Diquís & Veraguas Gold Pendants, ca. 1000
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GUEST:
My father owned a pawn shop in the Midwest in the '60s.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
And towards the late '60s, this man came in-- I would say probably '68, '69-- the man came in, we never knew his name, we just called him "the man from the country." And he brought these three objects in, and sold them to my father for weight. So whatever the price of gold was at that time. And he said, "If you give me $10,000, I will go and get more where these came from." And at the time, my father didn't have $10,000. You know, it was the '60s, and he had two kids in private schools and he didn't give him the money and we never saw the man again.
APPRAISER:
Tell me approximately what your father paid for these?
GUEST:
Maybe $100, $200 for all three figures.
APPRAISER:
One of the things that we have to keep in mind is that when we're authenticating pre-Colombian gold, it's a process. So the very first thing that we did is we sent these over to jewelry, and jewelry tested them. And I believe that it was this one that was 14.
GUEST:
In the middle he said that was 14, yes.
APPRAISER:
14, and then these were 18 on the outside.
GUEST:
18 or higher.
APPRAISER:
So many times on the ROADSHOW when they come in, they look like they're gold, but in fact they're brass. So we've established that they're gold. The next thing I want to do is look at the surface. And you can see especially on this center one where you have some nice wear patterns and indications of handling. On these others you also have a loop on the back, and so all three of these are pendants. They do have wear on the back, and so that's a great indication. All right, the next thing is we want to identify them stylistically. Stylistically, all three of these are from the Costa Rica, Panama area, right where the two countries come together. This one probably is the earliest one, maybe dating 700 to 1500 A.D. The two on the outside maybe 1000 to 1500. I believe this one to be from Panama in the Veraguas area. I think these two are Diquis. So we've established that they're authentic, we know that they're pendants, and the iconography, all of these animals and human figures are part of their deities, their religious structure. These represent supernatural beings. Now, any idea what kind of value that we have? We're going to go from $200 in the '60s, and I've indicated to you they are authentic.
GUEST:
That's the thing, I had no clue. I didn't know if they were authentic or not. I've seen these on the ROADSHOW before, and they said it's the authentication process, it's a process. So I have no idea what they're worth.
APPRAISER:
I will say this is only the second group I've had on the ROADSHOW in 21 years that's authentic.
GUEST (laughing): I've been watching the ROADSHOW a long time.
APPRAISER:
Okay, so you know I'm telling the truth. On the little eagle, I think you're talking $1,500 to $2,500.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
$1,500 to $2,500 on the little standing figure holding the rattles. And then the center, that's the heaviest and the nicest, and I think it's $3,500 to $4,500.
GUEST:
Great, great. I guess he made a mistake not giving him the $10,000.
APPRAISER:
He should have done it, and then you should have called me.
GUEST:
Exactly.
APPRAISER:
Congratulations, you had a great day on the ROADSHOW.
GUEST:
Thank you so much.
Appraisal Details
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