(music) -- Welcome to Mississippi Antique Showcase.

We're in Columbus, Mississippi, with our expert appraisers to look at your rare finds, family heirlooms and quirky collectables.

We'll see what we can learn about these unique treasures and of course, see what they might be worth.

-- I tell you what, that was a smart grandmother!

-- Thank you so much for coming to MPB's second Antique Showcase.

And I have here a lovely ring in front of me.

And I'd like for you to tell the audience kind of how you came about this ring.

-- So we don't know much about it.

We do know that it was my great grandmother's.

My grandmother didn't really talk about it much, so we don't know the family history, the age.

But if y'all'u could just tell us, you know, any insight into it would be very helpful.

-- I'm assuming there's a family member you want to keep this away from, so thank goodness you brought it on MPB Television so we can make sure that will happen.

No, I'm happy to tell you about this.

It's actually a cushion-cut diamond and it looks to be about 2 to 3 carats.

And it's set in a really gorgeous platinum band.

You can certainly tell it's quite clear, but to have a true-- to get the clarity amount, you probably want to take it to a professional jeweler.

I would tell you that.

I would say the age of this item is probably Depression Era.

So 1910, probably, I would guess, more in the 1920s.

And so it's just a beautiful piece and a beautiful ring.

Just a clear crystal cut.

Do you have any idea what you think it may be worth?

-- I don't.

I have no idea.

I don't know anything about diamonds at all.

-- Well, you're in for a treat because I think a replacement value for this ring, but probably somewhere $30,000 to $35,000.

I don't think, maybe at auction, or even for someone to privately buy that you would probably achieve that price.

But certainly replacement value and insurance value, I would insure it for that amount.

It's just a lovely piece.

And your grandmother certainly kept it hidden away for a reason, but it would certainly be nice if she could put it on her finger, maybe dinner or something, and bring it out and show people because it is a showcase ring.

-- It is gorgeous, for sure.

-- Thank you so much, for bringing that.

It was a privilege and a pleasure to see it.

-- Yes, thank you.

-- Tell me what you brought us today.

-- Today I brought a 1879 Colt single-action revolver.

-- Wow.

Tell me about it.

-- Well, I inherited it, and that's about all I know.

It came with this paperwork here, and I don't know too much more than that.

-- Rachel, this is exactly what you look for.

When you're looking at a Colt, you want it to have the provenance in a letter from a historian.

So it's always worth more when you have a Colt letter attached to it giving you the full provenance.

So this letter adds to the value.

You're lucky to have it.

They've done all the research and you can...

It dates clearly back to 1879 and the next thing you look for with these is you want to make sure it's stamped on all the different exact parts because people can-- I tell you, it's amazing how they can try to forge these and then replace certain parts in different places.

So you've got to make sure it's stamped on every, you know, the trigger and then you put it here in the bottom and you make sure all the different parts of it are assigned.

The next thing you look for with this type of gun is you make sure it has a nice finish.

It has not been restored.

If it had been restored, I'd say it takes the value down less than half.

-- Wow.

-- So you really need to make sure it's got a nice finish.

It doesn't look like it's been used that often.

-- It has not been since it's been in my posession.

-- So it's in great condition, which adds to the value.

And I'm looking at here and the wood is very good.

I see very few scratches.

It's in... a nice patina, nice finish.

So since it's stamped, you've got the provenance.

I would put $6,500 on this.

-- Okay.

That's a good... -- Fair market value.

-- Okay.

Thank you very much.

-- So tell me about what you have here.

-- Well, this is a hair album and the latest that we have on it is 1859, when she added the dates to this.

It's a child of the founder of the town of Saltillo.

He was James waugh Kyle.

-- Okay.

-- And his wife was a Wilson.

And she is the sister of my great-great grandfather.

-- Oh, that's amazing.

Do you know how they got to Mississippi?

-- Well they came from North Carolina-- South Carolina.

-- South Carolina?

They settled in North Mississippi about Tupelo and Santillo.

-- Yeah, well, that was Itawamba County back then.

-- Okay.

All right.

Awesome.

-- Yeah.

-- So anyway, one of your distant relatives has documented everybody's life with their lockets of hair, basically, and made a historical perspective of the years they lived and that kind of thing.

And as you said, this one's from 1859, the front one here.

It's really fascinating.

Some of the hair pieces are done almost like tatting you do with a crochet needle.

And the fact that she made the time to get everybody's locket of hair and document their name and birth and all this kind of stuff is just amazing to me.

Now you have plans for this, you said, right?

-- Well, it's in our archives.

We're just taking care of it and trying to find out more about it.

-- Okay.

Well, the reason I asked about that is because it's one of those things that is so unique, it's really hard to put a value on it.

It's almost like it's a personal family thing that you just can't put money on.

I mean, if you looked at it from a historical advantage and you wanted to add it to Mississippi History, you could say it's probably worth about $300 or $400, but in reality, there's really no value for it other than its presence.

Does that make sense?

It has value, but it's that it exists.

And I don't think you could- if you got $100,000 for this.

It wouldn't replace the way it was put together with this individual family's history.

-- Right.

-- So anyway, it's just fascinating.

We have page after page, all documented with names...

It's just amazing that somebody took all the time and the years to put this together for their family.

This is really sweet.

This has deteriorated quite a bit, but it's the cover of the binder that it was in with cross-stitch, and it's just phenomenal.

Anyway, I wish I could say, oh, it's worth, you know, X amount of dollars, but it's really worth more to your family than anything else.

And like I said, if you did sell it like in a shop or something, somebody might pay up to $400 for it.

But I think it's worth way more than that to you as a family member, so... -- Oh yes, oh yes.

-- So you're going to archive it and just keep it for the family to enjoy, right?

-- It belongs to Saltillo Archives, and Saltillo Historical Society.

-- Oh!

Awesome.

So the public can see it.

-- Yeah, you're right.

Yeah.

-- I think that's a noble thing to do for the public, so they can see the history of Mississippi.

It's so rich and vibrant and there's so much here to see.

Well, thank you so much for bringing it in today.

I think it's phenomenal.

And I just think it's wonderful that you're the caretaker committee that has it and it's going to be cherished by many to see forever and ever.

-- Thank you for bringing in this really unique piece of art.

Would you tell the audience a little bit about it?

-- Sure.

So it's just a... William Dunlap is a famous artist from Mississippi that kind of grew up locally, I believe in Mathiston and, you know, he's been a Mississippi artist for a long time.

Probably more famous for his Delta scenes with the dogs in the background, things like that.

We just found this at an estate sale back in Fondren in, I believe, 2004.

Definitely love you know, the background of Faulkner's family and the way he created this.

So I mean, you know, I just always thought it was a very unique piece.

-- Well, I mean, as you've already said, you know about the Dunlaps, I think you told me before this, y'all have several pieces of work from him.

He's got pieces, as you said, landscapes that are in museums all over the world.

And those certainly bring much high price.

But this is a very unique item only because, it's very interesting you also have an email here that you corresponded directly with Mr. Dunlap, and he basically says in that email that, hey, this is trying to inquire further.

You know, "I did a little bit of these "colored some and gave them away.

"But this is pretty much a unique item in itself."

I think that only increases the value of this piece.

But as you know, Faulkner has a lot of folklore at Oxford, at least my time during law school there.

You had to go set the whiskey on the grave, right?

And that's just one you had to do.

So I really enjoy my memories of that.

And I think that's what brings some uniqueness to this piece.

And I'm glad to see that you appreciate that type of art, being an Ole Miss man yourself as well.

So one of the good things about this, it's not his typical landscape.

It's kind of a funky rendition of some just compilation of pieces.

And so he kind of already notes the uniqueness of the piece itself.

Do you think you know how much it's worth?

-- I would probably have thought it... you know...

It's all over the board as far as the evaluations of his stuff.

I mean, I would think it would be worth over $1,000.

-- I definitely agree there.

I think some of his landscapes obviously are up in the twenties and $25,000.

I think I agree with you.

I don't think it's worth this much.

If I would probably have to say, the right collector, certainly an Oxford gentleman who appreciates these type of works, I think you get probably anywhere from $3,000 to $3,500 for that.

I don't know how much you paid back when you bought it, actually, from one of our appraisers.

-- Right, right.

-- So I know it's probably you didn't purchase it for that much, but I think probably 15 years ago, that value has only increased for his works.

And since he's still living also as an artist, it will only increase in value as that goes along.

So I think around the $3000 to $3,500, and I think you can probably insure it for around $4,000.

-- Okay, great.

-- Thank you so much for bringing it in.

I love to see a piece like that, especially by a well-known artist.

I like Mr. Dunlap.

So thank you so much.

-- Oh, absolutely.

Thank you.

-- Melvin and Holly, this is kind of an unusual item you brought in today.

-- Well, we were trying to find something that my grandmother had, and this was- she was a businesswoman.

And, you know, both her daughters and now me are business owners.

And so it fit with her spirit.

-- What type of business did your grandmother own?

-- She owned a grocery store and then she had rental properties and she had a daycare.

So she did a variety of things over her life.

-- Well, sounds like she did, yeah.

About what year did she open her grocery store?

-- She opened her grocery store in the late 1940's in the Georgetown neighborhood in Jackson.

-- Really?

And when did she close it down?

-- In the 1970's.

-- In the 1970's, she was there for years and years.

When you were a little boy in her store, was she using this adding machine?

-- The store had closed by the time I was a little boy, but she had a lot of interesting things.

And whenever we'd go to her house, we were warned to not dig too deep or poke around too much because you never knew what you'd find.

-- Yeah, grandma might have had a gun in there.

-- Oh she absolutely had several guns.

-- To protect that store with.

Well my goodness.

I noticed you have a card here from her store.

And it's a neat, neat little card.

It's Stamley's or Stanley's.

-- Stimley's.

-- Stimley's Grocery and Market, and then on the back, there's some jokes.

-- There are.

-- And your grandmother was... she was something!

-- She was!

She lived to be 103.

-- Well, she sounds like a lady with a heart for community and for folks in need.

-- She was.

-- That's a special person.

You know, this adding machine is one of those items that I'm sure if somebody offered you $1,000 for it, you'd tell them to keep the $1,000.

-- Absolutely.

-- If you go online and you look for this kind of adding machine, you can buy one for probably- and this one looks like it would work.

Have you ever tried?

-- It does work, yes.

-- So that is a working model and it would probably bring from $100 to maybe $200.

But of course, the value to your family and the memories of your grandmother is worth much more than that.

-- Oh, absolutely.

-- But it's a great piece, and a great story.

And your grandmother, I'm sure, would be mighty proud that you chose to bring her adding machine here to the Antique Showcase today.

-- She'd probably be trying to sell it if she knew she could make some money with it.

-- Tell you what, that was a smart grandmother.

My goodness, and lived to be 103.

-- She did.

-- You got som genes, maybe you'll make it to 103.

-- Fingers crossed.

And then if all the electricity goes off and the grid goes down, we can still take your grandmother's adding machine, get you some more tape and some more ribbon.

And they can't stop you.

-- No they can't.

-- We appreciate it.

Thank you for bringing it down.

-- Thank you so much.

We appreciate you.

-- Yeah, great piece.

Great story.

Love it.

-- I'm here with Senator Chuck Younger.

Chuck, tell me about this piece that you brought.

-- This is a sign that was given to my mother-in-law by a good friend of hers.

And her friend's daddy owned this in Aberdeen, Mississippi.

-- Well, it's got nice color, nice gloss.

And that's what you look for with the old gasoline memorabilia, the color, the gloss.

It does have some chips and scratches, but overall it's in really great condition and it's a nice large size.

-- Well, my father-in-law, Goody Goodgame, he has this out by his swimming pool.

And I've been telling him it's got to be worth something because I've never seen another one like it.

So I just thought I'd bring it in.

-- That's the perfect place for it, by a swimming pool.

-- Yes, it is.

-- With the symbolism and it's classic gasoline memorabilia.

It just takes you back in time.

This is what collectors want is signage like this.

So it would be more valuable if it had the name of the gas station right here.

And that signage would probably increase it by more than $1,000.

But right now, fair market value, this is worth $1,500.

-- Okay, good, good.

-- Mr. McClellan, thanks for coming today to the Mississippi Showcase.

I want to give you an opportunity to let us know about your piece.

-- David, this was a piece that my wife and I acquired while we were in New Orleans.

We were just shopping there on Royal Street and came across a nice little store and went in and.... My wife was looking for jewelry.

And I, in the meantime, had wandered off into sort of a back room.

And I was I was there looking down, there were some items there, and this piece was down in the bottom of a shelf.

It was badly tarnished.

And I brought it out and it was heavy.

And my wife said, "What in the world have you got?

"What are you going to do with that?"

I said, "I don't know."

And I asked the lady that was selling, I said, "What do you want for this?"

She said, "Well, what will you give me for it?"

And I gave her sort of a price.

And she said, "Well, I'll think about it."

The next day I came back and my wife wanted to look at the jewelry.

And again we set a price.

And I said to the lady, I said, "Oh, that piece "that's in the back there," I said, "Bring it out."

So she brought it out and she said, "Well," she said, "if you want it, you can have it."

-- Well that's phenomenal because actually you have an elegant supper dish, a very elegant supper dish.

It's the type of thing you'd see the guys and gals on Downton Abbey use because it's that beautiful.

So sophisticated.

It would have been purchased, perhaps, by a member of the upper class.

I'm not sure if it's Sheffield or if it's electroplated, but it is a type of silver plate.

One of the items is marked Sterling, but other marks are Sheffield or Electroplate marks.

From the way this item fits here, I feel like this piece is a replacement, right?

So only this piece is actually sterling.

The rest is probably Sheffield Electroplate, what we would call silver-plated.

Malachite handles, absolutely exquisite.

The condition, gorgeous.

Maybe 1900, 1910 for an age.

Value?

Oh, my Lord.

If you put it in the right place, on Bourbon Street in New Orleans or someplace like that, I think that you could probably see a piece like this for anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000, But it is simply magnificent.

-- Wow.

Tell me about this painting.

-- Well, in 1964, my parents and myself and my older brother, David, we went to Europe and one of our stops was in Madrid, Spain.

We went to the Prado Museum there in Madrid.

And as we were going through the museum, there was a lady that was sitting in a chair with an easel and the canvas, and she was making a reproduction of this original painting that was there in the museum.

And so my parents watched her for about a half an hour and they said, "What are you gonna- "Is this going to be for sale?"

And they said, "Yes, it's for sale."

So they bought it right on the spot.

And and then when she finished it, they mailed it, they rolled it up, put it in a tube, and they shipped it from Madrid, Spain, to Columbus, Mississippi.

And so it's 59 years old.

This painting is, and it was hung in their foyer of my parents home for 50 plus years.

And then after they died, my two brothers and I, we divided up the estate.

And this was one of the things that I wanted.

And so I got this and it's in my home now here in Columbus.

-- Well, it's very well done.

And, you know, artists frequently would paint in museums, and museums would allow the artists to do copies.

And that's how artists would learn to paint.

And this is Saint Peter.

-- Holding the keys to Heaven there.

-- Yes, and so that you've seen the great masterpiece.

And this is a reproduction.

-- Right, reproduction.

-- Yeah.

If the artist had signed this, that would be totally different.

-- Sure.

Right.

-- Key to value.

But I notice I don't see a signature on the front or the back.

-- Right.

-- So therefore, you know, we have to look at the skill.

How well was it done compared to the original?

-- Right.

-- Very well done.

Then I look at the condition.

When I look at the condition, I notice... Let's look at this.

Okay, there's a lot of varnish loss.

And the way I would explain that is when you have to have your car waxed every 3 to 5 years because your car, the surface of it starts to look dingy, that's what you have with a painting.

The varnish starts to disappear and then it looks a little bit chalky on the surface.

-- Right.

-- So you don't notice it until you put a light to it.

But what I would recommend for you to do is to have it revarnished by a conservator.

And that will really make the colors vibrant again, -- Right.

--And preserve it for posterity.

Because if you don't do that, then it's going to keep kind of deteriorating.

-- Right.

-- And the paint it does, it deteriorates every year.

So I recommend having it conserved.

But in the current condition right now, I would say this is $2,500, but if you have it restored, I'd put $6,000 on a reproduction piece.

-- Wow, and if we can find out the artist, we could research that and then really find out the value.

-- Correct.

-- Right.

Well, we'll just keep working on that.

Thank you.

-- Of course, it's a gem.

-- Hey Tom, how are you doing today?

-- Doing great.

Glad to be here.

Well, I'm proud you brought us this piece in today.

Have you had this piece several years?

-- Since about 1978.

-- 1978.

What drew you to this piece in 1978?

Did you buy it or was it a gift?

-- We were in Wheeling, West Virginia, doing an externship for clinical psychology.

Taught at Ole Miss for 40 years.

Went to a flea market when we had a little free time.

So I saw this and I said, didn't smoke.

Realized this was a smoking stand.

Best guess.

The price was right.

I don't remember what it was.

We were grad students, had no money, so I'm guessing $10 or $15 at most.

-- So you've owned it since 1978?

-- Yes.

-- Any idea of what you think it might be worth?

-- From hearing your description, it sounds like you like it.

Uh, $150?

Yeah?

-- You know, I think probably in the condition it's in, you're probably pretty close to $150, $200.

But if you could find replacement like the cigarette container or storage and the ashtray and figure out what the wiring is with this piece and maybe get the top wired and the light back on, and then at that point it might be $250, $300, somewhere in that range.

-- Excellent.

-- It's a neat piece.

And in this day and time, the next generation, they won't really be seeing any smoking stands because everybody's quit smoking.

-- Pretty much.

-- If you do, you go outside.

You're not sitting there in the house at the stand smoking in your easy chair.

Well, thank you for bringing it in, it's a nice piece.

-- Thanks for taking a look at it.

-- We're here with Sammy Moon.

Sammy, welcome.

-- Thank you, Bill.

Nice to be here.

-- You have a most unusual item here.

This is one I can truly say I've never seen before.

It's a quilt, but it's a different kind of quilt.

So tell me about it.

-- Well, it's a quilt that is made out of neckties.

And the incredible amount of work that went into putting this quilt together is just unbelievable.

And so when I saw it, not only did I want to get it because of the work that went into it, but it's beautiful.

So it's all neckties.

-- Where did you find it?

-- I found it at an antique show just outside of Atlanta about, gosh, 20, 25 years ago.

It was just there.

It was in a booth.

And I asked about it and they said, "Oh, we found it "when we were, you know, "scouring around for folk art."

And it was on a folk art show.

So, you know, basically that was about it.

I just bought it because I liked it.

-- Yeah.

Have you had a good time at the Mississippi Antique Showcase?

-- Well, of course I have.

Yes.

And I found out that my $200 investment is now $1,200 dollars.

-- Oh wow wow!

-- I made money.

-- Are you a MPB fan?

-- I am, indeed.

-- Well, what do we have here?

-- I brought my grandfather clock today.

I inherited this clock from my grandfather.

My grandfather was Dr. Platt.

They owned Shadow Lawn, an antebellum home here in Columbus for a number of years.

And this clock was in Shadow Lawn down in the main foyer for about 45, 48 years.

And when he died in 2007, he gave it to me and I had helped him.

When he first bought the clock, I helped him set it up, and I was fond of it, and he knew that.

And so he gave it to me.

-- It's first quarter of the 19th century and it's cherry and there is mahogany on it.

And quite a clock, quite an impressive clock.

And I understand that it runs as well.

-- It does.

It does.

I was privileged to have Pete Creekmore keep it in his shop at Ray's Jewelry for five years.

My home didn't have high enough ceilings to accommodate it, and so Pete kept it in his shop and maintained it and tweaked it and kept it in running shape.

-- I understand.

It's very impressive, but it does have a few flaws in the case and it needs a little work around the dial.

But, you know, those are minor things, really, because you can you can fix all that.

And I think the clock I mean, if I decided tomorrow that I wanted one other than this one, I wouldn't know where to go to find another one.

-- It's unique for sure.

-- That's right, it is very unique.

And for that reason, I would say, I would guess the value of it if I had it at auction, would be $20,000 to $25,000.

And it is, it's a nice clock.

-- Join us next time on Mississippi Antique Showcase and see if you have a hidden treasure in your closet.

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