Eugene Woodruff West Point Archive, ca. 1870
GUEST: We have, uh, several items from my great-great-uncle, Eugene Woodruff. He was an 1866 graduate of West Point. And, uh, we have his class ring, uh, his, uh, kepi and, uh, gauntlets. And this is a photograph from his, uh, annual yearbook.
APPRAISER: Are there any markings on the ring?
GUEST: Uh, yes. It's a, a wax sealing ring.
APPRAISER: That explains why the 66 is backwards.
GUEST: Is backwards, yes.
APPRAISER: Right. And what about the, the flag here?
GUEST: The flag is a presentation piece that was given to, uh, Eugene Woodruff on the 4th of July in 1873, uh, by the people of Shreveport in appreciation for his work in removing the Great Raft of the Red River, which is a 40-mile log jam that the government had been fighting with for, uh, 40 years. He was the engineer in charge of the project and he was finally able to successfully remove it. He used, uh, the latest technology in doing it. He, uh... uh, he used new steam equipment that hadn't been available before, and, uh, nitroglycerin, which revolutionized the, uh, job of removing, uh, obstructions in rivers.
APPRAISER: (chuckling): I'm sure it did.
GUEST: Yeah. So...
APPRAISER: Well, he graduated from West Point in 1866 at the end of the American Civil War. Um, he did not see combat. But what a lot of people don't think about is the fact that, after the war, there were things like the log jam. There were things that needed to be reconstructed. And he graduated as an engineer. And you have his kepi, um, the eagle or the wreath on the front. Um, the... it's missing the "U.S." Uh, it's got great Engineer Corps buttons on, on each side. Uh, great cap. The flag has 37 stars, uh, which fits in with the time frame that's written on the flag. And one of the things that caught my eye first was this great pair of gauntlets. They're entirely hand sewn. You can see all the tiny little stitching, uh, from the glover that made them. But on the inside, they're also named to him where he, he had them stamped with his name and "U.S.A." A wonderful pair of gloves. And so, uh, where did you get the image?
GUEST: The, uh, class photo we actually got online. Uh, it came from the yearbook that was published that year and it was floating around. I just happened to catch it.
APPRAISER: Wow.
GUEST: And I paid $30 for it.
APPRAISER: Wow.
GUEST: He signed it and, uh, put his address, "Independence, Iowa," on the, uh,
on the picture there.
APPRAISER: Right. Have you ever had any of these items appraised before?
GUEST: No.
APPRAISER: So, for the items that we have here, we would put an insurance value of, uh, $15,000 on it.
GUEST: Really?
APPRAISER: Yeah, it's...
GUEST: Well, okay. (chuckles)
APPRAISER: Well, there, there's some really rare and interesting things. You know, the ring, obviously, um, but the other items are fantastic also.
$15,000 Insurance
Featured In
episode
Living History Farms, Hour 1
ROADSHOW visits Living History Farms for treasures and a top $75,000 to $125,000 find.
Books & Documents
appraisal
Dr. Seuss “Kangaroo Bird," ca. 1938
appraisal
1903 Jack London Call of the Wild Book with Letter
appraisal
1903 - 1908 Camera Work Magazines
appraisal
1851 First Edition "Pearl of Great Price"
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.
