (say it's stolen or destroyed), you have a much better chance of getting your insurance company to pay you for the full value of your possessions if you can present an authenticated appraisal of your belongings. Plus, knowing how much your stuff is worth lets you pay only for as much insurance coverage as you really need to insure your goods.

Appraisals can be useful if you plan to donate something to charity. The IRS wants a professional appraisal if you want to deduct anything worth more than $5,000. An appraisal can also come in handy if you're dividing an estate.

Whatever the reason, here are some tips for finding and working with an appraiser. We recommend visiting the American Society of Appraisers for a list of members in your area.

Once you have the names of an appraiser or two, call and ask a few questions:

• What is your appraisal and educational background? You want someone with five years' experience.


• What specific experience do you have with the type of items I need appraised? If you need antique jewelry appraised, not all appraisers will do it. You don't want to use an appraiser who has to farm out any of his work to other appraisers.


• How long will it take you to do the appraisal? Appraisers usually charge by the area (anywhere from $75 to $125 an hour.) Avoid appraisers who want a percentage of the item's value (that could give them incentive to overestimate an item's value) and avoid an appraiser who offers to buy an item from you. If you're having a house full of belongings appraised, it typically costs about $2,000.

Straight Talk Tip: Be sure you know what kind of value your appraiser is using; the "fair market" value (what any consumer would pay - based on the appraised value - on the fair market today), the "liquidation" value (what you could sell it for today without an appraisal if you ran a newspaper ad), or the replacement value (what it would cost to replace.)

Once you get your jewelry, antiques and other collectibles appraised, tuck a copy of your appraisal in your insurance records and put the original in your safe-deposit box.

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