GUEST: This box has been in our family for many years. My mother's cousin, his wife, had taken pottery classes from Margaret Cable at University of North Dakota. And when classes were all done, Margaret was selling some of her extra pieces afterwards.
APPRAISER: Do you know about when that was?
GUEST: I want to say in the late '40s? Early '50s?
APPRAISER: And do you know what she paid for it?
GUEST: Uh, yes, the price is actually on the back of it. It was originally three dollars, and it was marked down to $1.50.
APPRAISER (chuckles): All right, well, let's take a look at the back. We do see, in fact, the three-dollar price tag that's been marked in half down to $1.50. And we do see the signature for "M. Cable." You see the classic mark of the University School of Mines, which meant that it met their standard. And then we see this number 162. And what was fascinating, in 1938, they started documenting the pieces that were being sold. And so we know exactly when this was.
GUEST: Oh, interesting.
APPRAISER: So it was the 162nd piece that was sold after 1938. And it's clearly in the records as a small box with cowboy, and the piece was made in 1943.
GUEST: Oh, nice.
APPRAISER: Pretty consistent with your story. So today, it's interesting as, as we look at School of Mines pottery, and what comes through it, North Dakota was incredibly popular for their clay, and that's why it worked. The chemistry of the clay worked really, really well. And as a result, collectors have really been seeking after it, and it's been able to hold its value over the years. Nice incised top. Obviously, a cowboy riding a horse. And if you sold it at an appropriate auction today, I think you would probably see an estimate of between $800 and $1,200 on it.
GUEST: Wow, really? Nice, nice.
APPRAISER: It's really cool, though, a great piece.
GUEST: It is a great piece. It is beautiful. The colors are so indicative of North Dakota.
