An old team photograph purchased at a California estate sale for about $250 is now attracting national attention because researchers believe one of the young players pictured may be baseball legend Babe Ruth. The story is remarkable because the potential value being discussed reaches into the millions of dollars. But for homeowners preparing for an estate sale, the most useful lesson may have very little to do with Babe Ruth—or even with the eventual value of this particular

When a family needs to liquidate the contents of a home, one of the first decisions may be whether to conduct the estate sale themselves or hire a professional company. That question was recently addressed by Charles Schwab in an October 20, 2025 article, “What Is an Estate Sale and How Does It Work?” Schwab describes estate sales as useful not only after a death, but also during downsizing, and notes that managing an entire household of possessions can involve significant fi

When families begin sorting through a home, one of the first instincts may be to clean things up, throw away what appears unimportant, or begin making donation piles. Sometimes that is perfectly reasonable. But a December 2024 Associated Press report offers a reminder of why uncertain items deserve a closer look before anything irreversible is done. The report followed longtime Maine antiques dealer and appraiser Kaja Veilleux, whose decades of experience have included both r