Weller Coppertone Vase, ca. 1925

Appraised on: July 13, 2002

Appraised in: Hot Springs, Arkansas

Appraised by: David Rago

Category: Pottery & Porcelain

Episode Info: Roadshow Favorites (#813)
Hot Springs, Hour 3 (#715)

Originally Aired: November 10, 2003

IMAGE: 1 of 2  

Appraisal Video: (2:33)

GUEST: Well, my mother-in-law was walking out to the pear orchard, and we went through the barn lot and I saw the frog's head sticking up out of the ground.

APPRAISER: You said you were pregnant at the time?

GUEST: Big pregnant.

APPRAISER: With your first son?

GUEST: With my third child.

APPRAISER: This was how long ago?

GUEST: Uh... 50 years ago.

APPRAISER: So you saw the frog's head sticking out of the dirt?

GUEST: Yes. We walked right by and it didn't move, so I just swished my foot across it and it still didn't move. And I told my mother-in-law that I was going to go back to the barn and get a shovel and dig down and see what this is. So I got it and I dug it up, and there was not one blemish on it. Not a crack, chip or anything. So that's how I found this vase.

APPRAISER: And in 50 years, there still isn't a blemish on it.

GUEST: Yeah, it's true. (laughter) Four children and all those grandchildren you asked me about.

APPRAISER: Now, you have no idea who made this?

GUEST: No idea whatsoever.

APPRAISER: Well, there's a good reason for that, because there is a mark on the bottom, but it's kind of blurry. And um, I've seen the mark before so I know what it is. It says "Weller Pottery,' and that's a kiln-- what they fire pottery in. So that's from the Weller Pottery from Zanesville, Ohio, one of the more famous companies. This is a production piece. It's not a one-of-a-kind artist piece, but rather, they made a number of these, sometime around 1925, 1930. I've sold several in the last couple of years. It's called their Coppertone line, but it's a particularly good piece of their Coppertone line. And the last one I sold, I sold for $2,800. And I think this is a $2,500 piece and could bring as much as $3,000-- right in that price range--

GUEST: Oh, my…

APPRAISER: --at auction, so it's a really, really good production piece.

GUEST: Well, golly. Who would have ever thought that you'd dig something like this up and it'd be worth that much?

APPRAISER: It needs a cleaning. I'll let you in on a secret.

GUEST: It needs a cleaning.

APPRAISER: Yeah.

GUEST: Well, how do you do that?

APPRAISER: I would use Soft Scrub and a nylon scouring pad. But there's a lot of dirt on there. These colors will be a lot brighter after you clean it.

GUEST: Well, I've washed it many times, but I didn't use anything like that on it.

APPRAISER: Considering how well you've kept it all these years, maybe you should leave it alone, so it's fine.

GUEST: Oh, well, no, I'll clean it up, I'm sure, when I get home to see what I've missed.

APPRAISER: You said you spoke to your son, the one you were carrying when you found this.

GUEST: Yeah, and he said, "Well, she should leave it to me, because I was with her when she found it."