GUEST: My mother and I went garage sale-ing about ten years ago, and it was sitting in a box and it was all tarnished, and I picked it up, and I thought it was really cute, and I liked it. And I went up and asked the lady, and she told me it was for $2.50.
APPRAISER: Well, this is a pickle castor. We see many, many plain-frame ones, but this is an ornate one.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: And you cleaned it beautifully. Whatever you used to clean it, you used the right thing.
GUEST: It was just some silver polish my mom had at the house.
APPRAISER: At the turn of the century, people used pickle castors on their table and put the pickles in it. And then the tongs.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: So this piece would go in here. And it is in clear glass, a pressed glass.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: If it were in color, it would raise the value a little bit. So when you're looking again, look for the color ones, too.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: Then the pickle tongs would hang on the side of the piece.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: And then you'd have the lid. This is a gorgeous pattern. It's footed. It has all the bells and whistles. This, in an antique store, would sell from $400 to $500.
GUEST: Oh, wow. I'm glad I brought it, because my mom didn't even want me to bring it.
APPRAISER: She didn't? Oh, I'm so glad.
