Colt Richards-Mason Revolver
GUEST:
It belonged to my great-grandfather, and his name was Emile Hesnard. He came from France to the Black Hills of South Dakota around 1882. As far as we know, he bought it when he came here. I'm sure he didn't purchase a gun in France.
APPRAISER:
Was he a gold seeker in the Black Hills?
GUEST:
Came for the gold rush.
APPRAISER:
This is exactly from that time period. It's an unusual gun because it's a conversion from a percussion to a cartridge. And you can see that with the type of hammer that it has and the fact that right here, it has a loading gig. Here on the cylinder, this naval battle scene is commemorating a battle from the Mexican-American War. This gun probably dates about 1870. But what's really quite tremendous about this piece is you have the original holster still with it. And I suppose this is the one that he had and carried.
GUEST:
Yes, it is, yeah.
APPRAISER:
It's a very rare holster. It's what they call a California Slim Jim pattern holster. It's typical, where the shape of the holster is almost dead identical to the shape of the gun. And this re-curved piece right here, that's classic of this type of holster. You're looking at these type of decorations, which is a little bit California, a little bit Mexican, from the influence of the Spanish here in California. This is a great combination. Very scarce gun in a terribly scare holster. Holsters just don't last very long. At auction, you'd probably be looking in the vicinity of about $5,000 to $7,000 for this piece.
GUEST:
Okay.
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.