Dey Time Recorder
APPRAISER:
What a piece of clock this is. This is one of the earliest time clocks we know of. These clocks are very hard to find in this very good condition. Usually these surfaces here, which are nice and crisp and bright and original now, are damaged. Who was it that restored this?
GUEST:
My dad. He received the clock in the early '70s and it was a gift from one of his clients. He always expressed a desire for it. One day it was his day and the man said, "It's yours, but please never sell it."
APPRAISER:
So you're not going to sell it?
GUEST:
I'm not going to sell it, and it'll be passed down.
APPRAISER:
And you didn't pay anything for it.
GUEST:
That's correct.
APPRAISER:
And now you're going to want to know how much is it worth, right?
GUEST:
That's correct.
APPRAISER:
Well, a lot of people might wonder how it works from looking at it. If the employee number is 158, he would come in in the morning and...
GUEST:
Punch it.
APPRAISER:
Punch it in. And at the time that was done, the time of day as well as the type of work was typed right onto a reel inside, which rotates. There isn't any tape with it right now. This is one of the first time recorders ever invented. It was invented by a person named Alexander Dey, who was a Scotsman. And his brother John Dey was living in New York at the time, and the two of them got together and started the Dey Time Register, Inc. The Dey Time Company later sold out or amalgamated with the International Time Recording Company of Endicott, New York. That is today's IBM-- International Business Machines. So, in a way, this is a progenitor of the IBM company. It's hard to appraise something like this because it's a very, very unusual piece but it's not artistic, right? It's a little bit of industrial design history. However, I think that a collector who would seek out a piece like this might very well pay $1,500 to $2,000 for this.
GUEST:
Well, thank you so much.
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.
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