I have a Webster dictionary from 1898 and I would like to know if it is worth anything.?

The outside is deteriorated, but the inside is intact completely.I have a Webster dictionary from 1898 and I would like to know if it is worth anything.?
One thing everyone needs to know: just because something is old does not mean it is worth anything.



What makes something worth money is people who want to buy it. That is what determines the price of any object in the world. What people are willing to pay for it is what it is worth. It won't be worth more money just because your great grandfather used it in WWI, and it won't be worth more than what collectors are willing to pay for it. In fact, you might not even get as much as a collectible is worth or is appraised for, because a collector may not be willing to pay more for it and there may not be other collectors buying it at the moment. But for that matter, you could also end up getting more for something than it is appraised for. Collectibles are just weird like that, their market value is never stable, it could be high one year and low the next.





What really determines the value of a collectible or an antique is its appeal (do people really want to own that kind of object), its condition, its rarity, its edition, number, etc.



Also note that just because there may be a big 1898 printed on the book doesn't mean the book was actually printed then. Often book makers would reprint an edition of something that was popular later on. For example, a dictionary might have been very good and very popular one year, so later on they would try to sell more by reprinting it and slapping the same title and year on it. There were not as many standards centuries ago like there are today. Luckily by 1898 there were more standards, so it may actually be that old. But just be careful and look inside the book to see if you can find another date to make sure.





Be careful when you handle it, as by handling it without knowing what you are doing, you could do something to it that lowers its value and integrity. Try to find some cotton gloves or something when handling an old book, especially if it is vellum (this one is not), as your fingers could leave oils and acids on the paper/vellum and wreck havoc on it. Also, you could unknowingly be tearing or destroying the integrity of the binding by opening and messing with the book. Just be very careful and touch it as little as possible.





Just go look at listings for these kinds of dictionaries, or go to an antique dealer or appraiser. But don't expect much, as books of that age are not often worth a great deal of money, especially if they are dictionaries or bibles, as they were two of the most commonly printed books (meaning they are not rare).I have a Webster dictionary from 1898 and I would like to know if it is worth anything.?
i'll buy it for 1.99 $$$

you in??