Items from the Soviet Union can be pricey, reaching up to 100,000 rubles, and they might just be collecting dust at home.
In the realm of interior design, Soviet household items have experienced a remarkable resurgence in value and popularity. These once-forgotten relics from the past are now sought after by collectors and designers alike, thanks to global trends towards vintage and nostalgia.
Soviet bronze lamps, with their striking patina, solidity, and unique shapes, are favourites among designers for lofts and spacious apartments. Pieces crafted for government residences are considered especially valuable, often fetching prices ranging from 10,000 to hundreds of thousands of rubles for rare models, especially those from theaters, museums, or sanatoriums.
Coloured enameled dishes from the LYSVA factory are another trending item, selling for 2-15,000 rubles each. Today, these enameled dishes are used not only for their intended purpose but also as stylish interior elements. Working versions of record players, such as "Arktur", "Vega", and "Electronica", are another sought-after market segment, with prices ranging from 15-80,000 rubles. Non-working vinyl record players are bought for decoration, particularly in the "industrial vintage" style. Some artisans even modernize these record players, turning them into Bluetooth units while preserving their original appearance.
Vintage clocks, toys, musical instruments, cookbooks, and encyclopedias are also highly valued. The 1970s Soviet Yantar/Jantar Electronic Wall Clock, for example, can be sold for around $43. Rare Soviet educational books, such as the Great Soviet Medical Encyclopedia (1956-63), can fetch over $1,000.
Soviet crystal items, like those from factories such as Gusevsky or Leningrad, can be sold for 5-30,000 rubles each. Images of people and animals from that era - pioneers, ballerinas, athletes, workers - are particularly valued in Soviet porcelain. Porcelain pieces from factories like Dulevsky or LFZ with author's signatures or gold details can cost from 3,000 to 100,000 rubles.
Before discarding old belongings, it's worth reviewing them carefully, as the antique market can find value in familiar items from childhood. These valued porcelain items often end up at international auctions, considered a unique part of cultural heritage. The value of these items increases over time, and they can become not just a source of income, but also a part of family history.
In sum, the most valuable Soviet household vintage collectibles tend to be rare encyclopedias, educational books, distinctive clocks, vintage toys, folk instruments, and certain decorative items, with prices from several dozen to over a thousand dollars depending on rarity and condition. While ornate vintage kitchenware like bread boxes can fetch high prices in general vintage markets, specific Soviet bread boxes or household kitchen items were not highlighted as highly valuable in the available sources. Other collectible items that can hold value (though less well documented in the Soviet context) include amber jewelry popular in the USSR during the 1980s.
[1] Values based on recent listings on eBay and Etsy. [2] [Link to a relevant news article] [3] [Link to a relevant auction house's website] [4] [Link to a relevant vintage market research report] [5] [Link to a relevant article about 1980s amber jewelry trends]
Fashion and beauty enthusiasts might appreciate the coloured enameled dishes from the LYSVA factory, now used in modern interiors as stylish elements instead of just for their intended purpose. The home-and-garden sector also includes vintage clocks, toys, musical instruments, cookbooks, and encyclopedias, with the 1970s Soviet Yantar/Jantar Electronic Wall Clock often selling for around $43 in vintage markets.
