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1821 U.S. Citizenship Certificate

Value (2016) | $600 – $900
Watch  

GUEST:
Well, I acquired the document through the WGBH Auction in 1978.

APPRAISER:
Oh, my goodness.

GUEST:
Yes. And it was certainly before black memorabilia became popular.

APPRAISER:
The rage that it is today, yes.

GUEST:
But because it was a certificate of citizenship for a person of color, I personally felt it should belong to a person of color, so I got the high bid.

APPRAISER:
If I may ask, how much did you pay for this in 1978?

GUEST:
I paid $75, which at the time my mother thought was outrageous, but... (chuckles) It was well worth it.

APPRAISER:
In retrospect, it wasn't outrageous. I need to share a couple exciting things with you here. This is an important document that is showing George Barker-- the gentleman right here, and he was born in 1788-- and that he is a free person of color and a citizen of America. And more importantly, it's showing descriptive information about his height-- he's five foot two; he has a "sable" complexion and he has "woolly" hair.

GUEST:
(chuckling) Yes.

APPRAISER:
Is that just not indicative of the time period, where they were describing African Americans with "woolly" hair?

GUEST:
Right, exactly.

APPRAISER:
The other thing that's exciting is that down here, we have where it says "'for the relief and protection of American seamen'…not having made provision for persons of color to obtain certificates of citizenship."

GUEST:
Right.

APPRAISER:
This document is so important. You have a wonderful seal right here. It's archivally framed. It's from Massachusetts. I've never seen something like this. With the genre of black memorabilia, we get to see so many types of documents that are attributed to slavery. We get to see certificate of freedom, we see manumission, writ of affidavit, bill of sales, court cases. But it's very unusual to see a document of this significance concerning a free person of color where it's all laid out in such exquisite form. We know his name, his height, his age, and the notary public. I mean, this document could not be more significant. Do you have any idea what it could be worth today?

GUEST:
Not a clue, just, uh... Yeah, no idea.

APPRAISER:
Just let me tell you. Scholars, collectors, museums, libraries would eat this up. How about $3,500 to $5,000 for this document?

GUEST:
Oh, my God! That's unbelievable!

APPRAISER:
Now, is your mom still living?

GUEST:
Yes, she is, and she's going to be mighty shocked!

APPRAISER:
Make sure you tell her that $75 many years ago was well spent.

GUEST:
That is amazing.

APPRAISER:
Thank you very much for sharing with the Antiques Roadshow.

Support provided by: Learn more

Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Philip Merrill
Collectibles
Update (2016)
$600 – $900
Update (2014)
$3,500 – $5,000
Appraised value (2000)
$3,500 Retail – $5,000 Retail
Featured In
Jackpot! (#1116)
Boston, Hour 2 (#0608)
Celebrating Black Americana (#1934)
Vintage Boston (#2025)
Event
Boston, MA (August 19, 2000)
Category
Books & Manuscripts
Period
19th Century
Form
Document
Material
Paper

Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.

Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."

Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.

Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.

Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.

Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.

Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.

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