Jacob Kunz Pistol Cane, ca. 1830
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GUEST:
Well, actually, I got it in trade with a very good friend of mine.
APPRAISER:
What did you trade?
GUEST:
I traded a nice, old bottle that he was interested in.
APPRAISER:
What do you know about it?
GUEST:
I know very little, or actually, I should say nothing, about it, other than it's a walking stick and a gun.
APPRAISER:
Well, it's one of the most wonderful items I've seen in a long time. It's a... it's a gun cane, it's a pistol cane. It was made by one of the premier gunsmiths in Philadelphia, whose name was Jacob Kunz, and he worked from about the beginning of the 19th century up to the 1850s or '60s. And this is extremely rare. His name is right under the hammer-- J. Kunz-- and it's a later spelling of his name. He originally spelled it K-U-N-T-Z, and this is spelled K-U-N-Z. And it's got beautiful workmanship up here. It's a lovely gun, and let me tell you a bit about Jacob Kunz. Jacob Kunz made air guns, which are very rare. And Meriwether Lewis took one of Jacob Kunz's air guns on their Lewis and Clark expedition.
GUEST:
Is that right?
APPRAISER:
There're only eight air guns known. They're all at the Virginia Military Institute now. They were formed by a man in Philadelphia... collection... who gave his collection to VMI, but they're extremely rare, and this is extremely rare. This is just a... a great, great item, beautifully made by a premier craftsman. Tell me now what... what was the bottle worth that you traded?
GUEST:
Well, my friend valued the bottle at about a thousand to $1,500.
APPRAISER:
Well, I'll tell you, I think you did all right, because I think this really is worth $10,000 to $15,000.
GUEST:
$10,000 to $15,000?
APPRAISER:
$10,000 to $15,000.
GUEST:
I'm sure my friend will be contacting me.
Appraisal Details
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