Caroline, Fix your table top to use it. They made these tables by the hundreds of thousands. You didn't hunt it down and drag it home to look at it - use it! The antique value of them is negligible at best. They are only 60 years ( roughly) at this point and won't be a true antique for another 40 years. These tables are not fine furniture by any stretch of the imagination, they are a utilitarian table, meant to be used with sharp things like pins and scissors around them. They will have dings, scratches, worn varnish and peeling veneer.
Mine looked so bad when I brought it home I used denatured alcohol to soften the varnish enough to smooth it out some. Once it was dry I bought a roll of clear self sticking shelf liner and covered the top with it. It is really very slippery, which is nice when quilting. It isn't pretty, but it's pretty functional.