GUEST: It's been handed down in the family-- this is fifth generation. It's from the Civil War era. It was my great-great-grandfather's, who was the governor of Maryland during the Civil War. Mom left it to us, and we were thinking about giving it to the historic society. And we had no idea what it was worth, and thought we'd bring it in since you guys were in town.
APPRAISER: Well, this is a libation set-- namely a pitcher and two goblets, obviously-- on an oval tray. It's inscribed to Governor Hicks of the state of Maryland, and it was a gift from the Third Maryland Regiment. Interestingly, it bears a date of December 24 of 1861. What I'd like to show is the marks. It's marked the Gorham Silver Company. It's made out of coin silver-- old coins melted down and then reformed into this set.
GUEST: Oh, my...
APPRAISER: It is also-- and quite, I think, comically-- on an oval silver-plated tray which also bears the same inscription. So they all are original as a set. Historically important because Maryland was one of the states that vacillated from joining the Confederacy and staying in the Union, and the president had to keep troops in Baltimore to keep the peace. Many people feel that Baltimore would have voted to go to the Confederacy, but they were kept out of it. As to value, frankly, it's a unique item. I would think very conservatively historical silver of this nature, a four-piece set like this would be valued somewhere in the range of $12,000 to $15,000.
GUEST: Wow! That's incredible.
APPRAISER: Does that surprise you?
GUEST: Yes, very much so. I figured a couple of hundred dollars.
APPRAISER: We're absolutely delighted you brought it in, and thank you for joining us at the Roadshow.
GUEST: Thank you very much. Good heavens-- you're serious?
APPRAISER: This is important, oh, yeah.
