Valentine's Candy Jar, ca. 1890
GUEST: It was in my great-great grandmother's possession. My great-grandmother lived in Muskegon, Michigan. Back in the 1800s, these candies were given out. And she did not like the taste of them.
APPRAISER: (laughs)
GUEST: So she would put them in the jar and started saving them. And when people found out that they gave her more. It's scary for me to even look at it.
APPRAISER: Right.
GUEST: Because I-I'm afraid after all these years, I will be the one to damage it. (laughs)
APPRAISER: Oh, that's quite a pressure on your shoulder.
GUEST: It is, yeah!
APPRAISER: Well, first of all, I think it's fantastic.
GUEST: It's cool.
APPRAISER: We have a-a pretty basic glass jar with a metal lid...
GUEST: Uh-huh.
APPRAISER: ...that's full of this Valentine's candy.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: Primarily heart-shaped, but some others, most likely by the New England Confectionery Company.
GUEST: Oh!
APPRAISER: And you may know the New England Confectionery Company by its acronym of Necco. Or Necco Wafers.
GUEST: Okay...
APPRAISER: So the New England Confectionery Company first introduced the candy to the country around 1866.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: And they were called conversation starters or conversation candy because they had these sayings on them.
GUEST: Yeah...
APPRAISER: One of the more prominent pieces of candy's got Grover Cleveland.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: So Grover Cleveland was president of the United States. He was actually the first president to serve two non-consecutive terms.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: 1885, and then again in 1893. "Of course I will," is one heart.
GUEST: (laughs)
APPRAISER: "No doubt of it." "With all my heart." And then, "Will you marry me?"
GUEST: Yeah. (laughing)
APPRAISER: No, no--- don't be shy there, right?
GUEST: Yeah, right.
APPRAISER: "Hope and smile." "Keep your eye open." So there you go. Always be vigilant. Maybe Mr. or Mrs. Right is out there somewhere. It's really a-a snapshot in time...
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: ...from the, like, turn of the 19th century of what the Valentine candy was like. The collection was assembled fairly randomly.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: But care was given into the final placement. Grover Cleveland is kind of centered. And the other ones with their sayings facing out. It took a bit of energy in order to do that. And then she carefully placed these other kind of candy roses at the top. This is a tricky one because there's no collecting category of candy from the 1900s. (chuckling) There's no... there's nobody that really has a lot of this...
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: ...because it's mostly eaten. Or-or-or thrown away or whatever.
GUEST: Or ate it, sure, yeah.
APPRAISER: So to have this many collected is quite unique. To the right person, of which that would be folk art collectors, candy people, Valentine's people. There's a lot of people that would think this is really fun-- an auction estimate $800 to $1,000.
GUEST: Okay, all right. I can deal with that. That's actually a relief. (laughs) Okay!
APPRAISER: Relief because?
GUEST: Because I was afraid I was going you know, be too valuable, I'd be afraid to own it.
APPRAISER: Precious-- but not so precious that you have to lose sleep over it, okay?
GUEST: I love it, that is awesome. Thank you. (laughing)
$800 - $1,000 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.
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