Appraisals and Valuations

A formal valuation of a given piece or group of property for estate, tax or insurance purposes.

Estate or tax valuations are given as 'fair market value', and represent what the item would fetch at auction. Insurance value reflects what it would cost to replace an item.

An appraisal is carried out by comparing the object with similar recently sold items. This means that an appraiser must know the market well.