GUEST: Well, it's a banjo clock that my mother had, and I always liked it because I always really liked clocks. And after my mother passed away, I inherited it from her. It's a real nice clock, we just don't know much about it really.

APPRAISER: Yeah. It's actually a clock made by Joseph Nye Dunning. Now, Joseph Nye Dunning began his craft in Concord, Massachusetts, along with Lemuel Curtis. And as a clock collector, you probably know that name and probably know both names.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: They worked in the center of Concord producing timepieces like this.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: The name "banjo clock" of course is a later name that they came up with that name because it resembles a banjo. I don't see that resemblance, but in the time they just called them a timepiece. Because anything that is just a ticking clock without a bell is a timepiece. Joseph Nye Dunning migrated, along with Lemuel Curtis, up to Burlington, Vermont. They opened up a jewelry-store-type place where they sold all sorts of things.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: And continued to manufacture clocks, like this timepiece in front of us. This clock's wonderful condition, beautiful mahogany crotch grain through the front. Of course it's a veneer.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: And done for its decorative appeal. Much the same way that they veneered empire furniture at the time. There's no visible signature on this, but it's such a stylistic icon that you really don't need a signature.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: We know from signed examples that he made this type of thing.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: And it was made probably about 1825. And made right up there in Burlington, Vermont.

GUEST: Vermont, wow.

APPRAISER: And this one was intended to sit on a mantel. You have any guesses as to what it's worth?

GUEST: I... I don't know, a couple thousand maybe?

APPRAISER: Couple thousand?

GUEST: Yeah, I mean that's just... I really don't know.

APPRAISER: Well, there have been a couple of these that have appeared in the market recently. I can say with confidence that at auction, this clock today is probably in the $20,000 to $30,000 range.

GUEST: Oh, wow. (laughing) That is... Wow, that is amazing.

APPRAISER: It's one of the finest clocks of this type that I've ever seen here at the ROADSHOW.

GUEST: Wow.