Whether you have inherited you grandmother's china or picked up a tea set at a garage sale, you may be wondering what your set of tea cups and saucers is worth. Antique or old china may be very valuable or worth very little, depending on the manufacturer, condition, rarity and current demand. The value of your cups and saucers is whatever a buyer is willing to pay for them; you can have them appraised or research what comparable china sells for to determine their value.
Evaluate the condition of your cups and saucers. Examine them for any chips or cracks, or fading of the pattern. Determine whether they're in like-new, very good, good or poor condition.
Count the number of cups and saucers you have. A complete set of four, six or eight may be more valuable than an odd number or a mismatched number of teacups to saucers.
Determine the manufacturer. The manufacturer's name is frequently stamped underneath the bottom of the saucer. If there is no manufacturer's name, you may have to bring it to an appraiser or send her a picture for identification.
Identify the pattern's name. Once you have determined the manufacturer's name, you should be able to find the pattern on the manufacturer's website, checking under discontinued patterns, if necessary. You can also try a site, such as Replacements, Ltd., that sells new and discontinued patterns from various manufacturers.
Look up current sale prices for teacups and saucers of that pattern in similar condition. You can find recent listings at local auction houses or in online auctions. You can also check the catalogue of a china reseller (such as Replacements, Ltd). Your teacups and saucers should be worth approximately what similar teacups and saucers from the same pattern are.