Engraved Sharps Pistol Rifle with Mormon History
GUEST: My husband just received it from his mother, who had inherited it from her great-grandfather, that was married to the niece of the gentleman the gun was given to, who was Thomas Kane.
APPRAISER: It's a Sharps pistol rifle, as it's called.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: It was made in the mid-1850s, and they're pretty scarce. And there's a couple of interesting features about this gun. The first thing that struck me, before anything else, was the fact that it was engraved.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: It's very high-quality engraving, and it's conceivable that it was engraved by one of the most famous engravers of his day, which was, uh, Gustav Young.
GUEST: Oh, oh.
APPRAISER: Who also did a lot of fancy engraving for Samuel Colt. But even more intriguing, after a little bit more inspection, was the engravings on the patch box here. What can you tell me about those?
GUEST: As far as I know, the "Cummings" is the gentleman's name that, during the brink of the war between the Mormon Church, that he was the person that was put in charge at that time.
APPRAISER: It says "A. Cumming."
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: And there's actually a little seal of the, the Utah Territory, and with the date 1850 in Roman numerals, from the creation of the territory. And there's also the initials "TLK."
GUEST: Which is Thomas Leaper Kane.
APPRAISER: Okay, and also "ADC," which is Alfred Cumming.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: As you may already know, Thomas Kane was quite famous in Mormon history. He was a big friend of the Mormons, and responsible for
moving them on sort of their westward trek from Illinois. And Kane was a, a lawyer, but he was also an abolitionist.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: And the Mormons were also strong abolitionists, so they had mutual interests. And Kane was actually one of the primary people
responsible in having Brigham Young nominated to be the first governor of the Territory of Utah. The gun was made in the mid-1850s. And all of these things come into play. The Mormon War...
GUEST: Uh-huh. .
APPRAISER: ..started in May of 1857.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: And President James Buchanan at the time was worried that the Mormons were going to essentially rebel...
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: ...from federal authority. So one of his first acts was to turn the territory over to Mr. Cumming and replace Brigham Young, and Mr.
Kane was one of those people instrumental in making sure there was a smooth transition. And the war finally ended in 1858. But what is even more intriguing about the gun is, over here, there's a plaque...
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: ...engraved with Robert Kane giving it to his brother Thomas Kane, and then one month later, Thomas giving it back to his brother, or so it appears. But it's around a very elaborately engraved seal of the Territory of Utah. At auction, I think that just the, a Sharps pistol rifle would fetch around $10,000.
GUEST: Wow. (laughing)
APPRAISER: Well, even better, with the Mormon associations...
GUEST: Yes?
APPRAISER: ...I think at auction, the gun would fetch around $30,000.
GUEST: (laughing): Oh, my gosh. That's amazing!
APPRAISER: It really is a rare treat, I mean...
GUEST: Wow! Thank you so much—
APPRAISER: You’re…
GUEST: That's amazing!
APPRAISER: You're welcome.
GUEST: That really is.
$60,000 Auction
$30,000 Auction
Featured In
episode
Raleigh, Hour 3
Roadshow visits North Carolina's Museum of the Cape Fear to examine Civil War weapons.
episode
Vintage Raleigh 2025, Hour 2
Learn the values of 2009 ROADSHOW treasures from Raleigh go up, down or stay the same in today's market. Spoiler — one find triples in value!
Appraisal Extras
short video
Owner Interview: Engraved Sharps Pistol Rifle with Mormon History
Dena, the owner of rifle from the mid-1850s with connections to the Mormon Church, talked to us about her exciting appraisal and her plans for this family heirloom at the June 2009 taping for ANTIQUES ROADSHOW in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Historical Artifacts
appraisal
appraisal
Frank Zappa Painting, ca. 1960
appraisal
Vermont Militia Coat, ca. 1815
appraisal
Dr. Seuss “Kangaroo Bird," ca. 1938
Understanding Our Appraisals
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.
