It depends. The general rule states an antique is 100 years old or more. If it’s 20-99 years old, it’s vintage, and if it’s more recent but sells for more than its original price, it’s a collectible. Technically, that makes the diamond ring your grandfather gave your grandmother on Valentine’s Day in 1921 an antique; but the wedding ring he put on her finger on Christmas 1922 is vintage and won’t be an antique for nine more months.
But being an antique doesn’t necessarily mean an item is more valuable than a collectible. In 2021 a 2002 collectible Pokémon card sold for $32,200, a lot more than grandma’s diamond might bring. Unless, of course, that particular style of ring was also collectible. So where to look for such treasures?
The rings might be in antique shop or a vintage jewelry store, or the rings and Pokémon card could all be hiding behind last year’s garden gnome somewhere in a flea market. But what about folks who only want to browse certified antiques without having to pick through everything else – or who just love a good flea market browse and don’t care about antiques?
Luckily the Eureka Springs Antique Dealers Association has been pointing treasure hunters in the right directions for some 30 years, eventually with a color-coded distinction in their brochure between what they considered authentic antique dealers and other member shops so visitors could easily find their interest areas.
However, according to association president Phyllis Moraga, the discernment of the buying public has changed and become more eclectic over time, so this year the 15-member association of shops has taken steps to accommodate the shift – including a name change.
“We went from being the Eureka Springs Antique Dealers Association to the more inclusive Eureka Springs Area Antiques and Collectibles,” Moraga said. “Originally the association was only for antique dealers in the immediate area, and basically the only goal was to pay enough dues to cover the costs of a one-color informational brochure.
“This year our association has decided to take a more universal approach to advertising, now encompassing antiques, vintage items and collectibles under one association. The shops on the brochure’s map no longer have a color code distinction as to what they offer, just the descriptions they provide inside the brochure. This has allowed us to include some shops in Berryville and Holiday Island. Hopefully, this will turn out to be a good move for all of us.
“I took over as president of the association around 2013 when we decided it would behoove us to increase the number of brochures we print annually and send them to the Tourist Information Centers in Arkansas. About that same time, the group decided to offer space in our brochure for other businesses in town we thought our customers would enjoy visiting. Many of them were flea markets, or carried and sold antiques, but were not dedicated antique shops. The new dues helped us offset the cost of a full color tri-fold brochure and map and increase quantity to 15,000.
“Our group has just one meeting each year where we discuss new member applications, changes to the brochure, figure out our annual dues, catch up on changes, et cetera. Each member makes their own decisions about hours, what they sell, how they price and display and how they might or might not discount.
“The shops acquire merchandise in different ways: public auctions, estate and yard sales, other shops and individuals. Some go on buying trips across several states, some buy mainly within an hour or so distance. We do not include second hand or thrift stores, stores that sell new “old looking” merchandise, or stores that misrepresent their wares.”
Moraga’s own shop, Wonderland Antiques, is in its 27th season, but her love of finding started way before then.
“I started dump digging in my hometown of 350 people in Southeast Illinois when I was about eight or nine,” she said. “The bug hit me when my godfather wanted to barter for a Dr. Miles Heart Cure bottle I had found. He went from offering a Mason jar to a cream separator and up from there. I realized then that I could have fun finding things that other people would want.”
For more information on member shops see the ESAAC Facebook page: Eureka Springs Area Antiques & Collectibles. Some of the 15 member shops also have a page of their own. The 2022 brochure and location map is available around town, at the Chamber of Commerce and all Arkansas TICs.