What’s My Antique Carriage Worth?

We often get calls asking us if we purchase carriages to resell, sell carriages on a commission basis, or where a seller can offer their vehicle for sale.  In the process, we also get asked if we know how much their carriage is worth so they can list it properly.  There are a number of factors that contribute to the value of an antique carriage.  We will review those factors below.

Condition

Just like anything else, condition is a major factor in the value of a carriage.  If your vehicle is broken, dry rotted, in pieces, etc., it’s more than likely not worth the time to list it. It may be worth more in parts than the whole.  If the carriage is in restored condition with an excellent paint job (we’ll discuss what that means more later), that at least makes it useful to somebody.  Restoring a carriage is an expensive project, and unless someone has time to play with this as a hobby, the restoration expense might very well be more costly than the carriage is worth. 

What are condition parameters?  Here are my factors for condition:

• Excellent – All the parts are included. No dents or cracks. The finish is akin to a show car: smooth, shiny, no bubbles or grain of the wood showing through.
• Good – All the parts are included.  The finish may be a little scuffed, or the prep work done on the wood before it was finished isn’t great, but it can be driven.
• Fair – May be missing parts. Finish is flaky or peeling. Might be drivable with a little work.
• Poor – In pieces. Pieces broken. Not drivable. Wood is rotten. No finish left.

This vehicle is in good to fair condition.  It can be driven, but the paint is dull and flaky, and the metal is rusting through the paint.  It will take quite a bit of work to get this vehicle back in show condition.

Style

The shape (model) of the carriage can dictate some of the value of the carriage.  Some vehicle styles were “mass” produced, and therefore they aren’t very rare.  This is the case with your average Top Buggy (more typically known as a “Doctor’s Buggy”, although that term is misused in most cases), Surrey, etc.  Everyone and their brother had one, and therefore there are a lot of them packed away in barns across the US.  It is akin to the value of a Chevy Impala.  There were so many of them made, and they were not high-end vehicles to start, that they aren’t worth very much today, no matter how old they are.  A vehicle with interesting lines (shape) and cut-under (the front wheels will turn under the box) will trump a square Piano Box buggy in the same condition all day long.  Vehicles that are cut-under are easier to drive than ones where the front wheels can hit the box. 

Our family had this vehicle when I was growing up.  That's me standing on the back.  It was in excellent restored condition.  However, being a typical Top Buggy, it wasn't worth what someone had into the restoration.  I think my mom paid like $1500 for it in the 1980's. This vehicle nowadays in this same condition might retail for [maybe] $600 tops.  Unless it has a fantastic maker or great provenance, buggies like this are not worth a lot. 

Suitability

Typically, a farm wagon isn’t going to be worth as much as a nice phaeton because buyers will pay more for a vehicle that they can compete with. Likewise, a coachman-driven vehicle may not be as valuable as an owner-driven vehicle of a similar style unless there are other factors (which we will discuss below) to make it more saleable.

Finish

A vehicle in excellent, restored or original condition, with an amazing paint or natural finish is going to be worth considerably more than the same vehicle that requires work.  If the carriage can be taken out of the coach house and put to the horse in a high-end competition, it is way more valuable than one that has nicks in the paint, poor preparation under the paint, averagely done striping, etc.  An experienced carriage buyer can tell the difference between a carriage that has been restored well and one that just has a fresh coat of paint slapped on it.  That fresh coat of paint will not make it more valuable, and can actually reduce the value of a good carriage because now the buyer has to put in more work to correct the bad paint job!  An amazing paint job is similar to a show automobile, where you can see your reflection in the finish, there are no bubbles, dents, runs, and the finish is smooth and shiny.

I love the lines of this trap, but the finish leaves something to be desired, especially those gray velour seats!  This vehicle has been modified to fit another size horse than what is was made.  The shafts hit the front spring in a turn.  It rides amazingly, but needs some work in order to make it show ring worthy.

Maker

Just like high-end automobiles or fine furniture, the maker developed a reputation for fine work, and the initial cost of the product made it worth more.  Almost every town had a carriage builder, and some were just utilitarian builders who didn’t put a lot of extra effort into their products.  Companies who developed a branding name for themselves put work in the carriage that make the carriage worth more.  However, be careful when looking at maker's tags.  I've seen "Brewster" carriages sold that were absolutely not Brewsters!  Someone just stole the tag off of some other vehicle, and slapped it on a vehicle that was probably more solid than the Brewster it came off of!

Provenance

If the carriage was once owned by so-and-so, and you can prove it, that can increase its value, just like any other antique piece.

Market

This is where it is getting sticky.  Let’s face it, your kids are not interested in your antique china dinnerware.  They don’t want your Precious Moments figurine collection.  And carriages are only worth what someone will pay for them.  If the market for people who are interested in antique carriages doesn’t have a lot of competition, the value goes down.  There is still a market for an excellent condition, show-quality, unique vehicle with interesting lines, made by a prominent maker.  But again, if your vehicle that you want to sell is a barn find in rotten pieces, with no finish left, and made by the Joe Schmo Carriage Company in Boondock, Nowhereville, it’s probably worth more for the metal parts than trying to sell the whole carriage, or maybe even nothing at all.

However, never fear.  If you really want to find out more about the carriage that you have in your possession, you can contact the Carriage Association of America.  They have an extensive library of materials from which you can get more information and do research on your carriage.

We do not purchase carriages or offer them on a commission basis through our store.  However, if you have an interesting, unique, medium (13 hand) pony carriage in good to excellent condition, we are always interested in seeing photos.  😊