Uncle Sam Cast-iron Doorstop, ca. 1915
GUEST: brought in an Uncle Sam doorstop.
It's really heavy.
(chuckles) And it says "For the Open Door Policy," which, I'm not sure what that was, but it was my grandmother's, and it's been handed down for generations, and now it's mine.
And I was always told, "Don't get rid of Uncle Sam.
He's really important, he's a really unique piece."
And I don't know, really, much about him.
APPRAISER: So what we have is a cast-iron doorstop, a figural doorstop, uh, created to hold a door open.
It's hand-painted.
It's circa 1910 to 1920, American-made, but we don't know exactly where.
Most likely New England or possibly the Midwest.
That's where a lot of the cast-iron foundries who would make sad irons, doorstops, and toy novelties were located.
The base here, it's really cute.
It's a nice play on words, "For the Open Door."
The Open Door was a political policy with the superpowers or the powers-that-be at around 1899, 1900, relative to trade and tariff interactions in China.
GUEST: Oh.
APPRAISER: Uncle Sam, obviously, this proud, dapper figure here, uh, represented the United States.
We were the ones that suggested that this policy of the Open Door in, in China at the time.
We'll turn it around to show the back half here.
So, this is the flat side that would be against the door.
Now, when I first saw it, it struck me because of the overall condition, uh, which is exceptional.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: These turn up unpainted sometimes.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: But finding one that's painted in authentic paint, uh, is quite rare.
GUEST: Oh, I missed that.
APPRAISER: I can probably count, I pro, I can probably only count about five examples that I know of.
GUEST: Really?
APPRAISER: Which would probably make this the second-rarest doorstop in existence.
GUEST: Oh, stop it!
Seriously?
APPRAISER: Seriously.
(gasps) GUEST: Oh, my gosh.
(laughing) APPRAISER: Uh, the things that I'll look for... GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: The things that I'll look for... GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: ...is the crazing in the paint.
It's almost like an alligatoring or a crackling in the paint.
We can see it here.
That's a good sign-- that shows old paint.
One of the tools that we use when determining if the paint is original is a bl, a shortwave black-light U.V.
So it goes into the spectrum.
It's hard to see in open light here, but the way this lights is exactly what we want to see.
Nothing's really jumping out to suggest that the paint is tampered with or has been modified, restored, et cetera.
GUEST: When I brought it up here, I did chip a little paint off of it... APPRAISER: Okay.
GUEST: ...and it came off really easily.
APPRAISER: We definitely want to avoid any more chips.
(chuckles) Uh, actually, the rule in my household growing up was, treat every chip like it's $1,000.
(gasps) GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: The other rule of thumb that we've used is that the money's in the face, and his face is in great shape.
GUEST: Oh, okay.
APPRAISER: A conservative auction estimate would be from $10,000 to $15,000.
GUEST: Mm, wow.
Okay.
APPRAISER: And the... GUEST: Go, Uncle Sam.
(both laugh) APPRAISER: And the top price, uh, actually exceeded $20,000 on one that sold at auction before.
GUEST: Oh, my gosh!
Wow.
Wow-- thank you so much, that's... I can't even believe that, wow.
$10,000 - $15,000 Auction
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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.
