British 125th Regimental Officer's Coat, ca. 1795
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GUEST:
It's a British uniform from the Revolutionary War period, 1780s. And it was something my father found in England when he was walking down the street, and he saw a woman cleaning a glass with this. And he said, "What's that?" And the woman said, "The mistress of the house "told me I can use any rags that I want...
APPRAISER:
Huh.
GUEST:
...to, uh, clean." So my father said, "Let me see the rag box," and there was this, and clothes inside it, and this red coat. And he spoke to the mistress of the house, and he gave her five pounds, which is about $15. For the whole...
APPRAISER:
About $15 for the whole lot?
GUEST:
The whole lot. This is in 1955.
APPRAISER:
(laughing): Right, right, right. Well, it's, it's too bad that she cut the leg off of the breeches to use to clean the window.
GUEST:
But that saved the rest of it.
APPRAISER:
It saved the rest of the stuff that you got, including this wonderful regimental coat. Um, it's an officer's coat from the 125th Regiment. Now, that regiment was only in existence for two years.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
1794 to 1796.
GUEST:
Ah.
APPRAISER:
Yup. Now, we can tell it's an officer's coat for a few reasons. It's got gilt lace.
GUEST:
Yes, silver.
APPRAISER:
It was actually gold; it's faded.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, it was actually-- there's brass buttons, um, so it would have been, uh, gold lace. Um, we've got this wonderful fitted sleeve right here. Got the cuff with paired loops or paired lace-- two here and two here. And if we spin it around... You can see the detail of the false pockets here. These are all non-functional.
GUEST:
Oh!
APPRAISER:
They're just for looks. And down here, we can see Stanford Regiment, which, this is the, uh, uh, the logo for the, uh, 125th Regiment of Foot.
GUEST:
Oh!
APPRAISER:
It's a great piece, great piece. The condition is awesome. The other thing is, is, you can tell it's an officer's coat, uh, because of the color. The color is scarlet. Enlisted men would have had a brick or madder red coat.
GUEST:
Ah, that's why it's so red.
APPRAISER:
Exactly, exactly. So have you ever had it appraised before?
GUEST:
No, never.
APPRAISER:
So, unfortunately, with the, uh, damage to the breeches, with the leg being cut off, um, it does affect the value, and they don't... They aren't really worth anything, unlike the coat. We would put a conservative auction estimate in today's market between $7,000 and $9,000 for the coat.
GUEST:
I'm gobsmacked.
APPRAISER:
(laughs) Yeah, it's, it's, it's a great piece.
GUEST:
Whoa.
APPRAISER:
Like I said, the condition is just wonderful on it.
GUEST:
I knew it was in good condition.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, for, for surviving that long, it's just amazing.
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