1897 Utah Semi-Centennial Cups & Tiffany Pin

Appraised on: June 26, 2010

Appraised in: Billings, Montana

Appraised by: Barry Weber

Category: Jewelry

Episode Info: Billings, Hour 1 (#1510)

Originally Aired: April 11, 2011

IMAGE: 1 of 4  

Appraisal Video: (3:15)

GUEST: These cups were in my family from my great-grandfather. He was the mayor of Ogden, Utah, when it became a state. And he was on a committee when Utah formed the holiday for the pioneers. And these cups were in commemoration of the pioneer holiday.

APPRAISER: That was called Pioneer Day?

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: And that's still celebrated today.

GUEST: Yes, on the 24th of July.

APPRAISER: And you also got this pin.

GUEST: He was one of 15 members of the committee that formed the pioneer holiday. And because he was on this committee, they gave him this pin. I guess everybody that was on the committee got one of the pins.

APPRAISER: So this semicentennial celebrated 50 years since Utah was settled. It was first settled in 1847, and then in 1897 was the 50th anniversary of the settlement of Utah. The cups are interesting because they celebrate that semicentennial. And the pin as well. Let's keep in mind that we're going back to 1897. Now, there was nobody to make these cups or this pin to celebrate that occasion. These cups had to come all the way from Europe. These were not made in the United States. The order went to either Russia, France or England. They're enameled over metal. And these were either given away or sold in celebration at the time of the semicentennial. We had the experts from glass and pottery look at them, and they were familiar with these. The retail value of the four cups in the collectors market would be about $500 to $1,000 for the set for local interest. But coming over here to the pin, that comes in a fitted box with the inscription on the outside of the front of the box. But when we open the box, it says, "Tiffany and Company."

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: Tiffany had offices at that time in New York, London and Paris. So they were the biggest and most important of the American jewelers. But they would take commissions. And it's a wonderful rendition of Western art. It has a yoke, and it has the steer head. And inscribed on the steer head, it's a quote from Brigham Young's journal as he traveled to settle in Salt Lake City. And it says, "The pioneers camped here "on June 13 and 14, making 15 miles today. "All well. Brigham Young." We know it's Tiffany. Not just the fitted box and the inscription, but it's marked Tiffany on the other side. It's gold and carved ivory, and quite collectible. The value today in the collectors market at retail would be between $3,000 and $5,000.

GUEST: Wow, that's nice.