Early 20th-Century Stagecoach Model
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GUEST:
I got this at auction about five years ago.
APPRAISER:
And you paid how much for it?
GUEST:
It was about $2,500.
APPRAISER:
What attracted you to, to buy it?
GUEST:
The workmanship and the fact that it's just a great piece of Americana, really.
APPRAISER:
So what else do you know about it?
GUEST:
It's an Abbot and Downing coach, which, you know, they built the Concord coaches, which, uh, Wells Fargo bought.
APPRAISER:
And Abbot and Downing supplied the majority of the stagecoaches that were used out west...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
...as early as the 1840s. Certainly by the time the Gold Rush began in California, the stagecoach lines started up to help deliver mail to mining camps and that sort of thing. So, certainly by the 1850s, stagecoach lines were operating here in California, and the Concord coach was the Cadillac coach...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
...for all the western-- and in fact, eastern stage lines, too.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
My guess is that it was made in the early 20th century, based upon the quality of the manufacturing and the style of metal that was used for it. The craftsmanship of this is unbelievable. It's got great original paint and surface. The leather is in terrific shape. The thing that's puzzles me about this is that there's no doors.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
And every Concord coach had a door. Now I'm gonna just do one thing, too. This lifts right off. And the detailed workmanship on this is fabulous. The leather springs...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
...that were supporting the coach is still intact. What's interesting-- and you pointed this out to me-- the name "Diamond Tally-Ho" on the side of the coach has actually been painted over an earlier coach number.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
And it would be interesting to X-ray that to see what the original name of the coach was. I would say, as an icon of the American West...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...that a good auction estimate for this terrific model would be somewhere between $4,000 and $6,000.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
So a nice return on your investment. And it might bring more, because stagecoaches are always at the top of the mind of Western collectors.
GUEST:
Appreciate it.
APPRAISER:
Thanks for bringing it in.
GUEST:
All right, thank you.
Appraisal Details
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