I am searching for a possible production date on my Mersman end table. I don't see any distinguishing marking besides a stamp on the bottom that says "Mersman 7375". Could you help me with this?
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Mersman tables were made in the middle part of the 20th century.
Mersman Furniture, while not one of the top of the line makers, has a long and storied history from the 1920s to the 1990s when they ceased production. This link gives some great info:
Without a photo it would be hard to give you info on your exact item as they produced so many pieces in their years.
When I research these pieces, I research by design and wood...meaning I would put into Google Images or eBay, Merman End Table Mahogany or two tier. You can even use Google Images to locate old advertisements for the pieces when they were sold new! That is fun!!
Some of their pieces still have value (people will pay for them) but the values are all over the board from $5 to the hundreds, depending on the exact piece and condition.
Most of what we see today are the mid century modern (MCM) pieces they produced in the 1950s and 1960s (mostly because this is the time in life when the folks who owned these lovely pieces are breaking up households, retiring and downsizing).
If you are looking to value your piece to sell, best to ONLY look at Ebay SOLD auctions to see what people are currently paying. People can ASK anything on the open market, so value is only determined what a person will actually PAY for it!
Hope this gets you started on your quest to learn more!!
Here are the photos, your response was very helpful!!
Glad I could help!
So without the side view--if this one is a match (see link) www.ebay.com/
Someone is ASKING $225 (includes shipping which would take about $35 to $50 off profits depending how they ship) + ebay/paypal fees (in the 20% range( (so the seller may gross in the approximate $130 range--if I am carrying my numbers correctly).
Now it looks like theirs is in EXCELLENT shape and yours seems to have a bit of damage that I can see so that will lower what people will pay and your final value.
If this is an exact match in style, to prep to sell yours, you may want to watch this auction and see if/when it sells and for how much, then deduct 10-15% to that value for a value for yours (to account for the damage).
The only challenge is if the seller accepts best offer...in that case, all you know is the starting prices as best offer could be anything from 1 cent to 1 cent under asking prices.
SOLD auctions are really the only way to know value as value is what people pay...not what someone asks or a book says it is worth. Sadly, if people won't pay for an item, it could be valued in the millions and sit on a shelf forever!
Selling big pieces online is not for the faint of heart. You have to be able to find a box big enough, pack carefully, haul it to the shipper, and pray it gets there in one piece.
You may be better served taking a little less and selling it locally through Facebook Marketplace, Craig's List, your local newspaper or to a vintage store. The benefit of the last one is they may either pay you outright and then worry about getting the higher value OR they may consign it for you so if your goal is to get it out of your house, you can put it in their showroom and wait for your money when it sells.
Happy selling/insuring/enjoying your lovely piece!
Mersman tables are well made but it is difficult to pin point a date when pieces were actually manufactured as no list is available showing correlation between Mersman numbers and date of manufacture.
I know that your question was about dating your table but it is always interesting to know something about the value of an item in our possession. From what I have found in my research, I believe your table was probably made between 1965-1995 but that is just my opinion.
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