Late 20th-Century Cigar Store Indian
APPRAISER:
Now, you said you bought it from a warehouse, right?
GUEST:
I was working in a warehouse about five years ago and I saw her about a hundred feet away standing by one of the warehouse doors.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
And I couldn't believe she was real, you know, wood. So I inquired after, you know, why it was there and how much was it, and was it for sale? And I was told it was for sale.
APPRAISER:
Okay, how much was it?
GUEST:
$300.
APPRAISER:
So you paid them that and hauled it away.
GUEST:
I couldn't write the check fast enough.
APPRAISER:
And since then, you were offered a bit more for it?
GUEST:
I've been offered $12,000 for it.
APPRAISER:
By a guy who just came by your place?
GUEST:
Yeah, he actually dealt in antiques and he offered that on the spot.
APPRAISER:
On the spot-- that's pretty exciting. And you decided to bring it to the Roadshow, right? Well, as you may know, the tobacconist figures or cigar store Indians, they also call them, they were really very popular in America really throughout the 19th century. And Native Americans were depicted because Native Americans were associated with cultivating tobacco, so it was a popular depiction to have these Native Americans in front of the store holding up, as this lady does, her hand. This probably had a real cigar or a cigar coming out of the hand which is now missing from the top; also holding usually a bundle of cigars. And these were wheeled in and out of stores. What we have to find out with this is whether or not it's an old one, and that's one reason you brought it by the show. We have to start at the top and look at the carving and see that there isn't a lot of paint surface on it. We come down to this face-- the face is kind of a 20th-century-looking face, I have to tell you, and that's the first thing that I saw. The carving is rather crudely done. It has a Westernized face. But when you come down here and look at this split in the front, you can realize that this was carved out of green wood. This split was really done rather recently. If you look inside here, you can see that... actually the paint surface, you see that there's just this one coat of paint. Also, the paint is very, very green. It's a really bright, bright green that you don't generally see in the 19th century because this, as an old piece, would be... is in the style of kind of 1850 to 1920. And if we come down and even spin around the back, we see this bright blue, this bright green, this carving which is very sharp and crisp and doesn't have a buildup of paint that a lot of these old Indians had because they were repainted and repainted because they were brought outside and brought back in, and all that really adds up to really this not being old. I don't like telling people bad news, but one of the things that is good about the show is that you learn what a fake looks like. And really, this may have been made in Asia. You paid $300. I'd say it's probably worth about $300. It might be worth a little more.
APPRAISER:
That guy that offered you 12...
GUEST:
Well, I'm going to go find him before the show goes on the air.
APPRAISER:
I'm sorry to give you that news but it's not as if you paid $12,000, luckily.
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.