Appraisal of Empire Chest - what's it worth?

Rhonda asks:
I don’t know much about this dresser other than it was my great grandmother’s and I’ve been told it’s made of cherry. I have no idea where it came from or who made it although it looks a little primitive to me.
It is VERY heavy, so much that I can’t pull it from the wall in order to take photos of the back, so I hope these photos will do. This dresser hasn’t been moved since the moving men put it in this spot.

The very top of the dresser is made of only two planks of wood. One is 14.25 inches and the other is 9.5 inches. The top also has square pegs around the perimeter (I’ve shown a photo of one) there are 8 pegs in total. The drawer pulls are wooden and are 2 inches in diameter.

The dresser stands 4 feet tall, 45.5 inches wide and 23.75 deep.

The “legs” in the front look hand carved to me, but I really don’t know if they are. The very bottom of the legs have a very large round peg in them (.75 in diameter) and I’ve included a photo of that as well.

Hope these photos can give you some insight as to the value.

If you need additional photos or have questions, just let me know!

Thanks!

AW says: It a lovely Empire cherry wood chest of drawers. Here’s where the value come in:

It’s made out of nice wide boards, it’s made of cherry which is a very good quality hardwood, the condition is excellent. Empire furniture of this style is finally coming in and getting it’s due. Be sure if doing further research you don’t get this style mixed up with elephantine style Empire furniture which is not as valuable as the chest that you have. Your style chest would be referred to as a “column front”.

Date range: 1830s -1860s

Retail value: $650_$800
(top price)

Wholesale value: $300
(The midrange price you could expect to achieve at a well advertised live auction. The price that is most often realized)

Quick sale value: $175
The price your likely to get if you have to sell your item immediately and your prospective customer is aware of this.

Common terminology, nicknames, keywords: Empire chest of drawers, Federal chest, column front Empire. wide board empire chest,

In most cases, I believe it would be beneficial for your to give the prospective buyer a link to this page, and to bookmark it via your favorite bookmarking service.

Care and storage tips: Do nothing but a light dusting.