New England Tall Case Clock, ca. 1820
GUEST:
The clock I got from my dad. He purchased it probably 50 years ago from a physician in Princeton, New Jersey. And that person said it had come probably from Boston.
APPRAISER:
Well, the way you can recognize many early New England grandfather clocks is the top. The open fretwork and the finials on top almost always means it's New England, although that design is derived from the English form. Beautiful clock, few alterations. Dates about 1820, 1825, I think. Somewhere in that area. Styled after the great styles of Willard and the great formal Boston clockmakers. So, do you have a feeling for its value? Do you know where it would be there?
GUEST:
Actually, I don't because it's not clear to me who would necessarily want a clock like this, especially in Albuquerque.
APPRAISER:
Oh, I think a lot of people would. It's very pretty. We'd appraise it at about $18,500 for replacement purposes.
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."
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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.
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