Paul Revere Jr. Silver Tablespoons, ca. 1796
GUEST: I actually inherited them almost 20 years ago. It was on my mother's side. They got to my mother from her Uncle Robert, and then before Robert, it was with George. So, from what I understand, these spoons were part of a, like, story time. So, for instance, Uncle Bob would, you know, sit all the kids down, and he would display the spoons. He said that they were Revere spoons, as in Paul Revere.
APPRAISER: And how did he know that?
GUEST: Because he had inherited them from his father.
APPRAISER: So as you know, these are marked with the name Revere. This is a set of six spoons that is also engraved with the letters "A.A." at the downturned tip. That "A.A." may relate to a family in Boston, Anna Amory. And I don't know if there's any relationship between an Amory family and your family, but Paul Revere's record books show a great deal of silver made for Anna Amory and Anna Amory's family in 1796, much of which was marked with this same "A.A." intersecting at the bottom. We'll date these right around 1796, because of the possible connection to the Anna Amory service. So besides being a patriot and a Son of Liberty, Paul Revere also came from a silversmithing family. His father, Paul Revere, Sr., was a silversmith in his own right, and I believe died just before Paul could legally take over the business. So he had to apprentice for a little while. Then of course, there was an American Revolution in the middle there. Paul Revere, Jr.--this being Paul Revere, Jr.'s work--has certainly emerged as the more desirable of the Revere silversmiths. What I'd really love to be able to do with these is to dig into that history. His account books are fascinating. They list somewhere around 5,000 silver objects that he made. He was one of Boston's most accomplished silversmiths in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Spoons like these don't come up very often. They're an unusual size, about seven-and-a-quarter inches, which is sort of in between a tablespoon and a teaspoon.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: So we'd call these a small tablespoon, rarer than teaspoons and rarer than tablespoons, but tablespoons still are the most desirable. Were these to come up in an auction of like property and well-publicized, we'd expect them to carry an auction estimate of $20,000 to $30,000.
GUEST: Wow. Really?
APPRAISER: If you were to want to have these insured, you'd probably be looking at a value closer to about $50,000 for the set of six.
GUEST: Wow, that's amazing. (laughing): That is--that's amazing.
$20,000 Auction
$50,000 Insurance
Featured In
episode
Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms, Hour 2
ROADSHOW strikes gold in Colorado with amazing finds from a stop in Littleton!
18th Century
appraisal
Cinnabar Lacquer Box, Ca. 1765
appraisal
appraisal
Nicolas Lupot Violin & Peccatte-style Bow
appraisal
Late 18th C. American School Mini Portraits
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.
