Value of a Lane Cedar Chest?

Judy
Gold Post Medal for All Time! 677 Posts

September 24, 20180 found this helpful

Yours would be at the low end. They range from $99 to $700, with the majority between $200-$400.

Pghgirl40
Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 196 Feedbacks

September 24, 20180 found this helpful

You have (to me) an unusual lane piece. I don't think I have seen one with the lovely legs like yours has!

There is NOT an exact match to yours on eBay either in current or sold so I can't give you a value today. The market changes daily, so may find an EXACT match tomorrow or next week.

Exact matches are critical to valuing items because some Lane's have almost no value, and some have held their value. If you compare yours to a one that is not identical, you could end up miss-valuing your piece and getting too little or having it sit for sale for months with no lookers.

I recommend checking eBay or Google for the furniture auction houses to find examples of SOLD ones to get your exact value.

When have sold these pieces I have never used the numbers...most people want to know wood, size, and type (like blanket or trunk) and leg style. It looks like yours are spool legs or maybe sheraton, but it is an odd angle, so I am not 100% positive.

You can use this link to match the leg styles:

www.google.com/search?q=leg+styles+for+furniture...:

You may want to contact Lane if you have a lock on yours to talk to them about the issue with product safety of their locks--you can read this link and see if your trunk is affected:

www.lanefurniture.com/.../product-safety.html

If you are looking for a quick sale for your piece...most of the plain chests sell for an average of 300-400 dollars.

Unusual chests (those with legs fetch a little more, between the 400-500 dollar range. These are retail prices--meaning seller to buyer online....

If you try to sell on Facebook, Next Door etc. you can start at these values, but you will need to drop them to sell. Been there, done that.

You an also take good photos to an antique dealer and see what he/she will give you...that is easier than trying to sell it online (in any fashion).

Good luck! It is a truly lovely piece! I wish I had room for it!

lovethesunshine

September 24, 20180 found this helpful

Thank you very much for your helpful and meaningful comments. Would it be worth having this piece refinished?

Thanks again!

 

Pghgirl40
Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 196 Feedbacks

September 24, 20180 found this helpful

For resale refinishing often devalues the piece. If you are going to keep it, then you can and will enjoy the fruits of your labor!

 

cybergrannie
Gold Feedback Medal for All Time! 949 Feedbacks

September 24, 20180 found this helpful

Well - looking at the condition of the outside of your chest I would tend to think it would only be of interest to someone that wanted (or desperately needed) a storage place for blankets/quilts.

• It is for sure your chest would have to be bought by someone who intended to refinished it (and the veneer is a wreck on the bottom piece) or planned to keep it covered (hidden from view) or had a basement where it could be used.
• Don't get me wrong - there are people out there looking for pieces to refinish but they generally want a real bargain and no shipping costs. That generally means it would have to be listed in your area to sell.
• This is what I have found about dating a Lane cedar chest but your numbers do not correspond to this explanation but it is possible your chest is older and the numbering system was changed. Does your chest actually have Lane markings or does this happen to be what your mother remembers? Could it be another brand? I'm not sure this is the only way to date the chest so I'm just asking.
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• "All Lane cedar chests have a serial number. It doubles as the manufacturing date the chest was made when you read the number from right to left or backward. This means a chest generally has a five- or six-digit number that tells the month, day and two-digit year it was built. A chest built on April 1, 1940, would read from left to right 04140. Chests manufactured on two-digit days and in two-digit months generally have at least six digits. If the serial number has seven digits, the first number in the series is the plant number."
• www.hunker.com/.../determining-the-value-of-a-lane-cedar...
• It looks like your chest may be from the 1929-1930 circa - at least it looks like one in this ad.
• www.ebay.com/.../362438616803?hash=item54630666e3...
• Here is one listing that claims chest to be from the 1920's (not sure about that) and you can see a similar leg style so I do believe these were the styles from that era.
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  I do know that styles changed in the 1930's and started leaning toward the "art deco" styles.
• Then you run across a totally weird listing like this that does not make any sense except that the seller wants someone to haul the chest away. This is a pick up only listing. They say the same thing as you "good condition inside".
• www.ebay.com/.../283014558251?hash=item41e4fb722b...
• I believe you can check eBay or other sites for Lane listings and most chests will be in good to excellent condition. It will be rare to find one in the condition as yours and that is what some value is based on. Other things that effect value is the year made and area located.
• Based on all of this, I think you should ask for an appraisal so that you will know for sure what the condition might mean to value. This could also tell you the age.
• Here is a link that has some free appraisal sites so why not spend a little time and get the information you need. You will need more pictures (lighter ones) that show detail of condition and style of legs as well as pictures of any and all marks/numbers anywhere in the chest. Appraisals give you a value for insurance but that is a starting point.
• www.whatsellsbest.com/.../antiques.html