Abraham Lincoln Campaign Flag

Appraised on: August 13, 2005

Appraised in: Los Angeles, California

Appraised by: William Guthman

Category: Arms & Militaria

Episode Info: Los Angeles, Hour 2 (#1008)

Originally Aired: February 27, 2006

IMAGE: 1 of 1  

Appraisal Video: (1:45)

GUEST: This was President Abraham Lincoln's campaign flag from the election of 1864, I believe. And "Abraham Lincoln" didn't fit, so they put "Abram" on it.

APPRAISER: Okay. And this was mounted when?

GUEST: Seven years ago.

APPRAISER: And you didn't see it before it was mounted?

GUEST: No.

APPRAISER: It's a wonderful flag, and it was a great campaign.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: Lincoln was running against McClellan, who was a Civil War general.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: And they disliked each other intensely. But this flag, originally... you can see the little tack holes here. It was tacked to a pole and carried in a political parade. Also, Andrew Johnson's name is stitched on with another piece of cloth. So I think this flag was used in an earlier political campaign--

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: --with somebody else's name on it. And this has the large star in the center. That was a tradition that was carried on occasionally since the Revolution, more as a decoration than as any meaning. This is a wonderful flag, and your family had it for how long?

GUEST: Ever since we can remember. Just... It's been passed down. It's a family heirloom.

APPRAISER: It's printed, it's a great size, and, uh, you've got it mounted in this frame, and they did a good job. And the value would be probably $8,000 to $12,000 at auction.

GUEST: Wow.