GUEST: It's been in my family for generations. It was a gift to my great-grandmother from her great-uncle, who apparently was a sailor with Captain Cook. And according to the family story, it was given to her about 1795.

APPRAISER: It's a club.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: It's a war club.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: And it's actually from Tonga.

GUEST: Tonga.

APPRAISER: It's called a pakipaki. There's a number of clubs, and they're all of this sort of staff-like form. But they terminate differently, or they have a slightly different shape. The pakipaki has this slightly swollen spatulate end on the end of it like this.

GUEST: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: The casuarina wood that it's made out of is extremely dense.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: And there are a number of clubs in the Pacific that are made out of this, and they're always the most chosen ones.

GUEST: Would they actually have used this in a war, or was this for decorative purposes?

APPRAISER: Oh, no, this was a useful tool in war.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: But then, because it was so beautifully done...

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: And this was a deliberate design that was put there by the owner...

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: His personal... almost like a tattoo.

GUEST: I see, yeah.

APPRAISER: Then he would probably... wherever he went, he would hold it as a badge of office to show how proud he was.

GUEST: Uh-huh, right.

APPRAISER: And what a wonderful weapon he had.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: It was an important object to have.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: It's extraordinary detail. The association with Cook is interesting, but I don't think we can prove it conclusively.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: And that, of course, will make quite a difference with the pricing.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: But the, the club is an 18th-century club.

GUEST: Wow, okay.

APPRAISER: Which would put it in the time of Cook. Do you have any idea of the value of the club?

GUEST: I have no idea, really, none.

APPRAISER: I think a retail value...

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: Very conservatively, would be between $8,000 and $10,000.

GUEST: Whoa, okay.

APPRAISER: If it, if you could prove it was a Cook piece...

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: That would up the ante tremendously.

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: And you would be looking at a figure probably in excess of $100,000, maybe $150,000.

GUEST: Wow, wow.

APPRAISER: But it's a wonderful example. It's fabulous.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: I'm thrilled you brought it in.

GUEST: Okay, thank you, thank you.