1897 Utah Semi-Centennial Cups & Tiffany Pin
Watch
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 semi-centennial celebrated the 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 semi-centennial. 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. 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 semi-centennial. 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 & Company." 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.
Appraisal Details
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.
