South Carolina Cavalry Jacket & Belt, ca. 1860
Watch
GUEST:
I brought in my great-great-grandfather's Confederate jacket. He was from Glenn Springs, South Carolina, which is up near Spartanburg. Back in the '70s, I was given permission to go through an old shed out in the backyard. And it was in my great-great-grandmother's trunk with a lot of... a lot of things. Going through papers and all, I found the name of her father, traced some of his information, but this belonged to him. He died at Adam's Run, which is not far from Charleston, of dysentery in camp towards the end of the war.
APPRAISER:
And who did he serve with?
GUEST:
It's E Company, South Carolina Cavalry.
APPRAISER:
And we know right away it's cavalry because it has this gold trim. Artillery was red, infantry was blue, cavalry is golden. And it's a short jacket because on horseback, you didn't need all that extra cloth to carry around. This coat is special for several reasons. It shows how non-regulation some of those early uniforms from the Civil War are. Do you know where the buttons were made?
GUEST:
Uh-uh.
APPRAISER:
They're actually made in Waterbury, Connecticut.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
By the Scovill Manufacturing Company, which sounds odd on a Confederate coat, but right before the Civil War broke out, they shipped a lot of buttons to the Southern states, and these are South Carolina buttons. They've got the palmetto tree in the center, and around the edge it reads, "Animis Opibusque Parati," which means "prepared in mind and resources," the South Carolina motto. The belt's the same way. This was made up north as well, probably in Chicopee, Massachusetts. The coat's just pretty. It's got a lot of wear, but you expect that. But it's that home-grown feeling that the coat gives you when you see it that makes it special to a collector because it's of this jean wool, which is a mix between wool and cotton. And it was cheaper than regular pure wool. When we open up the front, the buttons aren't all individually sewn. They're what we call "shanked." They run a strap through there, tack it down, and it holds them all in place at once. And if you notice, the lining on the coat is wild.
GUEST:
Yeah, it's pretty wild.
APPRAISER:
Function over beauty.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Nobody was going to see that. Those are called balloon sleeves, and that's one of the things you look for in a good early coat. Later on, they narrow them down. Have you ever had the pieces appraised?
GUEST:
Never had it appraised, no.
APPRAISER:
Any gut feeling?
GUEST:
$12, $15 maybe, I don't...
APPRAISER:
As any antique collector will tell you, something that makes your eyes and your heart this happy is really going to hurt your pocketbook. This coat in today's market should be insured for $30,000.
GUEST:
Wow. Pretty nice. (laughs)
APPRAISER:
And as a bonus, we have the belt with the South Carolina buckle. That's another $7,000.
GUEST:
Really? That's pretty amazing. It's a pretty nice save from an old trunk.
APPRAISER:
One heck of a shed. (laughs)
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.
