The guarantee
What we promise, in writing
Old Hickory Vault authenticity guarantee
Every piece we sell is examined by our own staff and issued a numbered certificate. The certificate states the grade, the faults, and any claim we could not support. If a piece is not as the certificate describes, we take it back within thirty days and refund the purchase price including shipping.
We do not grade on story. We grade on the object and the documents, and we publish both. A piece we cannot document is a piece we do not sell.
Eight questions we answer most often. The answers are the same ones we give on the phone.
Grading is physical and documentary. For wood we record stick pattern, grain bruising, knob diameter and whether the finish is original. For cards we record stock, printing, corners and centreing, and the grade we publish is the grade the card earns, not the grade it could be argued into. For garments we record stitch count per inch, thread type and any repair, including repairs made by the club itself.
The certificate carries the piece's number, the grade, the condition as found, the basis for the attribution, and a section headed "not confirmed" where a claim rests on memory rather than documents. The number is printed on the slab, case or brass plate so the piece and the paper stay together.
Shipping is free over $250 and $14.95 below that. Paper and card stock travel in rigid cases; garments travel in ventilated boxes with archival matting; wood and metal are packed so nothing contacts the surface during transit. Every shipment is insured to the sale price and requires a signature.
Yes, to the full sale price on every order, including the $29 ticket stub. The insurance is issued at the time of shipping and the certificate number is recorded on the waybill, so a claim can be tied to the specific piece rather than to a parcel.
Thirty days from delivery. If the piece is not as the certificate describes, we refund the purchase price and the shipping both ways. If you simply change your mind, we refund the purchase price and you cover the return shipping. Slabbed cards are returned in the sealed case; an opened case is not returned.
Keep it out of direct sunlight, hold humidity between 45 and 55 percent, and handle it with unpowdered cotton gloves. Do not polish wood, do not wash wool, and do not use any spray on paper. Most damage we see is caused by well-meaning cleaning. The care card we send with every piece covers light, humidity, handling and what to do when a fault appears.
Yes. Send a photograph and whatever paperwork you have. We examine it and write up what we can support. Roughly one in five pieces is declined because it cannot be documented; when we decline, we tell you exactly what is missing so you can try elsewhere. When we accept, we pay on the grade we would publish, not on a hopeful grade.
On this demonstration site, checkout is test mode only: card details are checked in your browser for a valid Luhn number, a future expiry and a correct CVC length, and nothing is transmitted, stored or logged. In the real shop we take bank transfer or card at the counter, and we never store a card number.