Trust
No-appraisal notice
The Museum of Mexican Silver does not provide appraisals or opinions of value. Auction history shown on piece records is informational, not advisory.
What we do not do
Nothing on the catalog, on a piece page, in a dispatch, or in any output of this site constitutes an appraisal of any piece. The Museum does not issue opinions of value. Hammer prices, estimate ranges, and other data points drawn from the auction record are historical facts about completed sales, displayed for research purposes. They are not statements of what any specific piece is worth today, what a comparable piece will sell for, or what a fair purchase or insurance figure would be.
Appraisals are produced by licensed and credentialed appraisers working to recognized standards, including the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice and any applicable state appraiser-licensing requirements. We do not hold those credentials and we do not produce work to those standards.
What we do offer
We do offer auction comp search as a research product. The distinction matters. An auction comp search assembles the documented sale record for pieces similar to a subject piece, organizes the comps by artist, period, design family, and condition, and presents the data with citations to the original lot listings. It does not interpret the data into a single opinion of value, does not address insurance or estate purposes, and is not addressed to any reliance party.
Auction comp search is a research output, not an appraisal product. A user who needs an appraisal should engage a licensed appraiser. A user who wants to understand the auction record for a category, an artist, or a specific design before consulting an appraiser may find the comp search useful as input.
Standards we reference
The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, issued by the Appraisal Foundation, set the recognized framework for appraisal work in the United States. Several states require appraisers of personal property to hold credentials issued by recognized organizations or by the state itself. Catalog content and auction comp search are positioned outside that framework on purpose. See /submission-terms for the terms governing the photo-submission workflow.