GUEST: In July 2011, my husband and I saw an advertisement for a country auction. It was literally in a barn in central Illinois. When we walked in, we were... just love at first sight. Didn't know anything about the marks on the bottom, but we just fell in love.
APPRAISER: So you went after it.
GUEST: He did.
APPRAISER: And you bought it.
GUEST: He started bidding, and he kept bidding. And I was having a heart attack, because he kept bidding. And when he got it, the purchase price was $1,600 on the vase.
APPRAISER: I'd like to show the marks. Very clearly marked, Denver Lonhuda. And it has a date of 1903. And the little symbol in the center is the LF mark, for Lonhuda Faience. William Long, who was part of Weller Pottery for a number of years, had a fight with Sam Weller, ended up going to Denver and opened his own pottery, and made a line of pieces like this called Denver Denaura. And they are typically this beautiful, soft, green glaze with vegetal flowers. This is a form I hadn't seen before. There are not a lot of these. Condition, really nice. I think we're probably looking at a retail price of maybe $3,500.
GUEST: Oh.
APPRAISER: In an auction setting, it might be more like $3,000. But I think your husband did good.
GUEST: Yes, he did.