Hat Valuation/Selling

[Dottimus]

Hi. I have a lady's Montecriste Panama hat that dates from, I believe, the 1940s or '50s. It is, as far as I can tell, in more-or-less perfect condition and I believe it is quite valuable.

I have two questions: First, is there anyone who does valuations of such hats? And second, where do such hats get sold?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[duggap]

Hello and welcome to the lounge. The first thing you would need to do is to verify that it is in fact a Montecristi Panama. That can generally be done by the type of weave used. If you can post a close up picture of the weave we could verify if it is Montecristi or Cuenca. Several things can affect the value, just one of which is condition. The fineness of the weave adds to the value. Condition is another issue because if it had not been stored correctly than there is a chance of it drying out. Push around on the weave and see if you hear any cracking sounds. Most people use ebay to sell hats but, after you have posted a number of times, you can list it here in the classifieds. Hope this gives you a starting point.

 

[scotrace]

Welcome to The Fedora Lounge.

There are several people here who can help you, but they'll need to see pictures. Of the overall hat, and a close up of the weave with a coin on it for scale. They'll also need to know the size.

Some are indeed "quite valuable." Many are not. The folks here will be able to tell you what you have.

 

[Tango Yankee]

Welcome to the Lounge, Dottimus!

If you've looked around, you'll have noticed that this section deals in mens hats. If you post your question in the Powder Room you may get better answers from the ladies there. That said, I've done some looking into ladies hats looking for hats for my wife, so I'll pass on my impressions.

First off, I don't know of any service that appraises hats. I've not seen any mention of such for mens hats, any way. It may be possible to get an appraisal from an antiques appraiser, but that valuation may be more applicable to insuring the hat rather then what you might get by selling it.

The bottom line will be that the hat's value is simply how much someone is willing to pay for it at any given time.

As for where to sell it, the primary venue is www.ebay.com. There you can look to see if there are similar hats being sold and how much they're going for. Another place to try is the Classifieds section of this forum.

In my own searches for vintage women's hats I've found that they usually don't go for very much. For instance, I just won the bidding on a ladies Panama hat (not a Montecristi, mind you) for $16.07. There doesn't seem to be quite the demand for vintage women's hats as there is for mens. I have a couple of ideas why that may be but have no idea as to how valid they are.

My suggestion to you is that if you want to get a minimum amount for the hat you should post it here in the classifieds and see if it sells, or post it on eBay with a reserve or Buy it Now price set at the minimum you would take for it and see if it sells.

So, that's my viewpoint on the subject. Of course, the Ladies of the Lounge may have a different take on it. Hopefully you'll hear from those with hat-buying or selling experience.

Regards,
Tom

 

[Dottimus]

Forgive Me!

Thanks for all your input. I apologize for not following up but things got busy and, well, time flew past. I'll take some photographs and post them as soon as I can. Again, many thanks for all your generous help.

Dottimus.